Craft debate: Lauren Shantall

Deputy editor of Elle Decoration SA, Design Indaba Expo curator and media partner, Lauren Shantall weighs in on the craft debate.

From the Series

“I become quickly tired of all these so-called debates about the status or nature of ‘craft’. And not because the questions aren’t valid, or worthy of thought, but simply because we have trotted them out and looked at them so many times in the past decade, without any really significant shifts in paradigm or consciousness. For me, what’s more important as a query, and a pursuit, are the questions: ‘Is it a successful product?’ and ‘Is it able to find its audience?’ These are queries I apply across the various disciplines of design, and not exclusively to craft.”

Shantall says she likes too many pieces to single out one as a favourite but, she jests, if she received a Gomitolo Knit Clock for her birthday, she would certainly not re-gift it to someone else.