box-o-bracelets

A (big, huge) part of running a tiny handcraft business is PR, which, unfortunately, is not something I happen to be a big huge fan of doing, mostly because my time is pretty well used up with the making of stuff, the parenting of kids, the trying to have a conversation with my husband now & again, &, lately, the obsessing over fabric.  However, sometimes everything falls into place, I catch an opportunity at the right time, & I get in on some cool stuff, like the latest thing I've been working on:  a big batch of my star felt bracelets going off to be part of The Sampler's* goodie bag at the gift lounge thingy for the MTV Movie Awards (you know, when celebrities get to go into a room & be given lots of presents just for showing up & being famous?  Yeah.).

I've already sent in some superstar tees in adult sizes, & now I'm getting to ready to send these:

Because I have no idea who's going to be getting these, I tried to avoid too much pink glitter, so they're a little more understated, colorwise, than my usual batch of wristbands.  (My standard bracelet customer is female, but every now & then a guy will pick one up & look completely fantastic in it.  It seems to be self-selecting:  if a guy even thinks of trying on a glitter wristband, chances are he can totally pull off the look.)

Turns out that having to put a zillion snaps on a whole bunch of bracelets is the perfect moment to listen to Alicia's interview on CraftSanity, which I recommend as a charming & inspirational way to pass the time. Those of you who have heard it will know why it was amusing to listen to while I was doing assembly-line style work. I am slowly figuring out a good balance between my work crafting, which is often "mass production" (although really, how "mass" can it be when it's just me doing the producing?), & my pleasure crafting, for which I often choose painstaking, one-of-a-kind projects.  I find different elements of each type of work satisfying, although there's always some place in the middle of any kind of time-consuming project that I wish I was doing the other thing.

With this out the door & nothing too "mass" coming up next, maybe now it's time to take time to plant the tomatoes I picked up at the annual Tilth sale, maybe get started on that next quilt I've been thinking about.  Relaxing, painstaking, rewarding stuff. 

*I've been a contributor to The Sampler for a year & a half now, & it's a pretty fun gig.  Tons of Sampler info on the website, or you can listen to Marie's recent interview on CraftyPod.

Comments

[Blair]

What a great post Daria. Congrats on getting all those bracelets done, but I must say I really take solace in the idea that we're all trying to balance what we do that makes money for us, and what you call "pleasure crafting". Although my pleasure quilting is really really relaxing, I'll be a little sad when its done. And probably start a new quilt : )

[melissa f.]

i subscribed to the sampler way back in the beginning and have been hoarding two of your cards since then! i love the lemon one... anyway-- congratulations on the style lounge deal. I hope it works out!

[Sandrine (alias Didine ♥ )]

OOOh these bracelets are soooooo amazing ! You are so talented !