Jessica Kausen’s craft night over Zoom (image courtesy Jessica Kausen)

"Four friends and I started having craft-based get-togethers over Zoom in early May.... It was so refreshing to just chat and make stuff together that we decided to make it a regular thing. We had met each other more than a decade ago at Craft Night, a program I founded in 2007 at Etsy’s HQ in Brooklyn and led for several years. So, a craft night was not only how we started our friendship, but has also become a way to support each other long-distance during a pandemic. These times together apart — to borrow the name of the podcast that The Art of Gathering author Priya Parker started during the pandemic — has been a lifeline for me and a source of joy to anticipate each week."Since this craft night has been a buoy for me, I got to wondering what crafting together has meant for others during this time of, shall we say, challenges. I talked to the founders of five other craft-centered gatherings to find out."

Article: Craft Through This: Why Getting Together Online to Make Stuff Matters