Handmade Nation documentary begins screening this month

In 2006, Milkwaukee-based artist and entreprenuer Faythe Levine took up a camera and struck out to document what she calls "the new wave of art, craft and design" in America. What resulted is Handmade Nation, a documentary chronicling the work of a country-wide community of boutique owners, subversive stitchers, puckish printmakers and feisty knitters, which will see a number of feature-length screenings this winter.

Levine's subjects are independent-minded folks who've taken up DIY mantle passed down from generations gone by, valuing the handmade over mass-produced and craft over convenience. Some members of the crafty crew will also host a number of talks and lectures at colleges and community centers, with a few other stops scheduled to promote the film's companion book, also titled Handmade Nation. (Recognize all that great hand-lettering in the titles? It's the work of Kate Bingaman-Burt, whose What Did You Buy Today? blog we're pretty keen on.)

For more details on both screenings and other appearances, plus more on indie craft in America, visit the documentary's official blog. And check a preview of the film right here: