'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

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.

PRAISE FOR THREADS OF LIFE:

"An astonishing feat . . . Her highly impressive debut is a richly textured and moving record of a history that has largely being lost" Sunday Times

"Enthralling...beautiful... An inspiring and moving sideways look at history" Sunday Express

"A beautifully considered book . . . Clare Hunter has managed to mix the personal with the political with moving results" Tracy Chevalier