March 28, 2012

where craftiness comes from: where it takes you

create print by stephanie corfee - click image for more info

When I first started this column over a year ago, I was interested in finding out where our creativity actually comes from. Was it our upbringing or formal education? Was it just natural or something that we have to find for ourselves?

The answer is not as clear as I thought it might be. It is all of that and more.

There is creativity and craftiness within each person you meet.

There is no one way to find it; it can be encouraged or supported or it can be found through something that you learn. I spoke to many creators in all different fields for this column, and I found that creativity can just appear when you need it most.

For many of us it is an outlet, first and foremost, before it’s a job or a career. It allows us to be ourselves in the best kind of way. It is something that makes our hearts light up and feel just what we need to.

Many people talk of creativity in terms of following our dreams and making a difference, and that is true, but it’s not all of it. Craftiness comes from the heart. It’s in our everyday decision-making and there when we take the biggest leaps, whatever they may be.

I’ve learned that there is a big, friendly community out there that is just waiting to support and encourage that creativity, even if we can’t find it within our own family or friends. There are people out there who get it and know the ups and downs. I think it’s important to realize that, and to cherish it for what it is.

Support can come from the strangest of places, if we only care to look.

Craftiness and creativity are a journey where we grow and learn, not only about the craft itself but about who we are as people and where we want to go. It gives us a chance to believe in ourselves in a world that doesn’t always think that that’s ok.

I think, in the end, what I learnt from this column and all the awesome people I interviewed is that it isn’t really about where your craftiness comes from, but where you take it, and where you let it take you.

If we can all embrace the creativity we have and the creativity that we see in others, we can make a better future for all of us.

Don’t you think so, too?

This is my last column for Scoutie Girl. Thank you so much for reading, it’s been a pleasure to go on this journey with you. – Dannielle

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March 14, 2012

where craftiness comes from: leah jones

Leah Jones is a wife, mother, and hand stamped jeweler who lives in Vermont. Recently, we caught up to talk about where her craftiness comes from.

family ring necklace by alloy jewelry - click image for more info

Leah is the amazing artist and jeweler behind the delightful Alloy Jewelry.

Leah grew up in a creative and fun environment in Vermont, spending much of her childhood outdoors with other children in her neighborhood. There was a lot of room for her imagination to grow and for her to explore the world through her eyes. She feels that creativity was a natural part of her upbringing.

I think if you are given the space to imagine when you are younger, it manifests itself in other ways as you grow older.
- Leah Jones

In college, Leah majored in English and minored in Studio Art, which allowed her to become resourceful and inventive, both things she has carried with her into her business. She worked as an editor after college, but after a while she was drawn to create her own business. Once she tried hand stamped jewelry, she knew she was hooked.

Leah’s family and friends supported her in building her business when her son was first born, and her husband encouraged her to set up a working space in their basement. During busy times, you can find many of her friends and family helping out in the basement after her children are asleep for the night.

While Leah works alone in her studio creating, she is also part of the Vermont Hand Crafters, who are, in her own words, “a community of amazing crafters, all Vermonters.” It is that sense of community from other artisans that is also special to her.

Leah has reminded me of how imagination and that creativity that is within each of us can lead us to a job that we love, no matter what that job may be.

Don’t you think so, too?

Thanks, Leah! Visit her here: website – twitter – facebook

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February 29, 2012

where craftiness comes from: bringing things back to life

original receipt for the letterpress that tif smith saved - click to find out more

There is a true sense of joy that we feel when we are creating something from scratch. It’s the feel of it and the way that finished product looks when it is complete. It is something that all creators feel.

But sometimes we don’t need to create something new to feel that, we just need to find something that needs our love and attention to bring it back to life. A big part of crafting is in finding a new purpose or renewing life to something.

We as creative people have the vision and the ability to create and restore things so that they are both beautiful and useful.

