Checking out Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft, and Design

So I've finally got around to actually checking out this book and it's looking very inspirational - I'm getting more and more excited about this! The book has some information about DIY (they even mention John Ruskin, William Morris, and the Industrial Revolution [page 1]!) but it seems to be less academic than most of the other sources I've looked at. Although, it's a good way to approach a book on DIY I suppose. It's a collection of artists stories' with a lot of images of their work including their websites which will be a great place to go next. The two that interest me most are Deb Dormody and her business If's Books & Marks (www.ifnbooks.com) - she says, "I think that in this day and age, people are seeking out something that is authentic and personal." (page 10) - and JW & Melissa Buchanan and their business The Little Friends of Printmaking (www.thelittlefriendsofprintmaking.com) - they just make so much cool stuff and it's a great inspiration, I will definitely be checking out their website soon (although in the book they mostly talk about the difference between art and craft and how there is none which sounds way too opinionated [even if I do agree with it] so I'm not sure I'll be quoting them but we'll see... And lastly - an artist that does beadwork had some interesting things to say that I think have some merit; she seems to be doing this craft for very similar reasons to why I'm making a book next year: "I like thinking about how making lampwork beads has been done before, but I am doing it anew, in my way and for myself because I want to see new things. [...] It's funny that lampwork is historical and, in a way, it's traditional, but I make what I do because I want to see things that I have never seen before." (page 22)