I grew up in central Massachusetts in an area of old textile mill towns. Both my parents made things: my mom sewed a lot of her own clothes as well as clothes for four kids, and my dad made furniture. They were both very skilled—nothing ever looked homemade—and while they took pride in their work, they never considered themselves craftspeople or artists. They had careers (my dad was an engineer, my mom an educator with two masters degrees), but having grown up during the depression, they, like others of their generation, did not spend money if they could help it! When you needed something, you made it yourself.