Given my love of crafting and TV, you'd think craft-themed TV shows would be like nirvana for me. And they would be, if they didn't all suck. In fact, the only craft-related TV show that was ever any good was the
Style Network's
Craft Corner Death Match and that was only because of the over-the-top hosting skills of Jason Jones (now of
The Daily Show).
HGTV's
That's Clever (formerly Crafters Coast to Coast) is usually pretty painful to watch, simply because the featured crafters are good at their craft, but not very good as TV show hosts. The
DIY Network's
Craft Lab,
Uncommon Threads and
Creative Juice are hit or miss (mostly miss).
And don't even get me started on
Knitty Gritty. It hurts my heart that the only knitting show on TV (Knit One, Purl Two isn't a show, it's a fun fur nightmare) has a sticky sweet Rachel Ray-type host who isn't actually a particularly talented knitter and seems to think it's ok to name
yarns things like "rock" and "love". Earth to
Vickie: That's cool if you're 13, not 30-plus.
And no, I'm not even going near the
Carol Duvall Show or
Simply Quilts. If you have to ask why, this is because you haven't seen them.
Enter
She's Crafty, a new show that premiers tonight (10.1.07) on HGTV. The host is
Wendy Russell, an actress and founding member of the
Vancouver Craft Mafia. A host with craft skills
and broadcast experience? Be still my beating heart...
According to the HGTV website, in the first episode:
Host Wendy Russell serves up stylish, crafty designs for the budget-conscious: a gorgeous take on impressionistic art, a cheese plate and place settings with attitude, and an adorable birdhouse made from recycled books. Join Wendy and special guest Danny Seo, one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People, in this episode filled with fun and eco friendly ideas.
Here's hoping that this will be a craft show worthy of my
TiVo...
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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)
So did you see it? How was it?
ReplyI agree with most of what you've said here... but in spirit, not necessarily in detail. For instance, I think the problem with Knitty Gritty is how the production staff leaps after trends, so there have been sooooooo many beginner-rated fun-fur-nightmare episodes. There are also some really great episodes full of useful technical information, but not enough of them.
Craft Lab has some of the best craft segments ever shown on that network, but not a ton of them. (I wonder if they moved to the "cluttered studio" setup, with the extra crafters in the background, because Jen was having a hard time both hosting the show and trying to do the project along with the guest? I liked the version with the "clean and open studio" better.)
B. Original is one I find interesting, because I should like it (Michelle is very hard-core with the major power tools)... yet I just can't get into it. I think the finished products don't usually look like anything I'd bother to make.
But the show on DIY Network that I find most painful to watch is Stylelicious, because all of the hosts are *so visibly uncomfortable* on camera. All of them are cool crafters on their own, but that doesn't necessarily make for good TV hosting.