Have yet to read it, will add to this comment when I do, but here's a fun Flac fact:

When I was about 15, I went to Joann's fabrics, bought some fake suede, cork board, and the ingredients needed to make a cast of my foot with the intention of cobbling myself a pair of shoes. I didn't have a sewing machine at this point, so everything was hand stitched. I think I used this tutorial, if I remember correctly.

I spent basically the entire weekend working, and ended up having to recast my feet 3 times to get it right. I forgot to eat entirely one day because I was so invested in working on cobbling. The end product was a horribly unattractive grey Toms knock off that was slightly too tight for my foot because I got the seam allowance wrong. I only ever ended up making one shoe, never the whole pair, but I still considered it a success, and had no real desire to try it again. Never wore the shoe anywhere or really even showed anyone.

There's something there about craft being more about the process than the end-goal that I'm not sure I believe, but it's a story that I think says a lot about me.

----------

Tangentially related, I applied to a job that I think might be perfect for me the other day: a bartender at an arts and crafts bar. Basically pouring people drinks and helping them make wallets and shit. Part of the application was "submit a picture of a recent project!", and in an effort to hedge my bets and show off multiple craft skills, I sent this:

I was deeply conflicted about wanting to write "hire me" in scrabble tiles on the board, but decided against it.