Don’t let this blog title fool you – I’m not a crafter. I get a kick out of working with my hands, and creating things – but the things I create are technology based, and definitely not something that you can buy supplies for at Michael’s or Jo-Anns. However, there are plenty of people – men and women – in my life that are crafters, and I’ve got to say that they are pretty impressive people.
I started to wonder what their work spaces are like, and how they are using technology, so I asked a few friends to show me their crafting areas. Long story short, most of them haven’t really gotten on the technology train. That’s fine though, I’ll probably keep pushing them to at least try one of these ideas:
Voice-Controlled Home Assistant
A home assistant that can be prompted by voice could be invaluable to a crafter that doesn’t have their hands free to search for something online or to try to control their lights or music. Here are a few ways that I think crafter could use a voice-controlled home assistant:
- Asking for Measurements. The same way that those in the kitchen can ask for recipes and for measurement conversions, crafters can ask for help with their math too. I learned, in my research, that a being off by a small fraction when cutting fabric can ruin an entire project.
- Light Controls. Sometimes a crafter needs more light, and sometimes they need less light. It isn’t always convenient to stop a project to adjust the lighting, but with a home assistant you could just ask them to turn a set of lights on or off.
- Temperature Controls. Whether you need to heat up or cool down your room before heading in, adjust it while you are working, or set a temperature for heat and cold sensitive projects, you can do it all with just your voice.
- Audiobooks. Many crafters aren’t able to read while they craft because they are using their hands, but their home assistant could simply read audiobooks to them while they get their crafting on.
The light and thermostat controls can also be managed remotely using a connected phone or tablet, so crafters can have peace of mind for their creations at all times.
Automated Cleaner
The one thing I noticed in every crafting space was loose or extra…stuff…all over the floor. I think it was thread, fabric, beads, and yarn. Whatever it is, getting a product like a Roomba or an iRobot to patrol the floors could do wonders for crafters. I think that crafter just expect that they are going to have to constantly clean their floors, but the truth is they could automate it so all the little stuff is taken care of, and they just have to do a regular, routine cleaning. Though, I don’t know if I recommend the automated vacuums to beaders – those little beads are tougher than they look (trust me – I stepped on more than one).
Photo by: Kārlis Dambrāns
