Saturday, April 11, 2009

Who Cares?

When the market is flooded with mass produced goods, how many of us still care about Handmade? How many still cherish things that are Homemade? I do not know, but at least I still do.

When I first made the feathered headbands and combs, those who were truly concerned and some who were merely curious raised this question to me "Why do you make these yourself?". I could understand where they were coming from. I know they have been seeing mass produced feathered headband everywhere. I seen those myself too. However, I still believe in designing and making the feathered headbands myself. All the headbands I made are solely one piece per design and yet I am selling them at the price similar to those mass produced headbands. For people who fancy feathered headbands, I am sure they would not like to wear a headband that can be so commonly found. Just imagine one fine evening you are fully dressed up for a special party, but your night is ruined at last because...too bad!! several other guests are wearing the headband similar to yours.

So the question comes back to why do I want to make the items by hand when the profit margin is so low and it is so time consuming. I have to say it is self-satisfaction that keeps me going. Firstly, I am always thrilled and pleased with myself when I complete an item. Secondly, when someone is impressed with my creations, that is a double bonus.

I have to admit that handmade stuffs are rarely flawless unless they are made by very well-experienced artisans. Nevertheless, it is always the imperfections that make hand produced items perfect. Why? Because every piece comes from the heart.

Handmade Feathered Headband

I am so extremely energetic and inspired these days. I am not sure what are the forces behind, but I hope this momentum would keep on going. I have made quite a numberof things that I am so eager to exhibit and sell at the next junkyard sale.

I am looking forward to it. Are you?