Karen Sugarpants and Samantha F. of Craftastrophe.net
Horrifying. Hilarious. Handmade.
Craftastrophe dredges up the weird from all corners of the crafting world
By Kat Rosenfield
Published: January 30th, 2009 | 12:00pm
A chimera-centipede hybrid made from baby doll parts. A full-scale replica of the human digestive system, painstakingly rendered in elegant crochet. A papier-mâché sculpture depicting fairy-tale creatures in flagrante. And, for the man who has everything, a hand-knitted cozy that's specially designed to fit snugly over... well, you know.
Welcome to the DIY dark side.
Launched in November 2008, Craftastrophe.net is a website devoted to the sordid underbelly of the crafting world: a one-stop showcase for everything from disembodied doll heads to lampshades made from bacon. Daily postings are accompanied by photos, source links, and side-splittingly funny commentary from the editors – a pair of Canadian women whose vision for the site was born after a late-night hilarity cruise through the recesses of a popular craft-sellers' Web site.
"We were pouncing on Etsy, and we started coming across some really random items for sale," explains Karen "Sugarpants" Bodkin, a freelance web developer and one-half of the creative team behind Craftastrophe. "We were emailing them back and forth between fits of giggles, but by the next morning we'd realized that they deserved their own website.”
Samantha F., who goes by the handle "TemptingMama" and – due to a real-life career in civil engineering – prefers not give her last name, hurries to add that the site’s outlook on the crafting world is strictly spectator.
"I tried to crochet a blanket once,” she says. “It was horrible."
Fortunately, the outside-looking-in viewpoint is what gives Craftastrophe its distinct editorial voice – part gleeful enthusiasm, part pure bewilderment – which has garnered a diverse and growing fan base. The site has achieved incredible popularity in only a few short months, with link love from major crafting sites and a surprise nomination in the 2009 Bloggies "Best Art, Craft, or Design Weblog" category. (Psst: voting is still open.)
For a lot of new blogs, such quick success might be a cause for anxiety – what if they run out of things to say? – but keen-eyed readers and a seemingly endless supply of outrageous crafts have left no shortage of material.
"People submit to the site daily, and typing random words into Etsy brings up tons of stuff," says Sam.
Like what?
"Beef."
"Lowbrow."
"Weird, tacky."
"Oh, and bacon," adds Karen. "People are nuts for bacon crafts."
At this point, you might start to feel sorry for the poor souls who manufacture the oddities showcased on Craftastrophe… except that the site, with its conscientious sourcing, has also resulted in great exposure and even the occasional sale for its featured crafters.
"We realized we could help these sellers," Sam explains. "People have bought items for white elephant parties, and the poop lady [a woman who deals exclusively in t-shirts featuring photographed dog turds] has garnered quite a following.”
The site also does a giveaway each month, featuring free merchandise from a selected crafter.
"A talented crafter," Karen is quick to add. (Meaning: Contest entrants are more likely to receive quirky handmade jewelry than, say, "Charlie", a severed doll head in a jar of formaldehyde.)
With the Craftastrophe readership growing daily, the editors are looking forward to a long and fruitful stint as guardians of the internet's craft oddities – think Cakewrecks, but without the edible component. There's only a moment's hesitation when I ask whether the potential for controversy or hurt feelings might affect the edginess of the site's content as it gains in popularity, before the ladies firmly agree that “funny always wins out.”
No matter what?
"Oh, it’s on,” says Karen. “We have unicorn porn in the vault."
Issue #35
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