Sometimes we can call on our community when we find these special objects that need our love and attention to ask for their support and assistance to help make these things the powerful and beautiful objects they were once before. Letterpresses are one kind of object that are often found right at the moment that they need to be saved from scratch. It is an art form that is both beautiful and functional and deserves to be saved.

Tif Smith, a graphic designer and lover of all things print, found a letterpress that was just one week from being turned into scrap metal and she knew instantly that she needed to do whatever it took to save that machine. She and her husband have formed Stubborn Press & Co to turn that machine back into a working press.

There is something about handmade that just cannot be reproduced through mass production; it has its own magical quality.

That is something that Tif is hoping to create with her old letterpress. Letterpress is something that we love to touch and something that allows us to feel connected to the way things were. She is working to restore it to its former glory and is hoping, with some community assistance via a Kickstarter project, that she will be able to make that dream a reality and to bring more beautiful letterpress into this world.

I truly think that a piece of machinery like this is worth saving. It’s a piece of history and something that led to how the world is today. I love to feel a connection to our past and to feel a community coming together to save something that deserves to be saved.

Do you feel that way, too?

The Kickstarter project has just started. You can find out more about this awesome machine and donate to the project here.

Filed Under: Read & Play, Where Craftiness Comes From Tagged With: , , , , , , , , 6 Comments
February 15, 2012

where craftiness comes from: building memories

for like ever wood sign by williamdohman - click image for more info

The one thing that I love about craftiness and creativity is how it brings us together. In a world where things are fast and everyone seems constantly in a hurry, creating is the one thing that helps us to slow down and take stock.

No matter what the activity is, from sewing with friends to crafting with children, we naturally slow down and relax into the here and now. It gives us space to breathe and time to think. It lets us laugh, and just have fun.

How many of you remember the times spent at art classes or with parents or grandparents creating something? It wasn’t always about the finished product that you created but the time you spent creating.

It’s the memories we create that live on, sometimes much longer than the activity itself.

I remember one summer, I babysat my younger cousins who were 6 & 8 at the time, 3 days a week for the whole summer. We spent those days creating scrapbooks of places they’d like to visit on vacation and learning about the cultures of other countries. Eight years later, we still talk about the fun we had that TV free summer.

The scrapbooks weren’t perfect and the information in them is out of date, but the memories have stuck like glue. I think sometimes we can let these opportunities slip by through busyness and the feeling that we don’t deserve or haven’t earned the time to relax. But it’s amazing what an afternoon of fun creating can do to clear your mind and help you focus next time you need to be on the ball.

Creative sparks of brilliance come when you least expect them.

I think our creativity comes from inside our clever brains and our happy hearts. Sometimes we just need to stop, listen, and give it time to come to the surface.

Do you agree?

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January 25, 2012

where craftiness comes from: your creative calling

blue light disco blue agate and sterling silver earrings by mich vanetta - click image for more info

Throughout this column I have explored the idea of craftiness and where it comes from. It has allowed me to realize that craftiness and creativity are within all of us, no matter what upbringing we had.

These often show up as part of our personality and the way that we live our everyday lives, in the way that we create for our families, or the way that we prepare food, or even in our careers. Craftiness is something that can be nurtured from childhood, or something that we choose to pursue without that familial support.

Your creative calling will find you.

This is not to say that you don’t have to work to make dreams come true, but that there is creativity and craftiness within you, no matter how much you see it as something that other people do. It is in the way that we think and the way that we problem solve our day-to-day lives. It is the common ground that brings us closer with others, something that we share in common.

Maybe we just need to change our definition of creativity to see that it is just part of us, rather than something only a special few have.

Some people aren’t ready to see their creative side until later in life and others know what they love from the time they are children. Sometimes you stumble upon it when you think you’re looking for something else.

From writing this column I have learnt that it is all about being true to who you are and the rest will come. Don’t write off your creative strengths just because it’s not traditional, or it doesn’t make you money. Creativity and craftiness are so much more than that.

Don’t you think so, too?

Filed Under: Read & Play, Where Craftiness Comes From Tagged With: , , , , , 1 Comment