Members of the Sacramento Craft Mafia are armed and dangerously intent on making one-of-a-kind merchandise you’ll find hard to refuse.
Wielding the weapons of their crafts, from knitting needles to glue guns, members recently met under cover of darkness on the back patio of the Coffee Garden in Curtis Park to share techniques and cupcakes, and plan some upcoming sales events.
Amy Cluck, founding crafter of the group, called the meeting to order by pounding a gavel, ingeniously created by another member using mini-flower pots and empty thread spools.
“We decided at the last meeting we’re going to use parliamentary procedure,” Cluck explained as she called the group to order.
The group, which has about 20 active members – all women – and just celebrated its first anniversary, is part of a much larger do-it-yourself movement that brings an indie-alternative vibe to crafting.
Some of the techniques and implements being used here would be familiar to your grandmother, but there are no blue-hairs tatting antimacassars in this group. Instead, there are a few tattoos and some hot-fuchsia and goth-black coifs among the group of crafters, mostly in their 20s and 30s. Some have day jobs and some are stay-at-home moms; they all have crafting in common.
The crafts they create are edgy variations on tradition, including earrings made from guitar picks; coasters adorned with the image of Lizzie Borden on one side, her trusty ax on the other; necklaces made from buttons; baby clothes adorned with whimsical appliqués; and handmade coffee-cup cuffs.
“We’re big on googly eyes and glitter,” says Cluck, 29, who lives in Carmichael.
The Sacramento Craft Mafia arose in an utterly modern way – an Internet-enabled cultural phenomenon that transformed a virtual community into a group that meets face-to-face and hosts events in the real world.

sacbee.com