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Learn about the science behind our Craftcare Workshops.

What makes
us different?

We applied the latest neuroplasticity and behavior change research to develop Craftcare Workshops.

A strong crafting exercise can literally rewire your brain.

After eight weeks of crafting with no prior experience, participants in a clinical study saw improvement in at least one cognitive area:

  • Fine-motor speed
  • Short term and long term memory
  • Attention
  • Verbal recall
black and white image of Dr. Danielle Ramo

Meet Dr. Danielle Ramo

Clinical Psychologist and CraftJam Advisor

Dr. Danielle Ramo is a clinical psychologist and research leader in mental health and wellbeing in the digital age.

She works at the cross-section of product design and research. She infuses science-backed principles into mental health products and leads evaluations of behavior change technology.

Dr. Ramo has designed the Five Elements of Craftcare training materials and pre- and post-workshop assessment surveys to help increase and track the wellbeing and performance of Craftcare Workshop attendees.

Craftcare Workshops are built on the three foundational pillars of happiness:


Purpose

pur·pose

A sense of purpose is an intention to do something in the world. Having a strong sense of purpose serves as a source of protection in the face of stress and challenge.

Crafting promotes purpose through creation, which is self-expression. It encourages generosity in the form of gift-giving.

pur·pose

A sense of purpose is an intention to do something in the world. Having a strong sense of purpose serves as a source of protection in the face of stress and challenge.

Crafting promotes purpose through creation, which is self-expression. It encourages generosity in the form of gift-giving.
Connection

con·​nec·​tion

Social connection is more important than ever, especially after long stretches of COVID-related isolation and solitude. The social part of CraftJam’s Craftcare Workshops are inherently fostering connection. We foster relationships among attendees during the event and encourage to connect afterwards. Crafting can be a literal way to make new friends.

con·​nec·​tion

Social connection is more important than ever, especially after long stretches of COVID-related isolation and solitude. The social part of CraftJam’s Craftcare Workshops are inherently fostering connection. We foster relationships among attendees during the event and encourage to connect afterwards. Crafting can be a literal way to make new friends.
Control

con·​trol

A sense of control in life, a learned, generalized belief that one can and does master and shape one’s own life, is protective against depression and anxiety, especially in times of stress and change. People with a high sense of control weather challenges better than those who feel powerless. Crafting exercise can help develop a sense of control by creating unique and personal pieces and finishing with an actual physical result.

con·​trol

A sense of control in life, a learned, generalized belief that one can and does master and shape one’s own life, is protective against depression and anxiety, especially in times of stress and change. People with a high sense of control weather challenges better than those who feel powerless. Crafting exercise can help develop a sense of control by creating unique and personal pieces and finishing with an actual physical result.

And incorporate the practices of:


Mindfulness

mind·ful·ness

Our Craftcare Workshops have the power of being mindful experiences. We ask attendees to be intentional at the beginning of each event.

mind·ful·ness

Our Craftcare Workshops have the power of being mindful experiences. We ask attendees to be intentional at the beginning of each event.
Ritual

rit·​u·​al

Rituals are helping us be our best selves and achieve our goals. Rituals are grounding and allow us to connect to mindfulness and control. And crafting can be ritualistic (as most of us know!)

We can connect crafting to ritualistic events like holidays, or birthdays or team gatherings.

rit·​u·​al

Rituals are helping us be our best selves and achieve our goals. Rituals are grounding and allow us to connect to mindfulness and control. And crafting can be ritualistic (as most of us know!)

We can connect crafting to ritualistic events like holidays, or birthdays or team gatherings.

Regularly Exercising the Five Elements of Craftcare
Can Improve Your Mental Health

The design of our Craftcare Workshops is based on scientific evidence to help you perform better. 

Psychology Today: Drawing on the Effort-Driven Rewards Circuit. Decreasing depression may literally be in your hands.

A number of small studies claim that art therapy reduces depression through helping people with mood disorders resolve emotional problems and release repressed feelings.

Journal of Clinical Ontology: Knitting to improve cognition and reduce stress in cancer survivors: A pilot study.

Clinically significant improvement of psychomotor speed (+19%), delayed memory (+38%), attention (+25%), immediate memory (+38%), verbal fluency (+19%).

The Guardian: How embroidery therapy helped first world war veterans find a common thread.

[…] the men could perform meditative, transformative work that was essential to their rehabilitation from their physical and mental wounds. […] Embroidery was widely used as a form of therapy for British, Australian and New Zealand soldiers wounded in the war. […] Another study has shown that embroidery and sewing can allow individuals to work through mental trauma associated with war.

Paper: Neuroplasticity and Implications for Mental Health

One study amongst many that finally caused a paradigm shift was conducted on four Swedish men dying of cancer. In the last days of their lives they learned a new skill; knitting. Post-mortem examination revealed that a brand new neural network had developed in their brains. The study proved that new neural networks can form in the brain through to the very last breath (for an overview of pioneering studies on neuroplasticity, see Doidge, 2010).

Blog post: This is Your Brain on Crafts

Learning a new skill increases the amount of myelin being produced in our brain, which is the key to forming new brain connections.

BBC: The ‘flow state’: Where creative work thrives

The nature of creative work promotes a specific type of flow state “unclear goals, uncertain feedback, the possibility of surprise, and rapid meaning-making are cognitive properties of creative flow along with properties shared with other flow domains: taking place in a reality outside the everyday, effortless attention, action and awareness merged, balance between skill and challenge, time distortion, spontaneity, non-distractibility and no self-consciousness or personal fears.”

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