Craft Desert is a subscription-based biannual hand-made publication founded in 2018. Working with the most expanded definition of ‘craft’, one that includes the ancient and the contemporary, the ordinary and the exceptional, the functional and the decorative, Craft Desert aims to bring to light the complex and diverse world of human production. With a focus on the etymology of the word craft: we hope to foster curiosity and prompt new awareness about how and why we make today. We promote emerging makers whose practices exemplify a deep engagement with rigorous thought and craft as knowledge, skill, power, strength, and magic.
The desert is a vast, empty, inhospitable void at first glance; which on closer inspection, is teeming with life. Craft Desert considers the Southwest, a place where innovative craftwork is plentiful but often hidden, overlooked, or mislabeled. The artists we feature connect with the region in some way: as natives, transplants, or drifting tumbleweeds.
craftdesert.org 