Monday, May 11, 2009

The Virtues of Handmade, and a Chance to Win

Hi everyone, I come bearing news of how you can win handmade crafted items every week, but first what is so great about handmade?

Why am I so obsessed with handmade, when I am clearly such a great retail shopper?

Handmade is the right fit for my heart, it makes the most sense to me, it is ethically the best choice, and you come away with something that is completely individual and unique.

Hand crafted items are environmental heroes - they are made with the tiniest of carbon footprints, and crafters are notorious for recycling, upcycling, and adapting things with very little waste. Council recycling programs actually use a lot of energy to transform used items into new materials.

Crafters make items themselves, under the conditions they choose, unlike sweat shop mass produced garments and items that exploit some of the worlds most underprivileged and uncared for workers.

Handmade goods that are not mass produced give the crafter or artisan the opportunity to inspect each item to make sure they are of the highest quality and worthy of releasing out into the world. I can't tell you how often I have come home with a garment that has a faulty seam, poorly sewn on sequins or beadwork, but no more!

With hand crafted wares you are very unlikely to see someone with the same design as you have purchased, and unique pieces are terrific gifts from the heart for that someone special.

So how can you win handcrafted items every week? Simple, there is a new blog in town, run by my friends who are Australian crafters and artisans, it is called Aussie Handmade Giveaway visit it at www.aussie-handmade-giveaway.com each week you have the chance to win different handmade items. You will also see the profiles of the different donating artisan, and learn more about their work and where you can browse and purchase if you are unlucky in the weeks draw.
I will be donating to the site in the week starting August 17th, but this weeks draw is for two beautiful pairs of handmade earrings by the site's founder, please go and have a look and good luck in the draw!

1 comment:

Jace said...

Very well-said, Starry. :) I believe every handmade item carries with it a part of the artisan/creator so that in itself is something unique.

Thanks for the link. I hope you're having fun working with, and contributing to, this group. :)