SCOTTSDALE — When Kim Christiansen began regularly attending local craft shows this year as part of her new job, she was surprised by a trend she noticed among the many vendors of handmade goods.
“I’ll ask them, ‘Are you LDS?’ and at least 50 percent of the time — at least in Arizona — they are,” said Christiansen, who is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons.
Christiansen, 57, works for the Pinners Conference and Expo, a Pinterest-inspired event that came to Arizona for the first time in October after three years of drawing “do-it-yourself” crowds in Utah. As the event’s only vendor recruiter in Arizona, Christiansen helps invite local businesses to sell their wares and online personalities to lead DIY and lifestyle workshops.
Roxanne Bennett of Bennett Events, the Utah-based company behind Pinners, said they estimate 9,700 people attended the expo.
Bennett is also Mormon, and she agrees with Christiansen.
“A lot of times, the LDS community does participate in DIY,” she said, adding that her faith’s emphasis on the importance of learning is a big reason why she started Pinners.
It’s an interesting phenomenon: Mormon community members’ newspapers and blogs have sought to explain the group’s collective love of Pinterest. Search the DIY site and one can quickly find a flood of LDS-related pins, ranging from inspirational memes curated from the Mormon Church’s October 2016 General Conference, to pages upon pages of craft ideas for church-wide women’s events called Super Saturdays. The LDS Church, based in Salt Lake City, has official Pinterest and Instagram profiles. And don’t forget Etsy, where Mormon-themed goods include handmade scripture cases and LDS temple prints.
Cronkite News visited the Arizona Pinners Conference to ask several Mormon vendors why their faith often aligns with the DIY movement.
Ty Bowman
- Lifetime Leather Co., Queen Creek, in business since 2013.
Short on cash, Bowman was looking for creative Christmas gift ideas for his family and friends in 2011 when he happened upon an abandoned leather couch. He remembered the talent for leather-working he had developed while in the Boy Scouts.
“I got this idea: ‘I bet I could make stuff with that,’ ” Bowman said. And make stuff he did, gradually amassing orders, more sophisticated tools and newer leather along the way. Less than 12 months after officially becoming a company, the venture pulled in $1 million in sales.
Though the success was sudden, Bowman said his Mormon upbringing helped prepare him for the opportunity.
“The Church trains you to be entrepreneurial,” he said, adding that LDS Sunday School programs are structured to instill a lack of fear in children at a young age. He also mentioned LDS teachings that encourage self-reliance, such as keeping several months’ supply of food and water on hand in case of emergency. He’s noticed these and other teachings make Mormons “people who like to do things.”
“So Pinterest fits really well,” Bowman said. “They’re always wanting to craft, wanting to make stuff.”
Kim Jackson
- Jaxn Blvd, Mesa, in business since 2012.
Jackson, whose hand-crafted signs sell nationwide, said her business can be a form of ministry.
She started her handmade sign business by accident after she created a sign for her sister as a Christmas gift.
“I started doing them at church functions with neighbors and then ventured out into my first boutique, called Junk in the Trunk Vintage Market,” Jackson said. “From there, it exploded.”
Jaxn Blvd now occupies a 4,000-square-foot warehouse and has 20 designs featured in Hobby Lobby stores nationwide.
“I’ve been able to share a lot of words from the LDS community, from prophets and teachers throughout our church, and I’ve been able to put them on wood and share them with the world,” Jackson said.
Hobby Lobby carries one of her signs featuring words inspired by LDS Elder Daniel P. Hall, who gave a talk about the importance of the home.
“I often refer to myself as a ‘mompreneur.’” someone who can have a successful company but also be home with the kids, Jackson said.
Brandy Reed
- The Polka Dotted Girl, Gilbert, in business since 2014.
Being a stay-at-home mom is integral to Brandy Reed’s beliefs, but her DIY business also allows her to be a breadwinner.
Reed runs The Polka Dotted Girl out of her 1,600-square-foot home, where she lives with her husband and three children. She sells handmade home decor and DIY kits, travels around the Valley teaching crafting classes and strives to make her home a haven for her children.
Reed remembers honing her love of crafting with her mother at women’s group gatherings sponsored by the church when she was growing up. The gatherings showcase the heritage of LDS women who bond through crafts, from scrapbooking to today’s DIY projects.
“I love that I can make an income and be home, and I think that is why so many LDS women learn to be independent and make an income in that way,” Reed said.
