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A Crafter's Time

1/31/2018

I have been spending the last few weeks planning the next year's activities. Being a crafter is not a simple business. Finding the correct venue for your products, matching your creations to the correct customers and ending up in the plus column at the end of the year is not easy. For all those people who respond to my new venture with the words “Well of course you do that, you have always made things...Must be easy to sell your stuff”, I would like to say: "Hold on a minute." So much about this journey is difficult. And the most difficult thing is the subject of my time.

I have heard customers walking by the booth discussing crafters. “They all love what they do so of course their prices have to be low. They don’t charge for their time”. Wait a minute. Seriously? Time is the most precious commodity in anyone’s life. Yes, I love what I do but I am trying to earn a living. Each piece in my display is literally a piece of me because it is a piece of time out of my life as well as a piece of my creativity.

I have a request for all of you. This year when you walk through your local craft fair and view what people have made, take a moment to think differently. Concept, design, gathering materials, crafting, setting prices, marketing and selling. That’s what you are looking at. And those things all take more time than you think. The price tag includes all of the above plus that magical spark of the person who created it. Just smile at the artist and appreciate. And of course open your wallet.

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The Update

1/27/2018

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One of the winter projects at our house is updating the powder room. As we look to the future and the time where we sell our now too big house, we realize we have some work to do. What was once a perfectly good decorating decision is now what people strolling through the house at some date in the future will look at with dismay. I watch enough HGTV to have figured that out!

I have the task of stripping off the wallpaper. As I get into ripping the top layer off, my mind wanders back to the time when the wallpaper was first applied. The kids were all little. This house was an upgrade from the old farmhouse we lived in previously. I was busy working full time and raising a family - where did I ever find the energy? The bright flowery print matched the teal tiles perfectly and was a quick and economical way to brighten up a room that has seen a constant stream of family running in and out. Some of the family faces are the same, although changed with age. Some belong to sons-in-law and grandchildren barely dreamed of when the paper was applied. And some family faces are now absent marking just another phase in the passage of time.

For just a moment it seems a shame to rip that paper off and change it all. But it isn’t the absence of the paper that makes the change. The changes have already taken place and the powder room is just catching up. Getting ready, as we all should be, for the next phase of life. Getting the update for the next 25 years.

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The Imperfect Heart

1/23/2018

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I didn’t decide to be a primitive artist. I just evolved that way. I am attracted to the asymmetrical, imperfect stitches and raw edges. Blurred borders and trailing threads don’t bother me. Quirky faces and messy hair lend character. Putting together found objects in odd ways pleases me. Not everyone understands it.

It is like the new hearts that have found their way into the product line for 2018. Last year my hearts were nicely shaped, stuffed and fit comfortably into the palm of the hand. They had words pertaining to love written on them. I liked them and they sold well but seemed a bit uninspired. This year the outline of the heart that came to me was way less than perfect. The rounded tops are not matched. My scissors lopped off the bottom. A piece of vintage fabric splits each heart like a healed scar. I apply them to tea dyed muslin with hand stitching and don’t worry about the length or spacing of the stitches. And I’m sewing them together on the wrong side and leaving them that way. My apologies to my Home Ec teacher!

I feel much closer to these hearts. I feel like I’ve made something much more like myself. By the time we are entering old age the heart is no longer perfect. It’s been battered around by life. Been squished out of shape a bit. Carries scars. Maybe had a part or two lopped off. But it can still be recognized for what it is. And I, for one, find it more beautiful in this condition.

So as I put these hearts out for sale, they are a gift for the buyers. Some will think they are pretty. Some will think they are unusual. And some will understand that they come from my imperfect heart.

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Thank You

1/19/2018

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January has been a slower month. Last year’s shows are ended and I have taken a much needed break from blogging and crafting. It has been a month to reflect, plan and do some personal tasks. Less clutter. More time to think. We were able to eat on the kitchen table again instead of having it be a workspace for the most current assembly line. The carpet in my workroom was no longer a haven for threads and snippets of wool. My fingertips did not have burn marks from my glue gun. I answered emails and looked at Facebook on a regular basis. I spent time with family and friends. It was calmer.

But in some ways I missed all the work. Working with a deadline challenges me. It inspires me and keeps me from being bored. In 2017 I met so many interesting people, both customers and fellow crafters. Last year I learned that I am able to do much more than I thought. So I have to say thank you to everyone who helped me, decided to take one of my products home with them or was generous enough to come into my life. I am inspired to continue on this journey as the Wistful Grandma. I am looking forward to coming out of a month of hibernation.

So before this years class schedule comes out and the designs for this years products begin, I’m pausing. But not before I say thank you.

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A Crafter's Time

The Update

The Imperfect Heart

Thank You

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A Crafter's Time

The Update

The Imperfect Heart

Thank You

ClassesSign Up Now!

Craft Shows

Links

Blog Categories

Blog Archives

Classes
Sign Up Now!