This pearl of wisdom turned up in a Facebook conversation between a group of crafters and it is a very valid point I'd like to explore a little further. This same person mentioned that she found it hard making the reality look the same as the idea in her head. Another wise member advised not to think about it too much - just let your hands get on with it. And she's right. Once you know what you want to do, just keep doing it until there is direct communication between your subconscience and your hands. It might not be exactly what your conscience had in mind but trust your "backroom brain" - it does know what it's doing.
I had been mulling along these lines over the last few weeks. My Folksy shop was in a bit of a mess and I came to the realisation I needed to develop the HobbityDog brand, for want of a better word, and build on my strengths. Or turn my perceived weaknesses into strengths. It was hard to identify my strengths (through a perverse sense of modesty) but I arrowed straight into my main weakness. OCD - obsessive compulsive detailing. My husband has always said this is one of the reasons our relationship works; he is the big, broad brushstrokes and I'm the pen and ink fine detailing. Combining my love of drawing and new-found love of doodle-stitching now seems the most blindingly obvious thing to concentrate on. I can't believe it didn't occur to me before. So, I will be taking a breather from the shop for a few weeks and shutting myself away in HobbityDog Central to sort things out and re-launch in the Spring.
When I started crafting semi-seriously (serious being defined as that point when you decide to give up the day job), I threw myself in head-long and started making all sorts of stuff with no real plan. Once my Folksy shop was up and running and I made a couple of sales, I got a little more confident about committing to crafting. I also started doing some proper research and realised I had gone about it all @#$£-about-face!
I found the items I liked all had a strong, unique creative identity - not just assembled pieces that anyone could do (which made me realise that's exactly what I was doing). There is an awful lot of "same-iness" out there and when one thing hits the mainstream imagination, everyone jumps on the bandwagon. I mean, who'd have thought cupcakes would become such a massive industry?
If I can give you one gem of insight, it is this: stick with the research. You will go through the depressing, debilitating and discouraging phase of thinking everyone on the planet is so far more talented than you. They are not. They are just "differently talented" or simply more experienced. See? Thinking IS the Death of Creativity. Instead, look at the big picture. Have a look at other people's shops and catalogues. You will soon see that the ones you like have a very distinctive style expressed in a small handful of themes. They have not spread themselves too thinly but have honed and developed their own signature.
So, trust your own instincts and take a leisurely meander down a road of your own making. I can guarantee it will be a much more interesting journey!
"Is It Nearly Spring Yet?"
To paraphrase Yoda: "to snow or not snow, there is no try". This winter of nothingness has left me yearning for Spring, where it might bluster and rain but at least there is a promise of good things to come in the garden. it's just cold and dry and grey at the moment so to hurry things along, I thought I'd pick out some favourite things from Folksy to cheer us all up. The theme is Blue Birds...
I had been mulling along these lines over the last few weeks. My Folksy shop was in a bit of a mess and I came to the realisation I needed to develop the HobbityDog brand, for want of a better word, and build on my strengths. Or turn my perceived weaknesses into strengths. It was hard to identify my strengths (through a perverse sense of modesty) but I arrowed straight into my main weakness. OCD - obsessive compulsive detailing. My husband has always said this is one of the reasons our relationship works; he is the big, broad brushstrokes and I'm the pen and ink fine detailing. Combining my love of drawing and new-found love of doodle-stitching now seems the most blindingly obvious thing to concentrate on. I can't believe it didn't occur to me before. So, I will be taking a breather from the shop for a few weeks and shutting myself away in HobbityDog Central to sort things out and re-launch in the Spring.
When I started crafting semi-seriously (serious being defined as that point when you decide to give up the day job), I threw myself in head-long and started making all sorts of stuff with no real plan. Once my Folksy shop was up and running and I made a couple of sales, I got a little more confident about committing to crafting. I also started doing some proper research and realised I had gone about it all @#$£-about-face!
I found the items I liked all had a strong, unique creative identity - not just assembled pieces that anyone could do (which made me realise that's exactly what I was doing). There is an awful lot of "same-iness" out there and when one thing hits the mainstream imagination, everyone jumps on the bandwagon. I mean, who'd have thought cupcakes would become such a massive industry?
If I can give you one gem of insight, it is this: stick with the research. You will go through the depressing, debilitating and discouraging phase of thinking everyone on the planet is so far more talented than you. They are not. They are just "differently talented" or simply more experienced. See? Thinking IS the Death of Creativity. Instead, look at the big picture. Have a look at other people's shops and catalogues. You will soon see that the ones you like have a very distinctive style expressed in a small handful of themes. They have not spread themselves too thinly but have honed and developed their own signature.
So, trust your own instincts and take a leisurely meander down a road of your own making. I can guarantee it will be a much more interesting journey!
"Is It Nearly Spring Yet?"
To paraphrase Yoda: "to snow or not snow, there is no try". This winter of nothingness has left me yearning for Spring, where it might bluster and rain but at least there is a promise of good things to come in the garden. it's just cold and dry and grey at the moment so to hurry things along, I thought I'd pick out some favourite things from Folksy to cheer us all up. The theme is Blue Birds...
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| Little Black Heart |
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| Lotus Blossom |
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| Bluebirds Glass |
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| Littlebirdy Designs |
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| Planet Penny |
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| Artwork by Angie |
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| Bizzy Lizzy's |
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| Fiona Cameron Designs |
