being a serial hobbyist is a recession indicator.

we're all crafting through the collapse!

It seems like everyone is suddenly into needlepoint, watercoloring, or collaging like it’s the pandemic all over again. With inflation climbing, new tariffs on practically everything, and travel plans slipping out of reach for most, people are trading vacations and shopping sprees for embroidery kits and bread starters. But it’s not just nostalgia, it’s economic self-soothing.

And I get it. For me, hobbies are a response to a world that feels chaotic and expensive, a world that lacks play and curiosity. A world that prioritizes AI development instead of education, a world that is shifting away from reading novels, and from building with hands and pride of ownership.

We need adult hobbies now more than ever

The rise of serial hobbyism, to me, is less about free time and more about finding comfort, control, and a mental vacation that doesn’t cost $500 a night plus resort fees.

I miss the world where building, making, and imagination was the default boredom option. It honestly pains me to see children on iPads during meals when I colored on paper tablecloths with crayons and would hide under restaurant tables with my brother, pretending that we had a secret clubhouse (aside: as a parent myself, I understand you gotta do what you gotta do, but I long for the past when screens weren’t an option).

---

Let’s face it, the world is probably entering a recession.

During the Great Depression, when cash was scarce and store bought goods were mostly out of reach, people turned to their own two hands and whatever materials they could scavenge. Everyone was scrappy and resourceful when they needed to be, but they also managed to create some truly stunning objects that would be studied and appreciated for decades. It was a rough time, but the pride of craftsmanship and detail was still there!!

Take depression era quilts, for example:

(source: Quilt Index)

Here are some of the most widespread hobbies of the Depression era:

1. Patchwork quilts and sewn home decor. Scraps of printed cotton (dress remnants, flour sacks, feed sacks) were painstakingly sewn into patchwork quilts, cushion covers, curtains, and even aprons. This not only used up every last scrap of fabric but also added a cheerful splash of pattern to otherwise drab Depression‑era homes.

2. Soap and candle making. With factory made soap and candles expensive or rationed, families made their own lard based soaps and poured candles from leftover tallow or wax bits. Fragrant herbs or scraps of perfumed soap were added for scent. This was both practical and a small creative outlet!

3. Woodworking + simple furniture creation. Fruit crates became bedside tables; old fence boards were turned into benches. The emphasis was on sturdy utility, but most added decorative touches with simple carving or paint.

4. Pressed flower art. Collecting and pressing flowers, leaves, or feathers into homemade albums or framing them under glass was a popular pastime, especially in rural urban areas where the landscape provided endless art materials. People used ephemera of the world as their paints, and their homes as their canvas! It was a cost effective art medium, allowing people to express themselves artistically while using readily available, free materials.

5. Leatherwork + basketry. Scraps of leather from old belts or shoes were stitched into small pouches or wallets, and gathered willow branches were woven into baskets for carrying produce.

The last time things felt this economically shaky was the 2008 recession, and honestly, the hobby scene back then had a very similar vibe. Etsy had just launched, and Pinterest wasn’t even a thing yet, but it was gearing up to launch. It was the beginning of side hustles, when making stuff wasn’t just therapeutic, it was practical. You could blog about your DIY projects or open a tiny online shop, and suddenly your hobby had the potential to help pay a bill or two. It felt scrappy and full of possibility, like creativity had an economic purpose again.

To me, today’s wave of hobbyism feels like a spiritual descendent of both of these eras. When the world outside feels uncertain financially, environmentally, and technologically, we often retreat into things that feel simple, grounding, and real. We return to making. To using our hands. To mastering something tangible when everything else feels out of control. Even if it’s just learning to knit socks or make pasta from scratch.

These small acts of creation are more than distractions; they’re quiet rebellions against consumer culture, against despair. They say: I can make something. I can care about something. I can find meaning in the slow and the small. I don’t need to buy this from Amazon or SHEIN. Hell, maybe I can make it myself. How hard can it be?

Clearly, I’m deep in this phase. Over the past year, I’ve cycled through an entire lineup of new hobbies. Some stuck (writing on Substack, making collages, junk journaling), some flopped (crochet and pottery), and some I’m still quietly obsessed with. You could say it’s because I’m fed up with consumerism, or maybe it’s just my adult version of building a fort under a restaurant table — comforting, creative, and quiet amidst the chaos.

---

Either way, here are some hobby suggestions I have based on what I’ve made lately.

Might I recommend an arts and crafts date night?

I went to Happy Medium three times this month… This sounds excessive, but if I’m scheduling a friend date or a date date, I’d rather spend money on experiences that lead to tangible creations that I can display rather than $25 cocktails and overpriced restaurant mains that are lackluster and miss the mark.

My suggestion is to eat at home and then take your bestie or cutie to your local paint-a-pot place. Need a vase or espresso cups? Paint them instead of buying cheap shitty ones from Target! They’ll be custom and much cuter, and you’ll remember the process of making them forever. I’m a collector of taper candle holders, and my husband and I recently painted our own. It was way cheaper than me splurging on this Letita Rouget holder that I’ve been lusting over.

