Just
a few of the hobbies explored in Get A Hobby:
African
Violet Cultivation
Bell Ringing
Dumpster Diving
Gilding
Ikebana
Making Preserves
Robot Building
Silk-screening
Urban Animal Husbandry
and
of course there's...
Knitting
Crochet
and Needlework
(with Subversive Cross Stitch!)
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Hot
off the press is this delicious tome of endless imagination and
ideas from the craftily cool Tina Barseghian, called Get
A Hobby! (no, seriously, would you please?!). If
her name sounds familiar, it may be because she works for Readymade
and has since the beginning of time - lucky girl!
CQ:
First
things first, remind us how many different hobbies are listed in
this book -- and how many YEARS did it take to put all this information
together?
TB:
Geez,
it seems to me there are thousands of hobbies listed in the book
because of the amount of time it took to write it, but really there
are only
101 listed. And it seems to me that it took several years to write
it, but
in reality, the whole process took about a year, from conception
to
production. It was hard work researching all the hobbies, trying
to be
accurate in fact-finding, but it was also an extremely illuminating
process.
CQ:
The foreword to your book is written by a neurologist, which is
interesting and out of the ordinary for a craft book. How did that
come
about?
TB: Actually the whole premise of the book is based
on the fact that engaging in
a hobby is physically and spiritually good for you because you're
relieving
stress while you're "hobbying" (just made up that word!),
and as we all know
by now, stress has been known to cause all manner of ailments. So
that
accounts for the medical angle.
CQ: True,
I always say it's a form of meditation for the meditationally-challenged.
I
love that you have a quiz readers can use to determine their hobby
personality. After all this research, did your favorite hobbies
change
during the course of writing the book? Did you try ALL of them?!
TB: I was certainly tempted to try all of them.
In fact, after completing each
of the entries, I thought to myself, ok, as soon as I'm finished
writing
this book, I'm going to try coffee roasting or growing bonsai plants,
or
bookmaking or movie making or silk screening. But alas, by the end
of the
process, I was exhausted and needed a break from hobbies. But since
time has
passed, I've jumped right back into photography, gardening, and
journaling,
which were my hobbies before I started writing the book. Now if
I could only
get the equipment I need for silk screening...
CQ:
Did your husband and daughter volunteer to try out some of the activities
in your book? You know, in the name of research?
TB:
Actually, it must be said that my husband played a huge role in
helping me
figure out some of the engineering of the projects. He's an attorney
by
trade, but he's one of those all-around-naturally-talented-at-everything
types who builds things (our backyard deck, furniture, kitchen counter),
so
when it came down to the nitty gritty of some of the hobbies, like
building
a frame, building a raised bed for a vegetable garden, making stained
glass,
etc., he was The Last Word.
As
for my daughter, since she's only three-and-four-quarters (she couldn't
stay at three-quarters for too long, so we stepped it up) she couldn't
really participate all that much. However, she would have been my
first
volunteer had I tried to my hand at candy-making, I can assure you
of that.
CQ:
There's always next year! Soon she'll be old enough to read the
book on her own and then you'll have a mess on your hands, all that
craft material everywhere! Aagh!!
Tell
us more about your affiliation with the magazine to end all magazines,
Readymade. How long have you worked for those fine folks?
TB: I started working at ReadyMade five
years ago, when we were holed up in a
dark, dank warehouse with no heat in the winter and no AC in the
summer.
That was when we had to pack up the issues in bulk ourselves to
send to the
post office. Now we have a distribution center and a separate subscription
department! It really is such a phenomenal publication in the sense
that it
taps into a creative streak we all have somewhere deep down inside
us and it
compels us to see things in a different light and give new life
to ordinary
objects. The good people at Quirk Packaging, who also love ReadyMade
(who
doesn't, really?) found me through the magazine and asked me if
I'd be
interested in writing the book. And the rest is publishing history!
CQ:
Lastly, are there any odd little stories about your experience with
this book: any hobbies that struck you as being really strange,
or bizarre
facts you learned along the way?
TB: Actually, this was the whole reason I accepted
the book project -- because I
wanted to learn about the bizarre underworlds and subcultures that
are
associated with hobbies and hobbyists. One of my favorite profiles
in the
book is that of the collector, who has created a little taxidermy
zoo in his
tiny New York City apartment -- puppies, kitties, two-headed cows,
the whole
shebang. He says: "If Morticia Adams were to walk into my apartment,
she
would say, 'I love what you've done with the place!'".
I
was also fascinated by the gravestone rubber, who also happens to
be the
founder of the Center for Thanatology,
which means the
study of death. Never knew about that particular field of study.
CQ:
(I wonder how many people mistake "gravestone rubber"
for "gravestone robber" - eek!)
I
also had a hilarious experience with the Texan taxidermist, who
at the
last minute before sending the issue to the printer, refused to
give me his
photo for his profile because he'd been warned by Oprah not to email
your
picture to strangers, for fear of it ending up on some crazy website
on the
internet. You will have to refer to the book to see what photo ended
up in
its place.
But
there were lots of moments like this throughout the writing process,
and
I'm grateful for every last one!
CQ:
Sounds
like you had a lot of fun with it. I know I had fun just reading
it. Now I just have to decide where to begin... but first I need
to go check out that taxidermist's photo - gotta dash!
Thanks,
Tina B.!
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