The beauty of something handmade

I was just sitting in the living room looking out into the rain and working on one of the Christmas presents I'm making this year (no details of presents will be disclosed until AFTER Christmas!!). So, I was sitting there thinking about the blog entry form Sweet Juniper about saving the auto industry because there is something worth saving in an industry that actually produces something. And then I was thinking about myself sitting there actually making something for someone. There is a lot of beauty in making something for someone, in sitting down and working on a craft, it's soothing, it's rewarding. It fills you with pride to have the finished product in front of you , knowing that you made this yourself. 

There seems to be a surge in craft fairs and markets as well. I love the Portobello West market here in Vancouver, I wanted to go to the Circle Craft Fair, but life was too busy those days... I love the etsy website. I enjoy looking at other people's work and admiring it. I like reading the story surrounding the work: "Today the first frost came over Newfoundland and all the leaves started falling from the trees without any wind. I spun this yarn to celebrate this moment." What a beautiful description of how that particular yarn was made. It connects the person who will use the yarn with the person who made the yarn. I think the beauty of that is particularly important in our world where we are continuously disconnected from the products we use. Who knows where the meat or the produce in the supermarket comes from? The sweater in the store? Made in some sweatshop in Asia? Who knows and most of the time - who really is concerned about it? Who is confused about stuff traveling the world to make it to a sale close to your home?

That's where the beauty of making something yourself comes in. You sit, take your time and create something. It's no longer so disconnected, so anonymous. So maybe in a world where we are so disconnected from the things around us and sometimes from the people we love, a handmade item connects us again.