Do you have creative men in your life?

Hi everyone,

I’d love to know if you have creative men in your life. Here at CP, most of the active members are women who enjoy crafts. Has your enthusiasm for DIY perhaps rubbed off on your husbands or boyfriends over time? Or have they always been creative?

I’d love to hear about the creative hobbies the men in your life pursue.

And since I asked the question, I’d like to start right away with an answer:
My husband has always repaired old tube radios. He takes them apart, breaks them down into a thousand pieces on the kitchen table, dusts everything off, and puts them back together. Sometimes that takes days. He’s then delighted by the great sound of the freshly refurbished radio.

And because he enjoys DIY, he also understands my enthusiasm for wool.

I look forward to your answers.

Warm regards—Ina

I once asked Mr. Google how the word "hobby" can be explained

An activity in a specific area pursued in one's free time out of inclination and enjoyment, with a certain enthusiasm

With this explanation, I can say, yes, my sweetheart has a hobby. He tinkers with passion, enthusiasm, and joy on his (7) bicycles to optimize their weight or do small repairs. They get oiled and cleaned. The dust has to go, the salt has to go, there is always a reason to spend free time with the bicycles. 

Since I’m currently single, I can only tell you about the other men in my family. My son was very creative as a child, but his college studies left no room for his creativity—with all the studying, he no longer has time to do anything. Besides, he’s all thumbs; he’s just totally clumsy and “doesn’t want to go to the trouble either.”
But the other men in my family (my brother, my father) are very creative and keep themselves busy with all kinds of crafts. My brother is currently renovating an old house in his spare time, is an avid model builder, and my father enjoys repairing old garden gnomes and devotes himself to fretwork.
My grandfather, however, was the “original tinker”—he was always tinkering and crafting here and there; I think it’s just in our family.

My husband is a tradesperson (electrician) and very skilled with his hands. He also knows his way around cars. That used to be his passion; today, he occasionally builds something for the garden. But he doesn’t really pursue any hobbies anymore—he’s far too busy with his job for that.

I have someone like that—he’s very creative. Unfortunately, he comes up with ideas and expects me to carry them out.
Well, he can do quite a bit of handiwork around the house and yard when necessary. It’s a shame, because I have quite a few ideas of my own that he could bring to life since I can’t do them myself.

Dear friends, thank you very much for your comments.

I find it very interesting to hear what creative hobbies your husbands, or the men in your families, have.

@WollwunderPetra
7 bicycles - that is a lot. And every single one is valuable and special to him, and he knows every detail and every weak spot on it. If he takes such loving care of his bicycles, how well looked after you must be :-) I think that is a lovely hobby. Does he, or do you together, go on bike rides with them? With 7 bikes, you certainly have plenty to choose from.

@Sofis-Welt
The men in your family are really very creative. So the grandfather passed on the love of DIY to his descendants. I can easily imagine how he gradually passed his tips and tricks on to the younger ones. DIY keeps you young, and you always have interesting things to talk about. Your son may come back to it later. Right now, he simply has other things to do.

@Nadeleule,
I think it is a shame that your husband no longer has the time or energy for a hobby because of work-related stress. I can understand that. Some people simply want peace and quiet in their (limited) free time - and do not want to "do something" as well. But often, when work becomes less hectic, you find the time and desire for a hobby again.

@Hanny1
That is lovely, that your husband is so creatively skilled with his hands. Maybe in future you will find a way for him to include your wishes more in his ideas. A project like that is more enjoyable when you do it together, and no one feels they have to do it for the other person. But I suppose that varies from project to project and from person to person. Each couple has to find their own arrangement.

Thank you very much for telling us about yourselves and your creative husbands/family members.

Best wishes - Ina

So far, my husband has been more intellectually (mathematically) creative: He’s still working on a project with a colleague in South America. Otherwise, he’s discovered a passion for gardening and grows cucumbers (which I don’t like), chili peppers, and kohlrabi, along with a few flowers. His other hobbies: reading and hiking.

