i heart hand made, but...

I love hand made, I really do, but to be honest, I'm getting a little tired of it. Not the actual making - that is as paradoxically relaxing and stimulating as ever. And I still ceaselessly gaze at and stroke everything I make. And tell everyone I made it. And wear it as often as is humanly possible... Oh the thrill of hand made, the sense of achievement, the buzz. But I can't help thinking the hand made market is a little oversaturated at present.

I went to two local markets on Friday evening. They show cased the best of hand made and design in northern Tasmania, and there were some incredibly beautiful products on display. Little girl dresses from vintage fabric and doilies, ceramic earrings, fabric covered buttons, Christmas decorations, little girl dresses from gorgeous contemporary cotton prints, fabric covered earrings, journals from gorgeous contemporary cotton prints, bags from vintage fabrics and doilies, cushions with beautiful contemporary embroidery, fabric covered hair ties. But it's all a bit same-y. I've been to Agfest and the Deloraine Craft Fair and several local markets and, apart from a few unique artists and designers, the same people turn up at the same stalls with the same wares, and I'm a little tired of it.

Don't get me wrong. The products were beautiful. I'm surprised the stall holders could even drag their eyes from their wares, so lovely were they. But how much can we take?

I may be the only one feeling this way - the blogosphere is gushing with praise for the markets; many stallholders sold out. By all accounts the whole thing was a huge success. Yay for hand made! Yay for beating those big, nasty corporations and choosing locally produced quality products! Yay, yay, yay.

So why did I feel a little deflated as I walked away with just a few carefully selected items? Is it because I have no children and might like to sweep all the baby clothes onto the floor and trample them into the ground? Perhaps I'm just jealous that I haven't made space or time for my own hand made business endeavours. Have I missed the hand made boat? (It sure is hard to find things to buy when every time I look at an item the thought bubble explodes from my head: 'I could make that!') Or is it that in hand made becoming so big it becomes its own corporation? Not individually, but on a grand scale. Consumerism is still consumerism, even when made by the girl next door... unless it's recycled or upcycled of course! I also know that in other suburbs of town there are people who would not pay anywhere near the prices being asked down town - a product's value is only as much as a person is willing to pay, and to those people, hand made is worth diddly squat.

In the end, I kind of decided I don't want to be part of it. (Although my heart betrays me even now, cruising around local crafty blogs and feeling a pang of envy at other's success) I still love hand made, I still love making things myself, but I think I'm going to keep it small scale - for loved ones, friends and myself. What I make might not be valued by what I can sell it for, but the feeling I put into them.

That's what it's all about really.

i agree

'I believe [there is] a need (deep in every individual) to find an outlet for their creativity - a way to express their individuality and uniqueness that may otherwise be lacking in their daily lives.'

Jenny Springett 'Make Money Selling Craft'

I'm building a plan for next year around this belief... for now though, my latest efforts in creativity.

how to be a good brown owl

I'm not exactly sure how it all began. Perhaps a whispered idea between like-minded friends, but, word of mouth being what it is (a wonderful thing), now a dozen or more of us meet for craft and friendship every month.

Let's be honest, it's not a new idea. Women have been sewing and cooking and shelling peas together for centuries, but now we are just cooler. That's because we are 'Brown Owls' and we have a fun code of conduct:

Be Nice
Include others
Do your best
Try new stuff
Be helpful
Have nice manners
Be a bit crafty

Hurrah!

I was never a Brownie or a Girl Guide growing up, so a lot of the Brown-Owl-ness is lost on me. Prefects? Badges to earn? Codes of Conduct?! But I love craft and I like meeting people, so I joined the group, signed the pledge, agreed to the Code of Conduct (Frank would prefer it if I followed the code at all times, but I figure all the time is a big ask - just during meetings will do surely!), and I'm in. A true Brown Owl.

