Internet sensation Sam Reece is no stranger to the entertainment industry. She’s worked on and off screen for many networks and agencies as a writer, actor, director, producer and copywriter. Recently, she was a writer for Comedy Central’s Stir Crazy with Josh Horowitz and a co-writer for an Amber Tamblyn pilot presentation featuring Amy Schumer. A comedian in-person and on the page, she performs with her best friend Becky Chicoine as the duo Girls With Brown Hair.
As if that wasn’t enough shoes to fill, she also recently published her debut crafts book “The Shitty Craft Club” inspired by her TikTok account of the same name which has over 100K followers. Unlike most arts and crafts books that teach readers step by step how to accomplish the perfect masterpiece, Reece’s crafts do the opposite and have readers focus on embracing imperfectionism. In her book, she writes that she finds perfectionism to be a “meaningless and mythical goal that we can never reach.”
Her inner thoughts about the creative process shine through in her book with monologues that will have readers laughing from the first page. When asked what she hopes readers will take away from her debut, she invites her readers to enjoy the process and have the space and time to be creative. “Making something with your own hands is so fun and satisfying and it doesn’t need to be serious!!! Get weird and silly with it.”
In the book’s introduction, Reece discusses how in the midst of her creativity burn-out, she emailed some friends and dragged a very large suitcase filled with craft supplies to an event space where they listened to music and glued beads to sunglasses for hours. She writes about how that night was not only fun, but also “served as a deeply helpful reminder that art can never be perfect so you might as well have the best dang time making it.”
To embody what she calls an “in-craftersation,” Reece wanted her book tour to be centered around creativity and community. Teaming up with Le Puzz Puzzles, Reece hosted her Brooklyn event in Le Puzz’s studio warehouse in Bushwick. Tables were littered with different types of craft supplies from beads to Scrabble letters. Attendees were invited to make their own craft inspired by abstract sculptures using a piece of cardboard. The Shitty Craft Club x Le Puzz-a-palooza took the concept of a book tour to the next level by making it an interactive event filled with polaroids, new friends and creativity. Making something for fun and for yourself is something Reece hopes attendees take away from the event and her book as she emphasizes that “whatever you make is perfect because you made it.”