More than a little punk amid purl

Kraftbomb organiser Karla Hansen. Photo / Babiche Martens.

Update on the deep dark underworld of craft, from this week's Kraftbomb market: knitted tampon brooches are no more, but doll's head pins are in. Ferrit's cushioned Halloween skull jewellery has made way for cotton-print crucifixes. If you, like Courtney Love and Christina Aguilera, already have one of Trixie Delicious' curses written cursively on a vintage plate, you'll be pleased to know that the creator of curdled calligraphy is now dabbling in poisons. She has a copperplate "cyanide" at the bottom of a pretty porcelain bowl, a delicate dish marked "hemlock", and takes commissions to spell out the seven deadly sins on side plates.

For those whose stomachs are a little less robust, Bronwyn Mason of RW Scissors watches British crime shows and horror movies while laboriously punching confetti of tiny jigsaw pieces from old children's books, one confetto at a time. Hannah Coombes of Ethel and Harriet makes candles in tea cups; Ellie Lim, of the Women's Centre "crafty goodness" circle, makes felt notebook covers that double as tic tac toe boards.

Old maps float around, still "upcycled" as jewellery and fridge magnets. City Dawn sells knitted icecream cones that her Mum makes - people usually buy them for children, but Dawn once saw an advertising-type guy in his late 30s at the K Rd lights wearing one on his jacket.

All in all, it's enough to make you double-check you don't leave home without your rubber undies - your Luxford St rubber undies coin purse, that is.

Yes, the subversive, perverse reverse of traditional crafts from conventional and conservative to edgy and tongue-in-cheek continues, both at Kraftbomb and other markets such as Cassette No 9, Crafternoon Tea, the Society of Brilliant Ideas and the Auckland Art and Craft Fair. It's punk as well as purl. Homecraft made witchcraft. It turns out arsenic livens up old lace.

And even the Nanas are pleased - the "I've got knits" badge is proving as popular with the original sewing bee set as it is with the stitch'n'bitch girls.

Young crafters are often shy and retiring creatures. Not so long ago, they could be quite embarrassed about their old-fashioned hobbies - but now some are worried they're not cool enough to keep up with the wool school full of up-to-the-minute uber-indie kids.

Kraftbomb organisers Karla Hansen and City Dawn met as tattoo artist and client, and took a while to admit to each other they were both closet crafters. Lucky they did - Kraftbomb started over two years ago in a small room at the Grey Lynn Community Centre, and now the centre's main hall is bursting at the seams with more than 40 stallholders. Hansen and her husband make "geek freek" plush toys (including, ahem, turds) and you'd never eat their cloth fairy bread and sausage rolls - their smiles are so trusting! Cupcake queen Dawn bakes actual edible food that also looks too good to eat - but tastes even better.

Hansen has now tattooed a cupcake of rainbows and sparkles on Dawn's back. Reciprocally, Dawn's stitch'd ink patterns swap the tattoo needle for an embroidery one with daggers'n'hearts and topless pin-up girls to cross-stitch.

There are a number of craft markets this month, including a Christmas Kraftbomb on December 19. And what could be more appropriate than giving one's boss or ex-lover a gorgeous vintage plate, sporting an italicised "w**ker"?

Auckland Art & Craft Fair: Aotea Centre, December 11

Crafternoon Tea: Trinity Methodist Church Hall, Kingsland, December 18

Kraftbomb: Grey Lynn Community Centre, December 19