I like to achieve something similar with the ornaments I carve. I like them to be unique. I like them to be special. I like them to reflect and capture people’s interest. That beloved books or movie, that milestone, something important, something my customers can looks back on with a smile, something that tells a story. That captures this moment, this year, forever. And maybe, just maybe, something that would mean as much to them as Grandmom’s star.
“Stop thinking about art as objects, and start thinking about them as triggers.”- Roy Ascott In my family there are a lot of traditions that include the Christmas tree. We tend to put it up the day after Thanksgiving. (We’re a little late this year.) We blast Christmas carols as we decorate. By far, my favorite, though, is the ornaments. We don’t do themed Christmas trees. You will find very few simple or elegant glass balls. Our tree tells a story and every year that story starts with Grandmom’s star, a gold and red ornament. It’s always the first on the tree. Next, I put my baby’s first ornament, a brown bear laying on a group of blocks that have my birth year on them. Following that are ornaments we’ve received every Christmas since we were first born. Every year my grandparents would get us an ornament. Each ornament represents an interest of ours from that year. It’s what we liked, who we wanted to be, where we wanted to go, where we went, who we were. It’s a story about each of us individually, but also who we are as a family. And I have yet to see a tree more beautiful. (I may be a little biased on that count.) My ornaments range from The Comfy Couch and Madeline to ballerinas and teachers, from Crayons and beloved books to feminist quotes. Photos of beloved pets who have since crossed the rainbow bridge to handmade ornaments marking milestones. Each is a memory. It makes the tree feel more special to me. It is unique and it is specifically mine. No one would look at my tree and doubt who it belonged to.
I like to achieve something similar with the ornaments I carve. I like them to be unique. I like them to be special. I like them to reflect and capture people’s interest. That beloved books or movie, that milestone, something important, something my customers can looks back on with a smile, something that tells a story. That captures this moment, this year, forever. And maybe, just maybe, something that would mean as much to them as Grandmom’s star.
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Another great event, the last one for the year! It’s ending on a good note, which makes me happy. There are definitely exciting things to look forward to in the new year (for both you and me), but before the year is over, there is still plenty of time to buy online. If you couldn’t make it to my last event, here is some of what you missed. Handmade in South Bay puts on two shows annually, our holiday boutique (this last event), and our Spring Boutique in April (one of the exciting things to look forward to… honey, you’ll be buzzing about this event)! This was our second holiday boutique and it was pretty darn good, if I may say so myself. 50+ handmade vendors, including the always fantastic DJ Ozzie, 6 very professional young entrepreneurs that will be back for Spring (YAY! Really, these guys are the bomb!) and 5 incredible local artists in our artist alley (I really hope they come back for the spring!) I talk a lot about what makes a good event, often saying it’s not just the monetary element of it. The customers really made this event, even the ones not buying from me. It was the kids especially. Santa handed out free ornament kits and this one little boy in a batman shirt was so happy about his gingerbread man ornament kit. He would not let it go and he kept walking up to my booth and just showing it to me. By far, the very best moment of the show came from the little girl in the booth next to mine. She kept coming over to look at my fairy bottles. When the little girl walked away for a little while, her mother came over and bought the fairy bottle as a surprise. At the end of the show, when we were packing up, the mother told me the little girl was all upset when she came back. Her exact words were, “The. Fairy. Bottle. Is. Gone!” Her mother kept telling her it was okay and it would all work out, but she was still very upset. Finally, her mother just told her to look in the bag. She is very happy with her new fairy bottle! Between that and the money I raised for my two charities, TSWGO and V-Day, it was worth it, regardless of my wallet when I come home. |
On Fairy Wings and Acorn Hats
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