Words By Altair Robinson

The third society to be interviewed is Craft Society! Craft society was formed seven years ago, and has ran weekly meetings on Zoom every Wednesday afternoon creating different crafts each week. Craft Soc went on to win the ‘most outstanding society’ in the Sussex Student Union awards last May.

Please introduce yourself

“Hi! My name is Libby, and I’m the president of Craft Society. I was the president last year and am lucky enough to be president this year as well. I’m going into my final year of my maths degree and will also be the vice president of Board Game Society as of this September.”

Why should someone join Craft Soc?

“Firstly, if you join Craft Society I can promise you that you’ll be welcomed with open arms regardless of whether you have your own Etsy shop or have never even touched a glue stick. Obviously I’m biased but I can assure you the current committee (as well as most people who attend our events) are the nicest bunch of people you’ll ever come across.

Secondly, we have a range of events to suit everyone’s wants or needs. We have some quiet events for those more introverted, socials in town for those who like outings, sessions where you can learn a new craft, meetings where you can have free choice of what to do – you want it, we (probably) do it! 

Finally, above anything else – the best thing you can get from Craft Society is a great new group of friends! I met my best friend at craft society in my first year and have since continued to meet new people who I consider very good friends indeed.”

Why did you want to become president of Craft Soc?

“I put myself forward as president after being on the committee for a year. I first joined the committee as I’m passionate about being part of the university community and this seemed like the perfect way forward. Being on the committee allowed me to see the planning and effort of the society and I just realised that I wanted to be a bigger part of it all, particularly as I love things that some may see as mundane, the spreadsheets, the finances and the planning. The thought of being able to bring a whole new set of ideas and activities for us to try also really excited me.”

What has been the biggest achievement that Craft Soc achieved last year (2020/2021)?

“The biggest achievement last year has to be us being nominated and winning Most Outstanding Society in the Student Union awards. It was such an honour and really felt great to have our time and effort recognised and appreciated (big thanks to whoever nominated us). To be honest though, even if we hadn’t won (or even been nominated for) the award I would still be so so proud of us. Please forgive me because some shameless self praising is coming now. 

Despite only having a committee of 3, we consistently hosted weekly events with different crafts planned for each one and even set up a new system in which every few weeks we would create a small pack which had everything in it needed for the weekly craft that anyone could buy. While this may not sound so impressive to other people (infact potentially just the bare minimum), I know just how much time and effort it took, particularly in a pandemic, and think we did amazingly.”

What excites you/makes you nervous about being president of Craft Soc?

“Something I am really excited about for next year is finally being able to meet up again for our craft sessions (touch wood). This past year has been different to say the least, and while it went really well I still can’t wait for us to be able to meet in person. It will allow for a whole selection of new crafts and will be better for those who want to attend as we can provide the equipment for the varying crafts without them having to source it themselves (which had been a big problem in the past year). Not only that, it’ll allow for conversations to flow and friendships to form more easily. When you’re in a big Zoom call, people can sometimes feel reluctant to speak so when we meet in person and people can break off into smaller groups or pairings, it gives quieter people a chance to talk comfortably.

Naturally though, even though I’m excited for the in person sessions, I’m a little nervous as well. This will be my first year being president hosting proper, real life events, and guiding people’s crafts in real life is much harder as you can’t just hide your mistakes off camera! We will also be able to start hosting meet ups/socials as well, which I’ve never done before, and as someone who can sometimes take a while to get comfortable leading a situation, I’m apprehensive but hopeful.

That all being said, I’m confident that whatever comes our way it’ll end up being great! Not only do we have a great new committee, we also have the biggest committee that Craft Society has had for years. We can definitely handle anything that comes our way.”

What was your favourite event at Craft Soc last year (2020/2021)?

“That’s a tough one, but I probably have to say our Christmas Card making session. There are a couple of reasons behind this, the first being that I am a very big Christmas fan and would happily listen to Christmas music year round if possible. The other reason though is because card making is probably my favourite crafting activity to do. I find it very therapeutic but also it enables people to really showcase their talents and individuality. We often end up with no 2 cards the same as there are so many possibilities of what you can make. I think it embodies what I really love about crafting, it’s accessible for any level of ability and very versatile to suit any aesthetic or design.”

Do you have anything further to say to conclude this interview?

“As cheesy as it might be, I want to give thanks to the other 2 committee members, Lucy and Iszy, for doing such brilliant work this year. I definitely couldn’t have run the society this past year by myself and they have been enthusiastic, no end of help and full of ideas of how to make Craft Society the best it could be.

Finally, to anyone who is reading this who wants to check us out, please check out our Instagram, Facebook or Discord! Feel free to message us any way you fancy- we will always get back to you.”

Craft Society’s Discord is https://discord.gg/H7XN7r5dXG.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *