The archaic engines of the Arts & Crafts Movement are once again revving. The return-to-roots mentality has been hypothesized in the art world as being a result of global economic change and a building momentum toward self-sustainment. Tough times spark creative solutions. The craft industry is all too ready to assist modern day crafters in the search for their silver lining.

A 2011 report from the Craft & Hobby Association says 56 percent of Americans pushed consumer craft spending to a new plateau of $29 billion in 2010. Woodworking, drawing, food crafting, jewelry making and scrapbooking accounted for the highest sales sectors.

The rebirth of the arts and crafts industry sheds new light on America’s past. Once upon a time, the 20th century craft equation – design schools, international craft fairs, lectures and writings – sprung inseparably united with the women’s suffrage movement. Careers in arts and crafts also allowed women otherwise resigned to a life of domesticity a chance at reputable employment. The complexity of the bond between women and crafts continues to deepen with the passing years.

Quilter AnneMarie of Gen X Quilters believes the arts and crafts movement took a back burner once opportunities for family and career entered the picture for women. “Mothers were managing full-time careers and families. There may have been little time to teach and pass on crafts such as sewing,” she said. Many women in the mid-20th century also likely refrained from arts and crafts just to avoid past stereotypes; a trend that is steadily being chipped away by the freedom women now have to choose their own course.

The shift from consumer to craft manufacturer is not limited to females. Craft magazine senior editor Natalie Zee Drieu has noticed a good percentage of the 80,000 crafters attending San Francisco’s annual Maker Faire are now male. Etsy.com, the prime platform for selling crafts, has also noted a rise in male crafters who tend to delve into woodwork, leatherwork, painting, fine arts and design crafts.

Men and crafts are not as incompatible as they may seem. The sewing and knitting skills of soldiers have been called upon in times of war as often as “rough-hewn” skills. The Internet has helped to wrangle in modern-day crafters and as it turns out, male crafters have been scratching against the same stereotypes as females only from the outside in. Men want to explore their creative sides, and the current economy has given many men the encouragement they need to break through.

Still, what does crafting offer that other small businesses don’t?

AnneMarie has an idea. “Everything in today’s society is so digital, impersonal and automated,” she said. “Rediscovering hobbies such as sewing puts raw materials in our hands and gives us the freedom to create” from the inside out. Life is not, after all, about finding yourself but creating yourself.

For a show about modern art, watch “Destination Art” Sundays at 9pm ET on Halogen TV.