This case study is part of my doctoral research on the opportunities and risks digital platforms pose to crafting communities.

I argue that crafts are among the cultural manifestations that connect people, regardless of their global positioning, whether in the Western or Eastern Hemisphere, above or below the Equator. 

I illustrate this common ground by focusing on the recurrence of concentric diamonds in flat weavings around the globe and by mapping the different variations of the signs across the corresponding regions on a world map.

The result shows a path that links communities and peoples and holds information about past trading routes, colonisation, acceptance of influence, and innovation.

In an age when information and goods travel much faster, farther, and less controlled than before, I argue that craft practitioners, whether individuals or communities, can learn from and exchange best practices to help preserve and encourage their respective work and traditions. At the same time, celebrating the nuances and diversity, the reasons behind the technical choices, and the variety of discourse or stories attached to each conjugation of form or colour helps us remain locally relevant and not succumb to unconscious uniformisation.