Have you ever went to up to the counter at a clothing store with a shirt you really like, and say, "Well, I really like this shirt, but I don't like the colors it comes in. I was thinking a nice teal green. Can you make this for me?" The cashier would look at you strangely.
That is the nature of the commercial market. They come out with a certain variety of styles, colors, and sizes and hope that it fits everyone's needs. There is no room for creativity on the buyer's part, no room for customization.
The world of handmade is different. Especially on Etsy. They even have an option where you can contact the shop owner and express your ideas on a custom item that they can make for you. It might be a little scary, but realy, sellers love doing special things for their customers!
A couple of weeks ago, I was looking through Etsy at wooden runes. I found a woman, who's Etsy store was called Greenwomancraft, who made wooden runes, as well as wooden pendants that have symbols burned into them. I thought of an idea of a wooden pendant with a rune symbol burned into it, so I can have that rune close to me at all times. I e-mailed her, and told her about my idea, and she was happy to make one for me. This is the end product:
I wear it very often. The rune symbol's name is Thurisaz, and it ia rune of protection against negative energies.
Another example is something that I recently made for a customized order. A very nice woman e-mailed me and asked me if I can make a stitch marker set for her in another color, other than the turquoise set I had. I was happy to make her a set in red. It really taught me that one color that works for some people might not work for someone else, and to have more of a variety in my work, to cater to everyone. Just because I might personally like a color doesn't mean other people won't like them. Here is the stitch marker set:
I honestly would have never thought of pairing these beads with the copper rings, but in the end, I really love the result. I am glad that I got to collaborate on someone else's creativity!
When shopping handmade, don't be limited to what is there. There is always a possibility to create something else that caters to your specific liking. That way, you will have something that is one of a kind~ it's the beauty of handmade. And there will be no cashiers that look at you strangely. :)
I've written before that with earrings, the earwire is apart of the design of the whole piece. These days, I've been wanting to be a bit more involved in the earring making process, and this includes handmaking my earring wires. I've been using handmade earwires from artists on Etsy because they have some unique designs that adds a speical touch to my finished pieces. But I want to feel that I am putting my all into everything I make, and designing earwires that have perhaps my own twist to them is what it will take to put all my creative energies into making a pair of earrings. So I took out some 24 gauge copper wire, which I use just for fun experiments only, and tried several different type of earring wire designs. I found a design I really liked~ it's a spiral shaped, which is definately one of my favorite shapes, and I have added a tight spiral to the inner portion of the earwire. I will try experimenting much further before thinking of getting a proper gauge wire and actually trying to forge them into workable earwires.
