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Carver County Libraries have added a colorful new tool to its growing collection of digital resources: Craft & Hobby, a free, on-demand platform offering over a thousand creative classes, livestream sessions, project guides and creative challenges. All you need to access it is a Carver County library card and PIN.
Launched in November and made available through the Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA), Craft & Hobby is designed for all ages and experience levels. Users can stream video classes anytime, join live sessions and explore project prompts, challenges, and printable guides from home. The platform is divided into two main sections: Crafts and Hobbies.
The Crafts section includes more than 1,200 videos on topics such as painting, drawing, sewing, crochet, knitting and quilting. The Hobbies section features more than 500 videos covering cake design, photography, woodworking and fitness, including yoga, dance, and recipe content. New livestreams are added regularly, with many sessions tied to holidays and seasonal themes.
“Everyone in the metro rolled it out this fall and at our last meeting of the MELSA team, people seemed very pleased with the response,” said Patrick Jones, a Carver County Library branch manager.
In his overview of the new service, Jones highlighted several key features of Craft & Hobby:
- It has over 4,000 hours of content covering 20 crafts and hobbies.
- There are classes to serve many interests, from quilting and knitting to woodworking and fitness.
- All content is family safe and accessible for all ages.
- With classes from beginner to advanced, the database serves makers just getting started as well as those who have been making it for years.
- Experienced instructors and leading experts in their craft genres have been carefully selected to produce top-quality classes and step-by-step tutorials.
The timing reflects a broader trend: since the pandemic, interest in creative hobbies has spiked, especially among adults. According to a 2022 CivicScience survey, 64 percent of U.S. adults reported picking up a new hobby within the past year. Studies have also shown that creative activities can reduce stress, boost cognitive function and improve overall mental health.
Craft & Hobby aims to make those benefits more accessible by removing cost and access barriers. Whether someone is trying a new hobby for the first time or returning to a craft they haven’t touched in years, the platform offers a way to learn at their own pace.
To try Craft & Hobby, visit https://tinyurl.com/CCLCandH, sign in with your Carver County Library card and PIN, and start exploring from home.
