>> When did making it yourself turn into a luxury, and buying it cheap from the bigbox store the more economical option!? <<
When automation and economy of scale made it cheap to produce sort-of-okay things, and later, as companies outsourced manufacture to places with cheap labor.
Another factor is stagnating or falling wages while cost of living skyrockets, certain things like food and housing rise even faster, and new demands like internet and paid TV get added to monthly bills. The result is people trying to do more with less, so they often can't afford to buy what they want or need.
However, folks with a homestead or even just a yard may be able to produce some of their own craft materials. If you're into flower arranging, you can grow your own. If you want to grow dye plants, it's no harder than gardening anything else. If you want to tie flies, you can fit chickens in a small space and use their feathers. Willows and dogwoods can be small bushes and make great craft materials for wreaths, basketmaking, etc.
Well ...
When automation and economy of scale made it cheap to produce sort-of-okay things, and later, as companies outsourced manufacture to places with cheap labor.
Another factor is stagnating or falling wages while cost of living skyrockets, certain things like food and housing rise even faster, and new demands like internet and paid TV get added to monthly bills. The result is people trying to do more with less, so they often can't afford to buy what they want or need.
However, folks with a homestead or even just a yard may be able to produce some of their own craft materials. If you're into flower arranging, you can grow your own. If you want to grow dye plants, it's no harder than gardening anything else. If you want to tie flies, you can fit chickens in a small space and use their feathers. Willows and dogwoods can be small bushes and make great craft materials for wreaths, basketmaking, etc.