Handmade - the heirlooms of the future

I recently heard about "The Compact" an environmental movement that started in San Francisco . In order to combat rampant consumerism Compacters vow that for one year they will not buy anything new.

The Compacter's blog is full of interesting issues about consumerism, from the ethics of having pets to questions of shipping secondhand goods across the country versus buying local. I think these are really hard questions and often wonder how does craft and in particular making pots fit into the ethos of consumerism?


Consumers are my bread and butter- if it wasn't for people wanting beautiful, handmade things I wouldn't be able to pursue my profession and put my rather specialized skills to use. I think all craft guerillas should espouse a craft guerilla version of compacting- buying household goods and presents handmade locally rather than dropping in to Ikea or a department store. If everyone replaced their broken coffee cups with locally produced ware and bought their wedding gifts from local jewellers , local economies would benefit . You would save money on petrol, and add to your local skills and "creative capital".

What can we call the movement to buy local, handmade products and shun foreign imported ones? Rather than "Compacting " I see this movement as an expansion, a connection with real people, not factories, a way to appreciate the time it takes to create the things we use everyday. Thoughtful consumerism.

I love handmade things and mostly try to support those I know and who live locally, but supporting interstate and international handmakers is also important. I think the main thing is to buy infrequently and for posterity. Handmade items are the heirlooms of the future.

Absolutley beautiful handprinted fabric by Australian artist Julie Patterson for her company "Cloth". Based in Sydney.

We go together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong

We go together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong
Remembered forever as shoo-bop sha whada whadda yippidy boom da boom
Chang chang changity chang shoo bop that's the way it should be
Waooo Yeah

This is an exerpt from that deeply philosophical musical "Grease". It is a good introduction for things that go together (like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong)
rainy nights and reading in bed
mint and cucumber
cups of tea and cake
.......Mav and Stephanie have a wonderful blog called 3191. They live 3191 miles apart and everyday both take a photo of their morning, for one year these little snippets from their lives will be posted every day.

Here is a pasage from the book I am reading "The Apricot Colonel" by Marion Halligon.
She is a great writer ....

"Desert came. Little glass dishes of rosewater ices. Sweetmeats, fruits, nuts, Turkish delight, on green leaf-shaped platesscattered with rose petals. Sweet wine in tiny glass cups." pp.150

I also think pink and green go together.

Beautiful pots by English ceramicist Joanna Howells.

Everybody Cares What You Had for Lunch

I saw a book at the library yesterday called "No-one Cares What you had For Lunch". It is about blogging and how bloggers get stuck, the author, Margaret Mason thinks that you shouldn't waste your blog space with boring bits and pieces about what you had for lunch etc. In the craft world bloggers are desperately interested in what others had for lunch- Sometimes just a brief look at Tummy Rumbles, descriptions of food can cheer me up and provide thought provoking conversation for days amongst my blogging friends. Jen Causey's Simply Photo gets me salivating and I also love Port2port's recipes and down to earth exchanges regarding the all important subject of Lunch, Breakfast, Dinner or for that matter Snacks.
(photo by Jennifer Causey)


I think the frank exchange of delicious things is a wonderful way of connecting the cyber world to the earthy, burpy real world of the craft artist. Way back in the mists of time I was doing a Masters Degree and the subject of my thesis was the pretty obscure study of "...contemporary women novelists and how food and cooking are used as a means of communication in their novels." (Ann Tyler and Helen Garner were two of the novelists I studied.) I've left the brow furrowing world of academia far behind me but I still think that communication through food is very subtle, immediate and important. From breastfeeding to wedding feasts to helping some-one you care about calm down with a cup of tea , this is a language we all understand. That is one of the main reasons I love making domestic pots.

Today I did not have a very exciting lunch. But this is what I wish I had for lunch...
(photo once again by Jennifer Causey)
Pretty all my favourite lunches involve some combination of bread and cheese.

Actually I think every one should care what you had for lunch- What did you have?

my kitchen

My kitchen 5th February 2007.

fishing the craft sea

I have been lusting after American potter Rae Dunn's work.
These handbuilt pieces with little messages are so warm and inviting, they remind me of the lovely work of Kylie Johnson from Paperboat Press. I love the marks of the gesture on drawings and pots.











Other catches from the craft sea include Teresa Green designs.



...and Alyssa Ettinger Designs.