What is Needlebound?
Needlebound is a fibre arts publication I started to hold space for writing that reflects the slowness, tension, and complexity of making things by hand. It brings together experimental essays, visual work, and reflections that explore the contradictory experience of crafting something slowly in an attention economy built to reward speed.
Why did you start it?
I kept looking for a publication that felt true to the kinds of exchanges I was having online— about process, materials, the tenderness of making something slowly. Most of what I found felt either too polished or too academic. I wanted to take the texture of online fiber conversations (Instagram comments, voice notes from a friend, Close Friends stories) and give them a format that didn’t rush or flatten their nuance.
Who or what inspired you?
Needlebound was shaped by publications that treat the internet as something tender and mutable. Are.na Annual felt like holding a digital rabbit hole in your hands. Press & Fold Magazine showed how you can approach craft with a curatorial eye and still keep it approachable. Both reminded me that publishing can be rigorous without being rigid which is the balance I wanted to strike with Needlebound.
Pre-order Needlebound Volume Two or learn more about Hayley through her website, Instagram and Are.na.