support local & independent artists...and remember those abroad, too!

I probably don't need to add too much to that, to be honest! Like many others, I make regular gift purchases on Etsy and in other handmade venues. In fact, I am so looking forward to going to Chicago's Renegade Handmade Holiday Fair next Saturday. The joint is just overflowing with handmade goodness!

Another place I've done some of my holiday shopping in recent years is Ten Thousand Villages, a non-profit chain of stores that sell fair trade goods from around the world. I'm lucky to have one located just a couple blocks from my apartment so I can stop in regularly to see what's new.

While I'm a big fan of reducing my carbon footprint as much as possible, I also believe in fair trade practices, as they support artisans and crafters in areas of the world where they wouldn't otherwise have a stable income. So sometimes I give a little on the carbon footprint bit -- those goods still have to be shipped here from overseas, after all -- to help my fellow human beings have a better life.

That's a trade-off I'm so very willing to make. I realize more and more each day how fortunate I am to live the life that I do. My problems are first world problems -- do I have time to get to the grocery store after work? will the gift I mailed get there in time? can my building manager come by soon to deal with the excessively hot water I'm getting in my shower because it's, y'know, kind of uncomfortable?

Big whoop! These are not really problems!

Who cares if my water's too hot or the gift is late or it's tomorrow when I get to the store? I am incredibly fortunate and increasingly grateful for the fact that I have a job that I'm well compensated for, complete with health insurance. I can buy food easily. I can buy and mail gifts with ease. I have hot water whenever I want, even if it's too hot for comfort. Much of the rest of the world, like the artisans supported by Ten Thousand Villages, may not have clean water or a bed or a regular job or food or the simple luxuries that so many in the U.S. tend to take for granted every single day.

Making a few fair trade purchases from abroad, rather than from local artisans, seems the very least that I can do. I'm still purchasing handmade goods, and doing more than a little good in the process.

in⋅spi⋅ra⋅tion [in-spuh-rey-shuhn]

via chrispiascik.com

Ten Commandments of Crafting

Amy Sedaris is one of those offbeat, quirky comedians that I sooooo wish I could think like. She just thinks different! She's recently written a book on crafting -- which I'm sure will be hilarious! -- called Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People. So when Etsy's Storque blogged about her Ten Commandments of Crafting, I simply had to share. Enjoy!

The Ten Commandments of Crafting (according to Amy Sedaris)

I. Remember the crafting day, to keep it hobby.

II. Thou shalt not attempt crafting beyond thy intellectual capacity — a nitwit can't knit.

III. Thou shalt not craft graven images of thy neighbor's wife.

IV. Thou shalt remember to replace the glue cap so the top of the bottle doesn't dry out and then thou hast to get a pin to poke a hole but the glue never really flows as well as it did before.

V. Thou shalt not fill envelopes with glitter and confetti and send them in the mail. (Editor's note: especially to me!)

VI. Thou shalt remember that popsicle stick crafts only have the illusion of being structurally sound.

VII. Thou shalt not force a mollusk out of its shell by boiling it alive but rather coax it out with a fork when making a shell necklace.

VII. This craft book, which towers above all other craft books, is a jealous craft book. Thou shalt have no other craft books before it.

IX. Remember to honor thy crafting and pastimes for they are a great way to get your mind off all the damage thy parents did. 

X. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's crafts, even though those crafts look like they are supposed to, and thouist crafts resemble a random pile of yarn.

wonderful amazing image by hugh macleod of gaping void

There are moments at my day job, when I am acutely feeling the burdens of campus bureaucracy, 

when I have to remind myself of this. My work in college health promotion is inspired by and revolves 

entirely around helping students become more healthy and successful until graduation and beyond. 

Those thousands of souls need to be touched. 

And the moments when the light bulb visibly goes on over a student's head 

or one gives me a genuine, heartfelt thank you 

or some other less warm and fuzzy (but no less important) moment occurs, 

those are the moments that keep me going...the moments when I know I've touched a soul. 

That's the upside. 

The downside is all that soul-touching can be exhausting for me.

Today was my one year anniversary in this job, a year in which I've accomplished much, 

but also a year in which my primary relationship has been with that job. 

Not really even with myself, and very infrequently with my creativity, but with my work. 

The irony of that is my work is all about promoting self-care and self-responsibility. 

So maybe my second year on this not-so-new job of mine needs to be about touching my own soul.

Redefining my relationship with myself. 

Maybe even getting my creative mojo back.

That would definitely touch my soul.  

Not one, but two!

I curated two Treasuries in the past week, but completely forgot to post the first one here until I created the second one today. Here are screenshots of both. Click on the linked name of each Treasury to leave a comment on Etsy. :)

The first one, Create! Make! Be inspired!, is, I suspect, a thinly veiled attempt by my subconscious to kick me in the butt and encourage me to start making more frequently. I hear you, subconscious. Really. I get it already. Sheesh. 

Today's Treasury creation, How shall I wear thee...let me count the ways...on my fingers!, is inspired by something I don't vary my wearing of too often -- rings. I have two I like to wear and that feel right; nothing else feels the same or just annoy me!  So I admire other artist's efforts instead of actually wearing them. I threw in a bit of color whimsy on this one, arranging the warmer colors on a diagonal and in the center, while the cooler colors ring the outside. 

 I'd love to hear your feedback and for you to visit these talented Etsians!