Since Morris's time, craft has lost its heady undertones, but we're now seeing a return to the original tenets of the Arts and Crafts movement.?Lange cites blogs like and , which echo the founding sentiment of the Arts and Craft movement that Lange summarizes as "make it yourself, buy better quality items, think about each purchase, keep it for a long time http://www.raildresses.com/wedding-dresses-maternity-wedding-dresses.html - dresses maternity ."

Architecture writer and critic Alexandra Lange's?recent New Yorker article, ?seems to have http://www.raildresses.com/wedding-dresses.html - modest wedding dresses ?caused a rift in the craft community. In the piece, Lange? to her first viewing of Craft Wars, the "ultimate crafting competition" http://www.speeddress.org/Short-Wedding-Dresses.html - wedding dresses short ; reality TV show. Contestants on the show decorate birdhouses and refashion sports equipment into bags — activities that left Lange feeling empty.?"What ‘craft' mostly means on Craft Wars is the act of making things cuter http://www.speeddress.org/Bridal-Party-Dresses.html - mother of bride dresses ," explains Lange. While cute isn't necessarily a bad word, by arguing that craft is backing itself into a corner of cuteness http://www.speeddress.org/Beach-Wedding-Dresses.html - beach wedding attire , Lange inspired angry comments from those who painted her as a snob.

"I wonder if we are not in the dawn of another reform era http://www.thusdress.com/wedding-dresses-designer-wedding-dresses-2011.html - designer wedding dresses uk ," says Lange. "William Morris felt that the products of the industrial revolution were wasteful and excessive http://www.thusdress.com - military ball dresses , and that we should respect making and buy fewer, better things. To me, Morris's ideas resonates with the sustainability agenda http://www.raildresses.com/wedding-dresses-plus-size-wedding-dresses.html - special occasion dresses plus size , and many other communities all along the socio-economic and political spectrums." http://www.cropdresses.com/ - military ball gowns ; Craft can be cute, but it can be (and mean) so much more.

For Lange http://www.bridalstores2013.com/Discount-Prom-Dresses.html - mermaid prom dresses , Craft Wars panders to a stereotype, portraying crafters and makers as shallow and wasteful hobbyists http://www.thusdress.com/cocktail-dresses.html - plus size cocktail dresses ; she feels craft, as well as the slew of websites espousing it http://www.dayweddingdresses.com/Couture-Wedding-Dresses.html - gothic wedding dresses , deserves some consideration http://www.pretdress.com/Cocktail-Dresses.html - cocktail dresses under 100 . http://www.pretdress.com/SLD8077-beauty.html">
"This?is?culture, it is not a hobby, and it deserves serious analysis http://www.raildresses.com/wedding-dresses-sweetheart-wedding-dresses.html - sweetheart dresses , criticism and thought,"?says Lange.

We've come a long way since the days of William Morris, the designer and leader who fostered the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 1800s. For Morris, craft was a serious endeavor that focused on putting handmade, functional objects in homes. "Rather than three sets of elaborately decorated transferware china, you would have one set of handmade and glazed plates," http://www.bridalstores2013.com/Dresses-for-Prom.html - long prom dresses ; explains Lange. The movement was consciously putting its foot down against the introduction of impersonal mass production.

Chappell Ellison is a designer, writer and design writer. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York where she serves as a contributor for The dress Blog and design columnist for GOOD.