Tonight was our last meeting for the year, and I had a good old time chatting away to lots of crafty ladies. Unfortunately knitting lace scarves whilst talking animatedly is not conducive to quality work, so I'm hoping my mother in law won't examine her Christmas gift too closely.

maybe i should set up shop sooner rather than later

I made a few cards on the weekend and took them to work today to see if anyone was interested in purchasing them. Between saving someone's life (quite literally - nasty postop complication) and precepting a graduate, I managed to sell three on the spot, took orders for three more and sold two pairs of earrings.

Whoot, whoot. Way to go!

I've decided all moneys so raised will go towards my entertainment and hobby fund when I become 'poor' next year. Now I just need to work out postage prices, make a few more cards, and I can start selling on etsy. (That sounds terribly self absorbed... I promise to share my bounty with those in need! And stay tuned for how I plan to spend some of my time next year. It's not quite all about me!)

Here's one of my favourites from the weekend - snapped up like a hot cake!

bedazzled!

I caught a little bit of sun today - sunburnt, but not too badly.

A friend and I went to the Deloraine Craft Fair and it was wonderful. Of course I spent a bit more than I'd budgeted for... but hey, I also spent considerably less than I wanted to! There were so many amazing things on display. Glass, felt, jam, hats, bags, brooches, toys, soap, chocolate, ceramics, paper, bowls, clothes, rings, marinated figs, origami, buttons, boutique wines... you name it, they had it.

I couldn't help but notice the incredible range of creativity and ingenuity, the depth of talent. So much pleasure in observing stall upon stall filled with works of beauty and skill. It was like a cathedral, a gigantic church spread out over the whole of Deloraine, every piece calling out to me 'acknowledge the wondrous beauty of creation, spilling down from the sun, over the clouds, rolling down the green, green hills and through the hands of these craftspeople. Look at all this and see God, for God is here, exhibited in every plant, scarf, painting and necklace. Drink it in and be refreshed.'

And I was.

show 'n' tell

Sometimes I wonder if blogging isn't just about catching up on all the 'show and tell' I seem to have missed out on at school, because seriously, I have things to say but am I saying them? No. I'm just showing you my latest handiwork. I'll say those other things later, for now this is what I have been doing: crocheting a scarf (plus a hundred thousand other boring things of course).

The model


The scarf


The arty farty shot

this is what i've been doing...

Working. Mostly it's a joy. Some days it is not.

Enjoying the most beautiful autumn I can remember for at least a year. (It may have been this nice last year, but I doubt it. Every day is turning into a stunner at the moment... except the 6th March which went for the fridge effect. Not so attractive)

Writing an essay on postnatal depression. Unlikely to make 'the world's best essay' shortlist, but it got done on time.

Knitting.

Baking bread.

(I particularly love the way the seat in the background is so in focus here... I must have been too busy eating my first ever loaf of home made sourdough to bother concentrating on focus)

And basically just living life in the real world. I still think of things to blog most days, I just don't bother doing it. That's been kinda nice, but I miss you all, so I'll try and get back into it soon. For now I must away.

more creativity!

I know. I can't quite believe it either! Two cards in two months.

What might the rest of the year bring forth?!

cecily's creation

It's been a long time coming, but I finally made time to create a card today. Still need to experiment a bit more with different types of glues and the effect created by their drying, but I was reasonably pleased with this specimen!

Here's to crafting space for more card making!

crafty moment

One of my great loves is making cards. I rarely find time to indulge this love, so it was with delight that I sat down and produced a card today.

This one was a bit of an experiment, using printed paper as a base and adding embellishments with quilling. I quite like the effect.

In the right hemisphere of my brain I harbour wistful dreams of quiting paid work and eking out a living from card making. To date, the practical left hemisphere has quashed the dreams - there's not much money in making cards by hand! So I keep tripping off to work, while my creativity lies dormant for months at a time.

I shouldn't really let life take over so. Creating cards and moulding materials of any kind breathes life into my weary, jaded bones. I might just cope better with the imperfections of life if I carved out space for creativity in the midst of the busyness.

I feel a new year's resolution coming on...