What Does Handmade Mean to Me?

 "Handmade is subjective...it’s a process where a piece is designed and intimately constructed by the artisan...Often it shows the mark of being handcrafted in being “perfectly imperfect"." — Chris Hughes, Artifact Bag Co.

I couldn't have said this better myself! So I won't!

But I will try to dig deeper...it is creating something that emerges from the artist's brain and is inspired by something or someone, whether it be a single object or something as huge as God Himself, and takes on imperfect qualities since the artist is imperfect. Perfection does not come from imperfection. But that is exactly what handmade buyers love about hand-crafted items. They are not made with a machine that is set to make things over and over again, exactly to certain specifications. That is what makes handmade unique--no two pieces are the same, and they should not be expected to come that way.

To own something and use something that you know was thought up, designed, constructed, and carefully evaluated before going out for sale is really a neat concept. Going to a superstore and buying a cheap, uninspiring, unimaginative hunk of material that was mass-produced in a sweat shop is not a neat concept. Especially when you are looking for a gift for someone. Hands down, people love to receive handmade gifts over store-bought 9 times out of 10.

Handmade also means enjoying the God-given creativity in each of us. For me, it is jumping into my sewing room when I have a spare moment, and scanning through all my materials till several of them jump out at me and come together to make a project. Other times, I will purchase a specific set of materials to create an item that I have thought up in my head or seen examples of in a book or magazine or online. It means cutting, measuring, ripping, tearing out stitches, re-stitching, ironing, basting, gluing, poking, prodding, fusing, and the list goes on! There is a lot that goes into handmade, and each process is worth it when you can make something beautiful or useful, or both!

What does handmade mean to you?

“For better or worse, I never let go of the uninhibited feeling a child has when they imagine and create.” — Chris Hughes