Community Revisited

One of my initial blog posts after All Crafts Media (ACM) was put into Administration was about Community. In almost a fortnight, the one-year anniversary of the birth of our community will be reached, marked, and celebrated. Hundreds, if not thousands of people around the world who don’t knit, crochet, or sew, haven’t been on Ravelry, and who never knew of the existence of these companies, its management or publications are now aware and either involved (through their own volition or by developments that directly impact them or their business) or are following events with avid interest.

The developments of the last two weeks brought me back to the idea of community and what community holds. I’ve been thinking about the title of a book I’ve ordered and its relationship not only to both the professional and volunteer work I do away from my hobby but to the developments and the events of this past year. The title of the book gave me a new framework for the ideas which have been fermenting recently.

The book is A Paradise built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster. While our community has not suffered a Katrina-like disaster, this on-going debacle has and continues to disrupt lives, careers, and businesses, cause grief and loss, and the expenditure of countless hours of unexpected work by those who continue to be affected.

Although I did not write those words about community blithely last year, I’ve discovered that my understanding of community, what it holds, and what it can achieve was not as fully developed as it has become. I have watched and participated in the community coming together in recognition of our mutual experience on a variety of levels, the recognition of our interdependence, and that by steadfastly holding the container to support customers and contributors of CM, ACM (also and previously KAL Media Ltd, Hipknits, Magknits) as they seek resolution of problems such as unpaid designers, missing designer samples, goods not as described, and unsuitable yarn club substitutions (to name a few!). We champion support of Indy dyers and buying patterns direct from designers and through other magazines/books with a less tarnished business history.

I’ve relearned that community by its very nature is interdependent. Interdependence creates or opens up space not only in the community as a whole but in the lives of each of its members. Because of mutual experience, each agrees to join with others. Skills, talents, and experiences beyond the reason for the community’s formation are shared, discovered, and resourced forming even deeper individual and community bonds. From all of the above comes, inclusiveness because each member and the community as a whole recognize the shared pain of The Other.

It’s not simply a case of ‘build it and they will come.’ It’s what is built, with what intention, and how the framework is held that matters. By documenting a fact-based History of the diverse enterprises, businesses, their management and practices and steadfastly holding that as the foundation and framework to guide our behavior, decisions, and actions, we have concomitantly created a resource and repository for partners and allies.

So when the patterns in A Guide To Knitting were recognized, there was a place and people with whom the information could be safely shared with the assurance that appropriate action would be taken. Guided by our framework, a designer whose uncredited, and—it turns out (to no surprise)—unpaid work was published in A Guide to Knitting was contacted as well the publisher, Igloo Books. And as before, work was sold with the understanding that the seller, Handmade Living Magazine (a former ACM publication), had the rights to sell. Once again, we are seeing a situation where both a designer and a reputable publisher have potentially suffered financial, legal, and brand damage because of the actions of the management of these companies. Igloo has pulled both this and another book of patterns from Sew Hip (an ACM publication sold to Crafts Magazine, Ltd., after the Administration) from its online catalogue. And because it is suspected that several of these sold and published designs were in the production pipeline for Yarnwise (formerly Knit) when ACM was put into Administration, and not forwarded to Tailor Made, which purchased Yarnwise and the content in the pipeline for publication, that Tailor Made may now have to devote time and resources to investigating and determining if there is any action they should pursue.

This week subscribers to Modern Quilting (CM publication) received the following email:

1^st February 2013

Dear Subscriber

Modern Quilting Magazine

It is with regret I have to inform you that on 10thDecember 2012 Craft Magazines Ltd ceased trading as we had insufficient funds to pay our bills or to carry on trading.

We wrote to all our trade creditors giving them 30 days to accept the situation or to petition the courts to force us into liquidation at their own cost, which has not happened.

We have during this period been actively trying to get another publisher to take over the magazine, but as yet no one as been prepared to do this, although we will continue to try and find someone.

If anyone would be interested in taking over Modern Quilting Magazine or wishes to contact me please do so at the above address, as we have ceased trading this email address is not monitored on a regular basis.

Kind Regards

Richard Rycroft

Director
Craft Magazines Ltd
Simply Sewing, Modern Quilting, Simply Beautiful

Interesting, Simply Sewing (formerly Sew Hip) announced in October that it was only publishing digitally. One edition of Simply Sewing was published digitally. No paper copies or refunds to subscribers—despite emails and phone calls to CM Ltd.—was ever supplied to subscribers, let alone a reply to their queries. Modern Quilting’s Christmas Edition was last seen on the shelves on November 3, 2012. Simply Beautiful has tweeted this week that it is not owned by CM Ltd., will publish quarterly, has gone to press, and copies will be with subscribers and contributors next week.

I suggest that it is interesting that the signature on the email letter was not modified to reflect that only Modern Quilting remains as a magazine in CM Ltd.’s stable.

For more history of all the companies and management involved, Click and for a detailed update of current developments Click; if you are a member of Ravelry, please Click.

The journey that was started on almost a year ago has no foreseeable end. Events are, as they have always been, not in our hands. But our community continues its mission to discover and ensure the verifiable facts see the light of day and to continue to give support to all those so terribly affected by the actions of these companies and their management.