Making Matters cover art

Making Matters

In Search of Creative Wonders

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Making Matters

By: Clare Hunter
Narrated by: Siobhan Redmond
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About this listen

 'A celebration of the overlooked artistry in crafts practised across the world'
THE TIMES

'Clare Hunter is out to reclaim the joy of making for the masses... no act of creativity is too humble, too ephemeral, for this hymn to the sensory wonder and connectivity of the homemade'
OBSERVER

'Making Matters is an open door to the power of craft. Now inspired, I'm off to get creative'
DAILY EXPRESS

As children, we made things: snowmen, paper boats, eccentrically costumed plays. That making fired our minds and imaginations - it altered our small worlds and shaped who we became. But as adults, it is hard to find to find the space for creativity and to remember its power.

Exploring craft traditions and forms of making from across centuries and cultures, Clare Hunter encourages to engage with the world afresh. To use our hands again, to see beauty in unexpected places, to play and protest and embrace imaginative possibilities. From paper crafts to wonders made from light and snow, she searches for creative delight - making lanterns, puppets and pinhole cameras.

Inspiring and fascinating, Making Matters celebrates individual and collective creativity. It blends history, culture and politics with rich storytelling, wonderful characters and tales of remarkable objects. Read this, and then make something.

'In an era of screens and machines, what a joy it is to read Clare Hunter's inspiring new book, which summons up the creative delights of making wonderment with our own hands'
Justine Picardie, author of Miss Dior

'Making Matters celebrates the joy of the handmade in all of its wonderful variety. In a fast paced world, it is a timely and beautiful exploration of making traditions. I loved it!'
Kate Strasdin, author of The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes©2025 Clare Hunter Art Crafts & Hobbies Creativity Personal Development

Critic reviews

Clare Hunter is out to reclaim the joy of making for the masses . . . no act of creativity is too humble, too ephemeral, for this hymn to the sensory wonder and connectivity of the homemade
A celebration of the overlooked artistry in crafts practised across the world... Hunter has a magpie-like mind and an enviable ability to be absorbed in what she reads, hears or sees... Making Matters is packed with fascinating detail... It's well written and meticulously researched and left me feeling that making things is good for the brain, good for the hands and good for the soul (Christine Patterson)
Through assembling snowmen, sandcastles, paper boats and costumes for plays, to finding creative delight in making lanterns, puppets and pinhole cameras, Hunter brings us back to a time where the possibilities for creativity are endless. Making Matters is an open door to the power of craft. Now inspired, I'm off to get creative
Making Matters celebrates the joy of the handmade in all of its wonderful variety. In a fast-paced world it is a timely and beautiful exploration of making traditions. I loved it! (Kate Strasdin, author of The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes)
A delightful tribute to the slow and simple pleasures of playful craft
In an era of screens and machines, what a joy it is to read Clare Hunter's inspiring new book, which summons up the creative delights of making wonderment with our own hands (Justine Picardie, author of Miss Dior)
All stars
Most relevant
I like Clare Hunter’s work and love Siobhan Redmond as a narrator but the audio quality on this production is so bad I returned it after 30 minutes listening. It sounds like the treble settings are max and like it was recorded with a very cheap microphone that picks up every hiss. Really poor sound quality.

Bought the paperback

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This book is an overly intellectualised perspective on a strangely selected collection of crafts. The author seems to be trying to prove her academic prowess above creating an enjoyable and informative read, and misses the joy that making brings the maker by applying a level of analysis that, to my mind, is misplaced. The book is extremely dull in places while the author pulls tenuous links across history and cultures to justify practices that need no justification. That is the essence of crafts in contrast to fine art- it doesn’t need pretentious justification but does require authenticity; which is what this book lacks.

To much justification, not enough making

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