I’m not going to berate you with statistics about screen time. Let’s just agree that too long spent staring at a screen – of any size – makes you feel a bit icky. Like sinking into slimy quicksand without quite realising. Grim. In an attempt to combat this, analogue hobbies prove reliable solutions. Screen-free things that require your attention and pass the time. Sometimes, they can even end up being a full-time passion.
Whether you’re attempting a seasonal reinvention or just fancy learning something new, here are the analogue hobbies British Vogue editors have made their own.
Watercolour painting
I used to love drawing and painting as a kid, but then abandoned it as a teenager. Then, like every other clichéd millennial, I fell back into it over lockdown and have been really enjoying it recently. My kit is pretty low-key: a thick-paper pad and a travel-sized watercolour set with a miniature paintbrush (I could see myself easily going overboard with all the gear, so thought it’d be best to start small).
I mainly do little still lifes or weird, abstract designs, but it’s incredibly soothing to put on a record, set myself up at my dining table and let my brain switch off for an hour. It has also reminded me of the joy of actually doing something with your hands, other than typing. Obviously, I’m pretty terrible, but that’s the point, really – doing something not for a specific, self-optimising purpose, but just because it’s enjoyable. (Though, having said that, I am now threatening to start painting cards for friends, too.)
Radhika Seth, film and culture editor
Bedazzling
Initially inspired by the forever cultural icon Paris Hilton, I’ve been bedazzling since the “bling boom” of 2004. The first thing I crystallised was a Motorola V260 flip phone, for which I selected the colour scheme “Juicy Couture lime green and hot pink”. I’ve bedazzled a real aubergine – for a feature on luxury sex toys and for my best friend’s hen-do, I hosted a lighter and vape bedazzling workshop for the girlies.
My favourite thing to bedazzle will always be magazine covers. When I was recovering from surgery earlier this year, I couldn’t really move much, so I spent two weeks placing over 3000 crystals one by one on our August 2025 Doechii cover. It’s extra fun if I work on the shoot, but I also love collecting vintage magazines from eBay to bedazzle.
The process completely stops me from doomscrolling and, combined with an audiobook, is my idea of heaven. If you are planning on picking up this hobby, I would highly recommend working only with a non-toxic glue such as Gem-Tac and a wax-tipped rhinestone picker tool. I’m currently working on my most ambitious bedazzle yet – a laptop case of Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus.
Nicole Holcroft-Emmess, visuals editor
Crafting
By Christmas, I’ll be wrangling a three-month-old, all thoughts of time-consuming hobbies forgotten. In my pre-baby mania, I’ve decided to make tree ornaments, bunting and pieces of art for the nursery. I didn’t realise quite how much I wanted to do these things until hours spent on Pinterest spurred me into action. So far, I’ve wool-felted a mallard and framed it for above the crib, made bunting out of old fabric samples and used my Cricut Maker 4 more than my oven. A tool that can cut and score almost anything with ultra-precision, it’s transformed my crafting from hobby to elf-worthy workshop. So far, I’ve made a handful of four-leaf clover ornaments, multiple baubles and some soon-to-be stars once I’ve fully understood how to “turn a corner” with a blanket stitch.
Morgan Fargo, beauty and wellness editor
Gardening
I spent a lot of this summer quite physically unwell and – though it was never my forte previously – gardening really helped calm my nervous system. Each morning, instead of checking my phone, I’d go outside and survey which shoots had climbed through the soil overnight. Basil! Mustard! Tomatoes! Aubergines! These days my garden has it all. I never, ever thought I’d be that girl, but there’s something about putting your hands in the soil and then gradually seeing the fruits of your labour that feels immensely satisfying in this meditative, ancient way. Okay, who have I turned into?
Daisy Jones, news and features editor
Jewellery making
I've always loved collecting jewellery from flea markets, antique stores and eBay. A couple of years ago, on a trip to Athens, I discovered a wondrous bead shop that was wall to wall with marbled stones, glass shapes and teeny tiny silver bearings, and I felt inspired to create something of my own. I have since started crafting jewellery from leather cord, paracord and various gems and stones found in London or happened upon after many hours scrolling online. The side hustle has an official name, Rock, which I’ll start to sell when I (eventually!) have the time.
Alice Cary, senior commerce writer
Gardening
For my 30th birthday I got a greenhouse. At the time I had very little idea about what to grow, when to grow it and, frankly, how to keep anything alive. But with a little (ok, a lot) of help from my very green-thumbed Mum, endless visits to Wisley (I’m lucky to only be 15 minutes away) and more than a few tips from Monty Don, gardening has swiftly become my haven over the past two years. It isn’t always entirely stress-free (I’m currently fighting a losing battle to keep my cutting patch blooming throughout a hosepipe ban), but I could happily spend hours tending to my garden.
A morning tea while deadheading cosmos, a spring afternoon spent sowing seeds or an evening picking a courgette, tomatoes and salad for dinner: there’s something very grounding about it all. I can feel my mind resetting, and in a world where we seem to all move at an increasingly frantic speed, there is something restorative about doing something that can’t be rushed.
Ellie Davies, senior manager, audience development
Baking
I’m no master baker, but I am partial to a sweet treat, and there’s nothing better than eating one of your own creations. So, in times of need, I find it essential to turn off my phone, get out my favourite recipe book (Baking for Pleasure by Ravneet Gill – beginner-friendly, but also has you feeling like you could enter Bake Off), dust off my Smeg stand mixer (functional and gorgeous), and have a go at something.
This new passion – mostly fuelled by a superiority complex and an insatiable love of bread – has helped me in more ways than one. Getting off my phone, yes, but also doing a tactile, careful activity that requires attention and patience is genuinely helping retrain my brain. And then sharing the results with people and bragging about how you made them with your own hands is pretty fun, too.
Riann Phillip, associate features editor
Collaging
My (slightly woo-woo) friends and I have an annual vision board workshop every new year and the collaging bug has bled through into the rest of the year (particularly good for rainy afternoons when you'd rather not be doom scrolling for hours on end) There's something very therapeutic about going back to the basics of primary school cutting-and-sticking and then trying to decipher your subconscious through whatever you end up with and it's nice to actually create something – no matter how random – rather than just consuming!
Olivia Allen, fashion writer
Paint-by-numbers
Constantly using my phone or laptop hasn't helped with my anxiety or migraines. So a few months ago I promised myself I’d try to stay offline as much as I can, and after my sister swore by Paint By Numbers, I gave it a go. I love that there’s no real pressure to be an artist, and painting outside of the lines is okay (as much as I try to avoid it!). It's a low-stress activity that lets me be creative without any chaos. Now I put my phone away, pop on a face mask, and just paint. It’s helped me slow down, stay calm and have a little bit of me time.
Anisa Kennar, associate producer