Like crafting, but cooler

MANILA, Philippines - When you’re fresh out of college with no job and no money, imagination is your currency. The highlight of my days for that long, jobless summer would be watching Rachel Ashwell distress brand furniture and create romantic boho décor, usually involving store-bought moss, used glass jars and broken mirrors on the show Shabby Chic. One day my dad left an old wooden cabinet for someone to pick up outside our house –– that someone turned out to be me. I chopped it up using an old hacksaw, hammered the pieces together until my fingers bled, painted it rose, sanded it and then painted it white. The result was a shabby-minus-the-chic mini shelf that’s still in our house somewhere, getting shabbier by the day.

There was a time when “doing it yourself” was more of a necessity than an outlet for creative expression. Remember when –– before there was Photoshop and long before IG –– there was only the program “paint”? If you wanted a Warhol-esque photo, you had to do it yourself, meaning, try to get the effect with Paint and all of its five tools. These days, aside from photography apps and Photoshop actions, there is Photojojo.com to help you do almost every photography effect you want –– yourself. I stumbled upon the site some time ago while looking for an instructional for heart-shaped Bokeh, but the site also holds other photography tips and curios –– from making your own camera lens canister to light painting using steel wool.

These days, it’s not just about the end product. Our appreciation for procedure is at an all-time high. Recently, Hermès came out with Hearts and Crafts, a 46-minute long film on the craftsmanship that goes into making an Hermés product, from its saddles to scarves to the iconic Birkin. The crème de la crème of craft porn, the film zooms in on the details literally –– every swoosh of a thread as it slides through luscious leather, from croc to trademark Hermès orange, is magnified. While the film is not an ode to DIY, it echoes our collectively increasing regard for craftsmanship. These days, it’s not just about the end product. Watching the folks over at Hermès create the stuff of wait lists reminds us that even $150,000 bags are, in a way, do-it-yourself. The thought helps me sleep at night.

As the DIY movement rises in fashion capitals like NYC, the shabby chic tables are turned and the craft lover suddenly is cool –– never mind her glue-covered hands, because glue-covered hands are cool. The Ashwells have come full circle as momma Ashwell has enlisted barnyard chic daughter Lily to create a Shabby Chic clothing line. Honcho Martha Stewart has retired from doing things herself and in the past years, have had DIY experts on her show (though she still loves butting in –– Martha knows best!). And on the Internet, there’s a wealth of DIY sites beyond Pinterest.

At the top of the style DIY heap is P.S. I Made This, a site that takes inspiration from the latest trends in fashion and turns them into do-it-yourself projects. Founder Erica Domesek is a design and style expert based in New York –– she’s been featured in various magazines as well as collaborated with brands like Coca-Cola, Ford, Helmut Lang and Bloomingdales. Her motto: “I see it. I like it. I make it.”

Online lifestyle magazine Honestly WTF offers a well-curated mish-mash of style, fashion, design and beauty DIY projects interspersed with art and travel editorials. They have over 25,500 followers on Twitter and 61,681 likes on their Facebook page. Run by Erica Chan Coffman, lover of elephants, aspen trees and the Lakers, and Lauren Kolodny, addict of GChat, color and tortilla española.

I Spy DIY, a more man-friendly site, has a Guy DIY page that offers very studly projects in between inspired fashion and home posts. I Spy DIY author Jenni Radosevich, who works at a fashion magazine in Manhattan, describes it as “a place for spotting style you love and doing-it-yourself!” Even better, she adds photos of her original inspiration –– stuff she’s encountered in her daily grind in the print industry, and puts her own personal touch on them. You can view her style pegs at I Spy DIY on Pinterest.

A Pair & A Spare’s streamlined layout and rather minimalist photos are a breath of fresh air. It doesn’t assault you with an explosion of creativity, but rather focuses on the procedure. Materials are neatly photographed à la Burning House, the process is documented step-by-step, and if you’re good, you’ll be rewarded with a gif image at the end of the post.