What would You Call a Handmade Life?

When you hear the phrase Handmade Life what do you think of? A person living off the grid, growing their own food and making their own clothes? A suburban mom who cooks from scratch rather than boxed or take out? How about trying to buy as much local as possible but never creating anything themselves?

There was a time that if you wanted something you had to either build it, grow it, trade for it or do without.  As technology and mass production has taken over, many have moved so far away from handmade that they no longer appreciate the work that goes into the everyday objects around them.  So why would anyone want to move “backwards?”  Back to the days of more a more self-sustaining, handmade  way of living?  There are so many reasons!

Created by The Wood Hut

How about the sense of accomplishment when you look at something and say “I made that!”  Remember when you were young and created a macaroni sculpture, complete with white school glue oozing out the sides and pieces of pasta falling to the floor.  You would take it to your mom with stars in your eyes as she oohed and ahhed over your amazing work of art.  Was it art?  Maybe not, but you still stood with pride saying “look what I made!”  Believe it or not, you can still do that when you create an item with your own two hands.

Money!  Whether you believe it is the root of all evil or what makes the world go around, or even both, money is the driving force behind so many things.  You may choose to create your own furniture, your own clothes, your own jewelry or any number of things because you can’t afford to pay retail prices for the things you want.  You may create to sell and bring in extra income.  Whatever your reason, there are plenty of items that can be handmade for far less (and often better quality) than what you find in the store.

Created by AJ’s Designs

Getting back to basics?  There are a host of TV shows on the air now about people getting back to basics of life.  Many feel that the fast pace of the world has caused us to lose touch with humanity and the earth.  For some, the remedy is to get back to doing for themselves again.  This could be something as simple as baking bread for the first time to planting a garden to sending a handmade card in the mail (imagine that…..communication without texting!) to creating a chair!  Whatever you decide, when you do a project with time and thought you will feel your racing mind slowing and your focus sharpening.

So, what do you think?  What do you consider a handmade life?  Are you going back to basics in some way or are you one who believes that we should embrace all things that make us go faster and easier?  A combination of the two?  No right answers, but take a second to really think about it and share it in the comments!

Tags: art, basic, card, greeting card, Handmade, handmadeartists, lap desk, primitive, simple life

Posted in Discover Handmade, Handmade, Handmade Artisans, Handmade Harbor, Handmade Highlight, Promote Handmade