My column on the rise of the craft economy, “Handmade is the new black,” ran in USA Today this morning. We have grown accustomed to having high-quality, reasonably priced goods available whenever we want them. So now, increasingly, we want to make our world special. Buying truly one-of-a-kind handmade items is a way to do that. It is, on some ways, simply a redirected consumerism, but since that impulse gives American artists a real chance to make a living, I think that trend is worth cheering. So please check the column out!