Is the culture of handmade is dying?
By agirnow
@agirnow (157)
France
August 17, 2009 11:23am CST
In the 'olden days' little ladies sat around a quilting frame with the whole neighborhood and spent days on end hand quilting with their mothers, daughters, neighbors, friends. Ladies would make baby booties and crochet afghans and mittens. Mothers would make wedding dresses and girls would make wedding ring quilts.
Nowadays, all of these things take too much time and are bought... many of them are made by people in underdeveloped countries who are being taken advantage of and living off of less than a dollar a day. Our lives are so fast pace that handmade is becoming lost in wake.
What do you think about this loss of personalization in our lives?
I have decided to make an e-store on DaWanda.com where I sell handmade items (clothing, purses, wallets, jewelery, scarves, paintings). Everything in my store is handmade (or painted) and if there is something that you would like that you can't find there, contact me and I would be happy to make a treasure just for you!
http://en.dawanda.com/shop/the-grab-bag
http://en.dawanda.com/shop/the-grab-bag
http://en.dawanda.com/shop/the-grab-bag
If you like what you see, please tag my products on your facebook, myspace or just email your friends that might be interested! Let's keep the tradition and beauty of handmade, unique items alive!
5 responses
@ellaprice76 (196)
• United States
22 Aug 09
I see a change, handmade items are becoming more popular and I'm starting to see people who are trying to learn the art of knitting. I actually had a conversation of a guy who started knitting.
I used to make my own clothes but now I no longer save any money making my own clothes by time I buy the fabric often I can find the item for less then the fabric would cost me. I make some of my dance outfits but I often find them cheaper online then if I would make them myself. On average a circle skirt from India costs me about $20.00 if I make it myself I it could cost me more. They always say you only need 1 yard but depending on the fabric you may need more plus heming a circle skirt and have it flow well while dancing is difficult.
@agirnow (157)
• France
22 Aug 09
I have yet to meet a guy who knits, even among my more effeminate fellow friends. I agree that making your own clothes can get expensive. I generally only make clothes when I really want something specific that I can't find. As far as finding fabric cheaper, I have started searching through thrift store scarf collections... I love scarves probably more than is healthy, lol, and I love to make things with them. The two bags on my site that are made of scarves, I paid about 4 euros for them and I have bought other scarves for 1 euro each. I realize it's not that much cheaper when compared to a whole yard, but thrift stores can offer lots of fabric, even if you don't like the garment, the fabric could be used for something else.
@ellaprice76 (196)
• United States
23 Aug 09
I need to keep that in mind. I never thought about it. I'm currently making a 4 panel skirt out of curtains which no longer match the rest of the room.
@histechnoangel (356)
• United States
10 Nov 09
check out Ravelry.com or craftster.org .. there are people from all ages and from all over the world. I agree in this "instant gratification" world we live in, it can seem like it's dying, but it's not. Especially with the economy here in the USA, making your own ANYTHING can be a lot cheaper and also more "green".
@subearthancottage (39)
• United States
25 Aug 09
I think it's growing again. Just last year several new online venues for selling handmade items popped up, such as ArtFire, 1000 Markets, and Shop Handmade. I've also noticed several new local craft fairs. These venues wouldn't be there if there wasn't an increased demand for them.
There are also tons of crafter blogs and how to's with more being added every day.
@carrums (14)
• Canada
21 Aug 09
I love handmade, I craft a lot, and I definitely buy handmade for gifts whenever possible! I don't think it is dying, I think it is becoming trendy again! Hurray!
Slightly off topic, I was wondering what made you choose Dawanda for your shop, as opposed to any of the other handmade sites? Is there something specific about it that was appealing to you?
@agirnow (157)
• France
21 Aug 09
I chose DaWanda for a few reasons, first of all is because there is not listing fee. I did not want to have to pay 20 cents several times to sell one thing, in case the right person didn't come along quick enough. The second reason I use DaWanda is because it is international and I am a US citizen living in France right now. It makes my life easier to be able to post in English and French on the same site. I have heard about Etsie, which is a US based site, and I hear they are a bit of a pain.
Did you visit the shop? DaWanda is well organized and easy to find anything you need. I would love some feed back too!