@Schnuckelina: Thank you for your kind words. Yes, we sometimes go on a bike ride together too. For that, he takes the heaviest of his bikes so that I (inexperienced) am not at too much of a disadvantage. Ideally with the trailer loaded with our grandson, too.

He rides one of his bikes to work almost every day—about 20 kilometers. Depending on the weather and his mood, he chooses a suitable one. 

Do you have an old radio in your home that your husband has restored? Maybe you’d like to show a picture, because I don’t really know what a tube radio looks like.

Sunny greetings
Petra

My hubby isn’t creative at all and just kind of smiles at my crocheting, and unfortunately he isn’t handy either. He’s absolutely all thumbs, and even for the tiniest things we need a handyman. That’s sometimes a real shame.

But he has other strengths and is exactly the right man for me. He loves shopping for hours on end, is just as crazy about soccer as I am, and we complement each other perfectly.

My husband is very creative; he designs the circuit boards for his electronic projects himself and then mills them before assembling them. The last thing he *built* for me was a timer—I love that thing because you can hear it even in the farthest corner of the apartment—

I also find the newly added posts very interesting.

@Wollbaerli
Your husband has very diverse hobbies. One challenges the mind, and the other keeps him grounded. With his colleague from South America, he works out intellectual things. And for balance, he digs in the dirt and plants vegetables and flowers. You can actually see that, tend to it, and later eat it. And in between those things, he reads or goes hiking. He is probably very well balanced when he can do all these things he enjoys. 

@Arni
It really doesn't matter if he has two left hands. If you love each other, that's not important. And I don't know any man who enjoys going shopping. For mine, it's the worst thing ever. If it ever can't be avoided, his first question is: What do you need? As if you go shopping because you need something. No, women are wired differently that way. They want to look around, stroll, and discover things. Most men don't understand that. So your husband has his talents too. And if he is right for you, then it's perfect!

@Akela
Your husband was surely very proud when he showed you the finished timer switch. Putting all those tiny little parts together somehow on a circuit board into something that works (soldering?), that is a special hobby too. You have to work very carefully and know what you're doing. You can't just quickly unravel a few stitches and redo them here. Hopefully he will think of many more possible uses, so he can really enjoy his hobby to the fullest.

@WollwunderPetra
I think your husband is happy every morning when he can choose the bike that suits the weather. He knows each one and has his favorites. And every morning he enjoys his little "harem".
It does him credit that he takes the heaviest one and chooses a particularly easy-running bike for you for your bike rides. That's also smart if he wants it to be a lovely day for you too.

I quickly took a photo of a radio we have standing around here (but it hasn't been repaired yet). This is certainly not his most beautiful one. But he doesn't know anything about this thread. So this is what a tube radio looks like. In this case, it's a console stereo with a built-in record player. The tubes are inside. And when you switch the radio on, it always takes a little while until the sound comes, because the tubes first have to reach operating temperature.

Thank you all very much for sharing these little inside stories.

Best wishes - Ina

Oh, Ina, I’m familiar with that tube radio hobby too—though from my brother-in-law. He tinkers with anything old: radios, gramophones, old cabinets… and he’s even re-woven the seats on chairs. It’s a hobby that takes up a lot of space—at least for him.
He also collects shellac records…

My husband is creative in the sense that he loves solving problems. He’s actually pretty good at it, and he’s not afraid to try something new.
By the way, his hobby is brewing beer. That’s already resulted in some rather peculiar concoctions… and, as I said, creative solutions are a must.
For example, he built a circulation system so he wouldn’t have to stir all the time… and then, during the first test, he flooded the kitchen with beer.
But giving up isn’t an option…
Recently, he came home with a yoga mat. He then repurposed it as insulation for his brewing kettle…
Even after 27 years, life with my sweetheart never gets boring.

My husband discovered photography a few years ago. For the past two years, he’s been focusing on black-and-white photography. He’s completely absorbed in it; he’s put together a photo book and is currently holding his first exhibition (here in Solingen, vacant storefronts are made available to artists as exhibition spaces).

