MAKING WITH PRIDE

Crafting and activism rarely cross paths, but Mister Domestic makes it look easy. He shares how he flies the flag for LGBTQIA+ rights through craft

- Sophie Brown

Pride month is celebrated in June every year, marking the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots. While businesses colour in their logos with rainbows and Pride posts start to fill our Instagram feeds, it's prime time to think about our own communities - what it's like to be part of them as an LGBTQIA+ person and how we can be the best allies we can.

What does inclusion and diversity really look like in the craft world? There's no better person to answer than Mathew Boudreaux, better known as Mister Domestic.

Mathew calls himself a 'polycraftual maker', meaning there's no craft he can't turn his hand to - from quilting to crochet, Mathew's craft skills know no bounds. The thing that sets him apart from the rest is his loud and proud personality.

A firm anti-racist and avid LGBTQIA+ rights activist, equality is at the heart of everything Mister Domestic does.

Mathew's mission is to spread joy and positivity through crafting, despite having difficult early experiences of crafting himself. Mathew grew up in Texas and says that his parent's antiquated gender expectations got in the way of his desire to sew at a young age. "My mom had an epic craft room filled with fabric and beads and all things crafty, and I would often sit in there with her and do my own thing," he explains. "But if I ever enquired about wanting to join in or learn something crafty, I was told that boys don't do that and punished for asking.

"It wasn't until I finally moved to the West Coast in my early 30s that I learned that there were actually places where I would be accepted as I was and could flourish."