28 Jun 2011

Handmade courage

Today I would like to tell you about all the ideas I have floating around in my head.

The area I live in at the moment is not all that keen on handmade, as I said before.  But I must admit that I have noticed a turn in this.  A very slow, slow turn.  But there none the less.  There seems to be more handmade items available in the gift shops. Albeit imported handmade items.  Well, perhaps they only look handmade.  Nevermind.  I also notice that more vintage-looking items are finding their way into the shops.
So, that being said, I really think that the handmade and vintage movement(s) just maybe maybe might be catching on around here.
Look, Pretoria is nothing like, say, Cape Town, where there is a culture of art and craft.  I'm not talking African mask head craft.  I'm talking sewing, knitting type crafts.  When I was a teenager there was a fabric store on every second corner, a wool-shop on every other and many general craft stores in between.  These have dwindled over the years to basically nothing.  I'm happy to say that the big shop in Pretoria who has been holding a monopoly on craft materials is losing its strangle hold.  This shop - and I will name no names, is the bane of my existence.  Rude, unhelpful and absolutely totally, 100% overpriced.  It's a huge store and I've been going there since I was a girl.  Now I do not set my foot in there.  And I will only go there ever, ever again if it's really a question of HAVE, HAVE, HAVE to.  Anyway, I'm going off at a tangent.
My point is this:  I have to grab a corner of the market.  As in RIGHT NOW.  I need money, but mostly I need time.  I need money.  If I had money I could resign and then I would have time.  But mostly I need money. No. Time. No. Money.
Despite what I was told as a child, I do have talent and now I only need the courage to take a huge leap of faith.  Well, it's taken me forty years to acknowledge the fact that I have talent.  If it takes me another forty to build up the courage...well, erm...I think that just might be slightly too late....
Ugh.  Sometimes I irritate myself.

Cecilia

3 comments:

  1. Oh, Cecelia, you can definitely do it! Your work I have seen so far is beautiful. Sounds like Pretoria needs someone like you!

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  2. Thank you so much for the words of encouragement, Julie! Really appreciate it.

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  3. You just grab Pretoria's 'face' and turn it towards the beauty of handmade. You have the skill to do so.

    Blessings...

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