Thursday, June 9, 2011

restocking: taking stock

I have finally restocked my etsy shop. There are latte cups, a few honey pots, new mugs, and more solid-colored spoon rests.  And more to come- both locally and online.

Saturday's last market day was good- events unfolded so that it was bitter-sweet, more sweet than anything else.  My instincts that it was time to go were validated- friends were sad but happy to see me embarking on a new chapter.  Now- to begin that new chapter?  What shall I do?

I'm listening to myself, to my customers, to new opportunities that come knocking.  I'm revising my plans and my expectations of myself.  One large revision is throwing away expectations of perfection.  I'm embracing wabi-sabi- all of my work shows my hand.  There is a flaw in every piece because I am a human, flawed, wonderfully imperfect.  And I'm getting to the point where I'm ok with that.  I'm not going to kill myself trying to make work that looks like it rolled off a factory line somewhere and should be sitting at (name your favorite large kitchen-ware retailer)__________.  Stopping that right here.  Happily.

I have shelves full of work to be fired upstairs and am waiting until it is just a *little* cooler before I fire again.  We've had 2 weeks of 100+ heat indices and actual temps of 95+.  I think most of the country has.  I'm in no hurry.  It's summer.  It's the south.  We move slowly for a reason (but we're thinking fast, don't let our pace or drawl fool you!).

Ok.  all done.  Y'all have a nice weekend.

4 comments:

sarah jean, said...

good job! listen to yourself. and i like the part of being "human, flawed, wonderfully imperfect." wonderfully imperfect. perfect.

Molly said...

i like you're new wabi-sabi work approach!

i filled both my berry bowls with strawberries yesterday, the whole time thinking nice thoughts about you.

Laura Matthews said...

Very exciting! Off to look...also, would LOVE more baby mugs with BIRDS at Original Ink! Finally went in there yesterday - such neat things! Love your work!

Ernie Storage Boxes said...

Glad you finally came around. Perfection is just not human. Besides there is something about little "flaws" that make each piece more unique. Keep up the good work.