Every other Wednesday night, the clack of knitting needles melds with the hum of conversation at the Cherrywood Coffeehouse as people unleash their creativity at Queer Craft Night.Ashley Vacek and Bernadette Gasper started Queer Craft Night in August as a place for queer people to foster a sense of larger community while enjoying a common interest. Since the summer, craft nights have evolved from 15-people gatherings to over 60 populating the Austin coffee shop.
Gasper and Vacek met through mutual friends and at one event struck up a conversation about “gay audacity.” Gasper joked that her queer audacity was wanting to master every creative skill. From there, the pair realized they wanted to share their love of creating with others. “It has brought a broader sense of belonging within the queer community,” Gasper says. “It just continually challenges me to interact with new people. … It has allowed me to expand and grow as a person.”The laid-back environment of craft night allows people to meet new people outside of their tight-knit friend groups in a more casual way, Gasper says. One attendee met their partner at craft night in a “really organic way,” she says.
Vacek, a self-proclaimed introvert, says she clings to friends at social events, but doesn’t feel the same exhaustion after craft nights. She runs an embroidery shop in her free time, where she sometimes burns out. Queer craft night helps her “reignite the spark” of crafting.
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