crafty chicks

Readers... I have a plan.  It isn’t particularly cunning, but it enables me to keep focused on what I want in life and where I want to be.  My plan is haphazardly divided into three parts; Plan Part A is to be a published novelist (which I rambled on about last time I blogged), Plan Part B is to pursue my other creative pursuits and Part C is to sort out the rest of my life.  Keeping them separate stops me getting too overwhelmed and, most of the time, they bumble along quite nicely without bothering each other.  But the other week my desire to buy a flat (a la Plan C) inspired my dream to create things for a living (see Plan B) – and escape the rat race.

You see, when I last looked into it, I discovered that I could just about afford to buy a flat in Walthamstow.  Having already explored it a month or two ago, I recently returned to have a look around the Lloyd Park area.  I was pleasantly surprised – the surrounding streets looked nice enough, the park itself had a lovely community feel and, to top it off, it was the home of the William Morris Gallery.

I admit that, unlike my mum, Mr Morris’s designs don’t really excite me, but what I love about him and his contemporaries was their creation of the Arts and Crafts Movement – the rejection of mass production in favour of carefully crafted wares made by skilled artisans.  It’s a concept I very much admire – and one that I feel is having a bit of a revival at the moment.  However, these days, your average person has more free time than the working class Victorian and many of us are embracing craft into our own lives.  

Take my colleagues for example.  One of the managers in my team and I often swap knitting tips, and my fave venue Drink Shop Do is the worst kept secret in the service.  The other week I went there with three other ladies to have a go at screen printing our own tote bags – and we 

Ta-da!

Sadly, I have learnt the hard way that whilst people are getting to know their creative side, craft markets are struggling this year.  In the last fortnight I have had stalls at two markets – Wonderhill Market at the Tooting Tram and Social and The Christmas Market at Morden Hall – and have been disappointed by low turnouts... and the lack of sales.  More experienced stall holders tell me that this is a tough year, and market organisers are struggling to 

Stall plus stall buddy Laura at Morden Hall

Printing in action

all loved it.  I’m sure my colleagues won’t mind me saying that they aren’t people who regularly make stuff, but all of us left with wonderful bags for us to carry our shopping home in – or to give to our loved ones for Christmas.

My stall at Wonderhill

attract shoppers (and traders) to events, even in the run up to Christmas.  Okay, so in a recession mass produced pressies are going to be a lot easier on the purse but, knowing that Etsy and Folksy are booming, I can’t help but be surprised by this.  Having said that, with the convenience of the internet, why would shoppers traipse around stalls in the freezing cold when they can buy unique gifts with the click of a button?

Whatever the reason, I will not be defeated!  I have already created accounts on both the aforementioned websites and shall be getting some of my stuff on line for people to buy asap.  So, if you need a little bit of something different to stuff your stockings with, watch this space... or, if you see something you like on the site, just drop me a line via my contact page and I’ll see what I can do!