“Creating is a visceral need”

What place do creative hobbies occupy in the occupations of the French?

It’s quite spectacular. In the 1970s, the Do it yourself (“Do it yourself”) existed, but in the form of a counter-culture, reserved for a rather old audience. Today, we can speak of a total social fact, because it appeals to the preado.

This craze has been amplified by certain parameters: societal advances which allow us to conquer more and more free time to devote themselves to it, but also more paradoxical things like social networks, because they push to exchange tips of DIY or repair which bypass the traditional ways and have gradually stimulated creativity … without forgetting that in front, a real business was born!

What are the reasons for this craze?

Creating is a visceral need. Today, he is exacerbated by an increasingly abstract society, where we spend our time turned towards digital and talking about artificial intelligence. Creative leisure, real and personal participation in the world, are a form of antidote! For older people, they have the appeal of nostalgia.

And they allow the youngest to express their ecological, political, economic motivations … everyone finds a little freedom: I want to eat better? I just have to cook. I do not agree with the way clothes are made? I will do them myself.

The rise of creative hobbies has wider consequences, according to you …

Yes, he introduces new ways of doing, learning, talking about these universes, which can participate in the revaluation of certain professional paths. I am thinking, for example, of the Atelier des Chefs, which allows senior executives or young graduates to pass various CAP around “Mains de la Main”. The approach is today a phenomenal success.