And if you don’t want to go out to make arts and crafts because it’s expensive, that’s fine and completely understandable! Stay at home and make collages using magazines and art supplies you have on hand. You could even watch a TV show/movie with your love and then make themed collages based on what you watched.

recent watercolors created during an at-home date!

Or watercolor! Paint each other’s portraits! Paint things that remind you of that person! Skill level doesn’t matter. Output doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re having fun and enjoying yourselves and giving your brains a break from the news cycle.

Or make your own creations using air dry clay, and then paint them with acrylic paint. The possibilities are endless (just remember air dry clay and acrylic isn’t food safe, so use it for trinket holders instead of coffee cups).

Instead of buying stupidly expensive cards and stationery, make your friends collages for birthdays and milestones.

My friends got engaged recently, and I made them a small collage as a reminder of their love. It took maybe 30 minutes, but was infinitely more pleasurable than walking to Paper Source and dropping $8.50 on a folded piece of card stock.

I also handmade my valentines this year — they’re so much more meaningful and memorable than store bought ones… I will be making every single anniversary and birthday card for my husband and friends by hand from now on. It shows effort and allows me to express myself creatively, while also not spending a ridiculous amount of money on a card that will inevitably end up collecting dust in a drawer.

If you don’t have magazines and paper, make digital collages using Canva and Pinterest. I make these every month for my Mindholiday monthly edit posts:

Pro tip: When making these on Canva, make them desktop sized and use them for your computer wallpaper!

You could spend $300 on a one-way plane ticket, or you could sign up for a semester of art classes.

Earlier this year, I was down in the dumps/seasonally depressed and wanted to force myself to do something out of my comfort zone. I signed up for a block printmaking class on a whim. It was something I had tried when I was a child in school, and I remembered loving it!

For six weeks, I’d go to class every Monday and be so absorbed for two hours that I’d forget the outside world existed. When you’re physically carving linoleum with your hands, Instagram notifications and emails feel miles away.

If you don’t have the budget to commit to a class, there are so many educational videos on YouTube. Just set aside an hour a week to try your hobby of choice. Who cares if you fail? What if you succeed and find a lifelong passion?

Instead of spending $630 on a stupid beaded bracelet, make it yourself!

I’ve recently seen these gorgeous Carolina Bucci beaded bracelets all over my Instagram feed, but when I learned they start at $630, I audibly gagged and gasped. I knew I could make it myself, and was horrified that influencers were dropping this kind of cash on a summer camp DIY.

$630? not in this economy! (or ever)

It turns out that coincidentally you can make these at Happy Medium, which I did on a friend date. The cost? $80 for high quality glass beads and materials. Not bad, but you could achieve the look for even less. There are plenty of dupes and kits on Etsy for half the price of my Happy Medium creation. Now get to beading!

Now is a great time to catch up on your junk journals.

Junk journaling is simple and cheap. You can get started with a $1 composition notebook, tape, and a pen! It’s an easy way to memorialize moments with friends, family, and to remember all of life’s adventures, big and small. More info on how I got started and the tools I use below:

Scrapbook travel journaling is my newest obsession

---

And here’s what I want to try next…

My goal here isn’t to glamorize an era of suffering and economic hardship, but I do think a ton can be learned from our grandparents who lived through the 1920s and 1930s. Their creative output is definitely an inspiration to me — proof that when the world feels like it’s closing in, it’s still possible to create beautiful things. Pressure makes diamonds!

• I really want to learn how to sew on a sewing machine soon. I’m sick of paying my dry cleaners $35 to hem pants for me, only to find out later that one leg has inevitably been hemmed shorter than the other (does this only happen to me?).

• I want to start a cookbook club! A new friend that recently moved to NYC was telling me that when she lived in LA, she had a cookbook club going. Everyone would pick a cookbook, and then someone would host and everyone would bring their creations over for dinner. You end up with a gathering of your favorite people, and a complete cooked meal.

• I want to start thrifting all of my clothes/buying everything secondhand. I am sick of feeding the fire of consumption culture. I get adrenaline from the thrill of the hunt, and I find myself wearing secondhand objects much more than fast fashion. Older clothing pieces are made way better than the shit that companies are churning out right now, and I personally believe it’s much easier to find your personal style this way.

• I want to try bead embroidery! I’m always stunned when I see these pop up on Pinterest.

---

I want to hear from you — what have you been making lately? What hobbies are calling your name? Is there something you’ve been dying to try but haven’t gotten around to yet? Let’s share ideas, inspiration, and maybe even a little creative accountability! Because if we’re heading into a recession, we might as well go into it with glitter on our hands and glue under our fingernails.

xx,

Bella

---

Thanks for being a subscriber of Mindholiday! Here are other ways you can show your support:

❤️ tapping the heart below (it helps my content get discovered!)

💌 forwarding this to a friend

🤗 supporting my writing by becoming a paid subscriber for $6 a month, or $60 a year