We really love spending our free time this way and supporting each other in the process. It would be difficult if only one of us were pursuing a passion while the other was, so to speak, bored. But this way, we can both understand each other well when we’re itching to try out new ideas and put the housework on the back burner for a while...

Best regards, Caro

Oh, Ina, my grandma had a radio just like that, too. That brings back childhood memories.

I also find the new posts very interesting.

@Fun-Design
I'm glad to read that there are more people who repair old things. My husband repairs not only radios, but also televisions, record players, portable radios—basically anything that is old and broken. We like going to flea markets and usually go our separate ways there, because that makes it easier to stroll around and look at whatever we like. And when he says, "we have to drive with the top down today," I already know what's going on: there's a new acquisition. But oh well, if it makes him happy.

Your husband is a tinkerer. Brewing beer alone is probably not enough for him, even though there's already plenty to do to get the perfect beer. No, he thinks things through and tries to make life easier for himself, and then tinkers away at the weak spots until he has found a solution. I like that. Hopefully you drink beer too, otherwise he'll have to drink it all by himself or with his friends. Can you make it keep well? And does he design the labels himself?

@Fadenstrang
Oh, I also find your husband—or rather, his black-and-white photography hobby—very interesting. Those are very special pictures, since you don't have any colors. In my layperson's opinion, you have fewer options for clearly conveying the message of the image. Some pictures simply look much better in black and white. But it's probably an art to capture that with the camera. And he even does exhibitions—wonderful! If I lived nearby, I would have gone to see his pictures. Maybe (if your husband allows it), you could post one here for us to look at sometime? The image quality here surely won't be enough to show his skill to the fullest, but we would get a small impression.

And I can well understand that it's nice when both partners can get excited about things and activities (hobbies) and forget everything else. It's the same for us.

@WollwunderPetra
Yes, that may well be. In the past, people had those radios where the dial glowed in the dark, along with the magic green eye. And you could hear foreign languages when you turned the big tuning knob.

Thank you all for your exciting and entertaining comments. I'll have to think about which of the men from the comments I'd like to meet to learn more about his hobby ...

Best regards - Ina

Oh yes, Ina, he’s a real tinker…
Well, beer isn’t really my thing… I prefer whiskey.
But I make up for it by being the perfect hostess when he invites friends or family over for a tasting… he doesn’t have to ask them twice.
I’m in charge of the hearty side dishes, so the guests just end up staying longer.
And you can also whip up all sorts of other things with beer, like beer jelly or beer liqueur. Or a delicious gravy...

Hello Claudia,

I’d love to be your guest sometime, too. I’m sure it’s a lot of fun and has a real rustic charm. And there are house beer specialties. As the wife of a man who loves brewing beer, you have to come up with something that goes well with it too. Every good meal makes the beer taste even better. He’s surely proud as punch when he serves his freshly brewed beer for the first tasting. I hope you continue to enjoy "his hobby."

Warm regards and have a wonderful Sunday - Ina

Wow, your husbands are one more interesting than the next.

My husband is very creative. He’s even given me a few ideas for crocheting and knitting.

What I especially love is that he always tries to fix our small appliances—and often succeeds. And even better—he’s already put a lot of extremely practical ideas into action in our 26-year-old RV. Just recently, he installed a new water pump, which was a real challenge but turned out really well.

He also enjoys editing videos and even creates his own artistic images using a 3D program. Overall, he’s very versatile and can do almost anything—except cook. But I’m more than happy to take care of that. ;-)

Wow, I have to say: Hats off to your husbands.
Mine is probably the least creative man you can imagine. He just doesn’t have a knack or a feel for creating things himself.
But what he does have is a love for art and beautiful things. He likes furniture from the Bauhaus era, classics mixed with vintage pieces, and art in every form.
That’s something really wonderful, too. I had to learn to appreciate it, and now I find it just as beautiful as my husband does.