Why Are So Many Cool Crafters Mormon?
There’s clearly no shortage of beautiful blogs out there focused on the increasingly popular topics of DIY, design and crafting. And while the women (yes, they’re usually women) who create these blogs are all different, of course, some of the most successful and popular bloggers in the maker-space do have something pretty interesting in common: They’re Mormon.
That’s not to say these are Mormon-themed blogs. Far from it. Most of the content – from how to make a desk organizer out of cement to a photo tutorial on making a rainbow welcome mat to a detailed rundown of what goes into a Western-themed kid’s birthday party – has nothing to do with religion. So what gives? Well, a few things, actually.
“Homemaking is important still and I think that’s a part of a culture of finding joy in cooking and crafting and creating things,” says Summer Bellessa, who co-founded the blog and Web series The Girls With Glasses with her friend Brooke White (a singer/songwriter who happens to be a fellow Mormon).
Summer Bellessa and Brooke White of The Girls With Glasses. (Photo: The Girls With Glasses)
While a skill like sewing, for example, may not sound like a totally obscure one, for modern-day American women it kind of is. Just poll a random group of 30-something females – chances are only a few ever learned. But according to what some in the community have shared, Mormon households often put a heftier importance on those homemaking skills, which many mothers and grandmothers commit to teaching – whether it’s sewing or crafting or how to reupholster a chair.
“My mom was very influential to me. She always liked to craft and she’s a sewer,” adds Bellessa. “I think part of that comes from not having a ton of money growing up, so you had to get a little more creative to try to give your family things you couldn’t necessarily afford if you had to buy them at the store.”
Brittany Watson Jepsen, founder of DIY lifestyle blog The House that Lars Built, says that while her grandmother taught her to sew as a young girl (after her grandmother taught her), the church’s Young Women organization also played a part in teaching her and other Mormon females crafting and DIY skills that helped set her on her design-focused career path.
“There are all these different skills you’re learning from a girl to a young woman. You’re given a book to check off goals and a part of those goals include different types of crafts, but also spiritual goals and goals about serving others and becoming involved in the community,” Jepsen explains. “From an early age you’re encouraged to accomplish things and to improve yourself and oftentimes that’s through skills you’ve learned.”
Brittany Watson Jepsen, of The House That Lars Built, and one of her creations. (Photo: Trisha Zemp)
Patrick Q. Mason, Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies and Associate Professor of Religion at Claremont Graduate University says that the idea of “do it yourself” dates back hundreds of years in the Mormon culture, when members of the community often had to make and grow what they needed to support themselves and their families.
“The notion of self-reliance is actually really important in Mormonism. It’s a carryover from the Pioneer days, that people take care of themselves,” says Mason. “Brigham Young was very clear that the Mormons, as much as possible, should try not to trade with outsiders. That’s totally different now, of course. Mormons are totally comfortable shopping wherever and fully participate in the marketplace, but, at the same time, they still participate in this value of making things your own.”
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Jepsen agrees that some of that interest in DIY and crafting can be traced back to historical times. “We really respect and value our pioneer heritage. We know our ancestors and we want to celebrate them and we learn about what they did and we do it ourselves,” she says.
As for why many Mormon women have a knack for making the leap to blogging about what they’re good at (and actually making a living doing it), that idea intersects with the Mormon church’s focus on members developing their talents and sharing what they’ve created with others.
“That’s a very important thing. You want to take advantage of all of the things that God has given you and that kind of aligns with the blogging philosophy too,” says Bellessa, who adds that a career in blogging is conducive to the work-family balance she’s looking for. “I can have a lifestyle as a parent where I feel like I can be completely there for my kids whenever they need me and also help contribute to our finances.”
As for Jepsen, it was a church leader who first gave her the idea. “He encouraged us to talk about ourselves and enlighten people about who Mormons are. He said, ‘Start a blog and have people get to know you.’ I thought, "What should I even blog about?’ And naturally it became about crafting and design, because that’s what I do.”
Nearly two centuries years later, blogging actually aligns with one of the earliest revelations to Mormonism founder Joseph Smith – that the church should keep a record of its doings.
“This has been interpreted not just to keep an official record of the institutional church, but also for individual Mormons to keep a record of their own lives, so Mormons – women and men – have been great journal keepers and diarists from the 19th century until today,” says Mason. “Blogging is a modern way of living out that personal record-keeping ethos.”
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