HobbyMaker

About HobbyMaker

Overview

HobbyMaker is a British craft and hobby shopping television channel broadcasting live demonstrations, inspiration and shopping for papercraft, mixed media, needlecraft and other creative pursuits. Launched in 2022, it has grown rapidly into one of the UK's leading dedicated craft channels, broadcasting 24 hours a day free-to-air on Freeview channel 73 and on Virgin Media. The channel is a sister channel to Jewellery Maker within Immediate Media's craft and arts television portfolio, and it partners with leading designers, brands and demonstrators from the crafting world to showcase products with expert tuition.

The channel's proposition combines shopping with learning: its live shows feature informative and inspirational demonstrations in which expert crafters show viewers how to use the products on sale, covering techniques from card making and stamping to watercolouring, mixed media and needlecraft. This demonstration-led format has made it a destination for Britain's large crafting community as well as newcomers discovering papercraft for the first time.

Launch in 2022

HobbyMaker started in 2022, established to serve the booming home-crafting market with a dedicated television channel. It was developed in partnership with leading industry experts in the crafting world, and from its earliest shows it positioned itself as the premiere destination for papercraft creativity on British television.

The channel's launch came as crafting enjoyed a surge in popularity, with home-based creative hobbies growing strongly. Its 24-hour free-to-air availability on Freeview gave it immediate national reach, and its focus on demonstration and inspiration distinguished it from general shopping channels.

Immediate Media's craft portfolio

HobbyMaker is a sister channel to Jewellery Maker, the jewellery-making shopping channel that has broadcast in the UK for many years. Jewellery Maker was acquired by the Immediate Media Company from the Genuine Gemstone Company in 2015, adding to Immediate's Craft and Arts portfolio, and HobbyMaker extends that portfolio into the wider world of papercraft and creative hobbies.

Immediate Media's craft television interests have included the craft shopping channels Sewing Quarter and Jewellery Maker, which were made available around the clock through hybrid broadcast and IP delivery. HobbyMaker sits within this specialist craft broadcasting operation, benefiting from shared expertise in demonstration-led shopping television.

Programming and demonstrations

HobbyMaker's live television shows feature informative and inspirational demonstrations covering mixed media, arts, needlecraft, papercraft and more. Expert demonstrators present products from leading craft brands, showing techniques step by step so that viewers can follow along at home, and the interactive format allows viewers to engage with the shows.

The channel's programming spans card making, stamping, watercolouring, die-cutting, scrapbooking and mixed media art, with shows built around product launches, themed collections and seasonal crafting. Its demonstrators include well-known figures from the crafting world, and the channel's schedules offer regular appointment viewing for enthusiasts.

Brand partnerships

The channel partners with leading craft brands and designers to bring exclusive products and collections to its viewers. Among its partnerships, the shows featuring Stamps by Me, the craft brand founded by Toni Darroch in 2011, have been a prominent part of its schedules, with live broadcasts showcasing stamping and papercraft products.

The channel has also been the television home for ranges such as the Pollyanna Pickering craft collections, with shows launching new ranges of digital craft products featuring the artist's work. Craft expert and popular demonstrator Lynda Chapman has appeared on the channel's shows, reflecting its strategy of working with recognised names to attract the crafting audience.

The How To Craft Network and streaming

HobbyMaker's output is complemented by digital craft networks that extend its reach online. The How To Craft Network, founded by Toni Darroch of Stamps by Me, operates as a digital papercrafting channel with live broadcasts from studios in the UK, describing itself as a destination for demonstration-led craft content with interactivity for followers around the world.

The channel's programmes are available through streaming and on-demand routes alongside its broadcast service, and its products can be purchased through its website at hobbymaker.com. This multi-platform approach serves crafters who watch on television, online and through apps.

Availability in the UK

HobbyMaker broadcasts free-to-air on Freeview channel 73, where it is available 24 hours a day, and on Virgin Media channel 754. Its free-to-air status gives it reach into homes across the UK without a subscription, and its position in the shopping section of the programme guides places it alongside the UK's other craft and shopping channels.

The channel's broadcasts are supported by its website and online shop, where viewers can purchase the products demonstrated on air. Programme schedules are published through television listings and the channel's own platforms.

HobbyMaker broadcasts live every day from 1pm to 9pm and is available on Freeview channel 73, Sky channel 670, Virgin Media channel 754, Freesat channel 806 and YouTube. In October 2023 the channel switched to high definition on Sky 670, promising crisper visuals for its demonstration-led schedule, and in March 2022 it announced that the craft brand That's Crafty had joined the HobbyMaker family with its expert demonstrator Jo.

The UK crafting boom

HobbyMaker's growth reflects the strength of the UK's crafting market, in which papercraft, sewing and mixed media have large and enthusiastic followings. Television shopping has long been an important retail channel for craft products, with demonstration-led selling particularly suited to creative goods whose appeal lies in what can be made with them.

The channel's rapid establishment as a recognised destination for craft television demonstrates the appetite for specialist programming in the genre. Its combination of expert tuition, product innovation and community engagement has built a loyal audience among Britain's crafters.

The shopping television format

HobbyMaker operates within Britain's shopping television sector, where channels sell products through live presentation rather than conventional advertising. The format depends on presenters who can demonstrate, explain and enthuse, turning a sales pitch into entertainment and education.

Craft products are ideally suited to this format: their value lies in what the buyer can create with them, and a live demonstration shows techniques that a catalogue photograph cannot. The channel's interactive element, with viewers able to engage with live shows, builds the sense of community that keeps crafters returning.

Crafting on British television

HobbyMaker is part of a long tradition of craft programming on British television, from the BBC's craft strands to dedicated shopping channels. The genre's television history includes the pioneering craft shows of the 2000s and the rise of specialist channels serving sewing, jewellery-making and papercraft audiences.

The channel's 24-hour free-to-air availability gives it a prominence in the genre that few rivals match. Its Freeview channel 73 position places craft television in front of a national audience, introducing new viewers to papercraft alongside serving the established community of enthusiasts. The growth of home crafting during the 2020s has given the channel a steadily expanding audience. Its demonstration-led format continues to win new viewers to papercraft and mixed media. The channel's Freeview presence makes craft television accessible nationwide. Its expert demonstrators continue to inspire Britain's crafters. The channel's live shows remain appointment viewing for enthusiasts.

How to watch

In the United Kingdom, HobbyMaker is available free-to-air on Freeview channel 73 and on Virgin Media channel 754, broadcasting 24 hours a day with live demonstration shows. Viewers can shop the products featured on air through the channel's website at hobbymaker.com.

For crafters seeking inspiration, tuition and new products, the channel offers live demonstrations across papercraft, mixed media, needlecraft and more, with schedules available through Freeview listings and the channel's online platforms. The channel's community of crafters continues to grow with every broadcast. Its Freeview channel 73 slot keeps craft television free for all. The channel's demonstrators remain the heart of its appeal. Its 24-hour schedule offers crafting inspiration around the clock.