What are you?
Crafter. Artisan. Designer. Maker.
What are your items?
Handmade. Homemade. Crafted. Created.
Last week in Scoutie Girl's "We Scout Wednesday" post she asked "how do you define handmade versus homemade?"
No matter which word you choose to define yourself and your items - it's all the same. Well, technically speaking. It gets tricky when you consider that all these words are subjective. Insert one person's perceptions, experiences, connotations and they transform into a whole other monster.
To a "serious" businesswoman calling her items "homemade" could be a slap in the face. They are, after all, fine silversmithed wares. To another equally professional crafter this may be a dear compliment. It means their items are embraced and valued on a personal level.
Last Christmas my half-sister's mother asked her not to spend any money on her for a gift because she would not be able to spend anything on her. During the phone conversation my sister eagerly replied, "Don't worry about it. I made your gift." The other line of the phone was silent for a moment and was quickly followed with "You made my gift?"
Skipping ahead to Christmas day. She opened her gift - a stunning lap quilt made using the many collected ties of her recently passed husband. Needless to say she cried in joy and memoriam and this is arguably her most prized possession.
So why get tied up in words? We're all passionate people creating items we love. We want our items to be valued, used and to impact the lives of those who use them in some small way. Homemade or handcrafted? Who cares. They're just words.
1 comment:
You have captured the essence of "I made it" well. No matter what words we chose, they fall short when we create or recreate something, the sentiment, the love, the desire behind it all, there is a type of power that moves anothers heart and how can that be contained in a word?
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