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Tufting is booming, no, this is not just a TikTok trend. Metropolis talked to artists and designers who helped promote the technology, as well as some people who accepted the technology during the quarantine.

Like perfect sourdough bread, some people may have noticed the influx of handmade carpets on social media last year. As a way to use the restless energy of isolation to learn new skills, artists and designers around the world have always tended to the emotional and political role of craftsmanship. For many people, embracing and sharing this process is just as valuable as the result. This is where tufting comes in.

Although some people attribute the proliferation of furry graphic carpets to the popularity of the weird and satisfying TikTok videos documenting their creations, carpet tufting is by no means a new process-after all, humans have been in the process since the fourth century BC Making carpets, while colored yarns are injected into the fabric at high speeds is definitely a fascinating view, the reason behind the revival is more about access than aesthetics. Until recently, consumers have been able to obtain a common carpet industry tool: a handheld electric tufting machine (also known as a tufting gun). For this, you can thank Tim Eads, an artist and educator in Philadelphia.

Before he came into contact with tufting, Eads was a professional screen printer for 25 years and stumbled upon this technology when he was in the business of hand-printed handbags. When one of his assistants introduced the machine to him, he said: "I was immediately attracted by it, and I found [the machine] on the Internet and bought it." He posted a picture on his company's Instagram Pictures and received a lot of questions from followers who want to know how to do and where to buy equipment. After that, he said, "It quickly took over my life."

Eads is one of the first companies to bridge the gap between manufacturing and consumers. In 2018, he found a supplier of this machine, and soon opened his own store, and is now a leading supplier of tufting tools and materials. He and his 10-person team had a period of booking support, partly because of "a global shortage due to COVID-19". It is undeniable that TikTok's popularity has something to do with it. In November of last year, the number of machines they sold was more than twice that of the entire year of 2019. "This is crazy," he said. "The sales in January 2021 are 600% higher than the month in January 2020." These machines are not cheap, with an average price of about US$300 to US$800, and they are not This includes the frame, yarn, fabric, or adhesive needed to complete a work.

But why now, machine tufting has existed since at least the 1930s? Eads points to a relatively small learning curve: Compared with other craft-based practices, the results are almost instantaneous. "For people who have never touched the machine, if they use the right tools and materials, they can pick it up at the end of the 6-hour workshop and have a 24 x 24 inch tufted sheet."

Eads admits that, of course, he did not invent processes or machines. He points to his contemporaries who have been working in the media since the launch of his website. One of them is Trish Andersen Savannah, a Georgian artist and designer. Coincidentally, he is from Dalton, Georgia, where he invented the first mechanized tufting machine. Colloquially known as the "Carpet Capital of the World", Dalton has more than 150 carpet factories and many American flooring manufacturers, including Shaw Industries, Mohawk and Dixie Group.

Savannah College of Art and Design fiber alum Andersen explained that when she first started working, there was no information there. Her first gun was in a zero-command box, with few YouTube tutorials. "Tim started that website and changed the rules of the game," she said.

Although the handheld tufting machine originated in the carpet industry, many manufacturers today use it to make works for walls instead of floors. When Andersen made a runner for her home that looked like paint dripping from the stairs, the picture "completely went viral", and soon her inbox was filled with requests for quotations for carpets. "My fiance and I are just repairing our apartment, and I only do it for it. I don't even make carpets," she said with a smile. On the contrary, her large-scale expressionist wall works are sought after by residential and commercial spaces because of the quality of her paintings.

She said that compared with other textile processes such as weaving or knitting, “to me, tufting is more like painting. You can jump around on the canvas, play with your colors, and take your work as a whole. It's not moving line by line." This energy is evident in her 2019 design for Miami, which includes high-fuzzy textured wall hangings and mirrors that resemble swirls of mixed paint.

Artist Caroline Kaufman also sees her practice as a combination of fiber and painting. The fashion design graduate of Pratt Institute is no stranger to commercial commissions. She started tufting in 2018 and has since completed work for companies such as Google, WeWork and Brooklyn’s new Ace Hotel, including her 25 asymmetric works Decorated the walls of the rooms.

However, just like any other popular design techniques or aesthetics, issues such as theft and copyright infringement seem to be inevitable, as individuals and large companies are hovering between inspiration and imitation. Eads discovered that people were using tufting machines to remake anything in the yarn, from logos to cartoon characters, and he sometimes had to remind them that they "should not touch copyrighted things."

"In terms of people accepting your ideas or copying your exact work, I think it happens in the art of all media, but social media will definitely amplify it," Kaufman added. "Sometimes I feel very fragile to share before things are done, because I saw [copy] of my work suddenly appear in certain places the next day." Imitation comes with the territory, and ultimately the positive is greater than the negative, she said, " In fiber, there is a rich mentality. There must be, because these practices predate all of us."

In fact, when it comes to craftsmanship and trade secrets, Tufts are basically open and willing to share what they have learned and what they are working on. Andersen said: "I value the community rather than competition, and I think it's cool to see this community happening so quickly around a tool."

As demand grew, Eads even established an online forum called Tuft the World for professionals and newcomers to meet, chat, exchange insights and share their work. He said that the community currently has approximately 3,500 members, and has recently averaged about 100 new members every day.

For many people, tufting is a respite from the anxiety associated with COVID, the endless news cycle, and the ever-increasing screen time. Some people use it as a means to resist the attention economy, while others view its meditative qualities as a form of self-care. Although this process is easy to gain likes and audiences, it cannot be done when dealing with multiple tasks at the same time. In other words, Andersen said, "You can't do it with your phone." Perhaps this is why so many people want to try to make carpets for themselves, even though things that many people consider to be "hobbies" cost a lot. Andersen concluded: "You have to really concentrate to make it work. There are some very powerful things in it."

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