Why I Love Handmade & Vintage

Handmade is a term a learned from an early age. I remember insisting on making some of my Halloween costumes because the store-bought ones just wouldn't suffice. I tried to make a California Raisin costume one year...epic fail...but I tried. Punk rocker was a lot easier to pull of. My earliest memories of handmade involve my grandmothers. One grandmother was always cooking from scratch. Another grandmother sewed my tap-dance costumes. I remember watching her finish them and trying them on...now I have the pictures to stir distance memories. I was lucky to have more than two grandmothers. So, another grandmother crocheted these elaborate doll dresses for me. I kept the dresses (and original dolls) and my daughter enjoys them now. My step-mom took a basket weaving class once and I still have one of her baskets. Other creative influences in my life include my grandfather, my aunt who sews, and my uncle the decorator guru. I can't wait to see what the next generations grow-up to do!

I was a bit of a tom-boy as a little girl. I grew up in the woods of Maine so I didn't have many playmate options...it just so happened my closest playmates were usually boys. I spent many days exploring through the woods and attempting to build forts with wood scraps and trees. I have a younger brother too, so I spent days trying to entertain him as well. One summer we managed to make our own swing from an old water-skiing rope. We also constructed elaborate snow mazes in the winter. I can safely say, imagination and creativity was something I was NOT lacking as a child.

After reflecting on my childhood, it's no surprise to me that I LOVE handmade and vintage items. Vintage items are nostalgic and beautiful. I especially love vintage items that spark memories from my early childhood...like breadboxes, carnival glass bowls, and old step stool seats. I've been really lucky to have parents with a basement full of awesome stuff. I've scored a collection of old local milk bottles and a wood milk crate that I now use to store shoes at my front door.

I feel fortunate to have had such experiences and influences in my life. I enjoy submerging myself in the handmade community and helping others to learn about this part of culture.