April 7 - National Handmade Day

Posted on April 7, 2019



There are loads of people who currently cook from scratch a lot of the time. Many people grow some of their own fruit, vegetables, and herbs. There are some people who sew their own clothes; a few people make their own furniture. But compared to people of the past, we are all of us far more likely to eat, wear, and sit on things made by others.

And when we buy things made by others, usually that means buying things made in factories, or grown and harvested by industrialized agriculture.


But there's been a handmade trend that is starting to reverse a little bit of the made-by-factory reality. More and more teeny businesses are making and selling things by hand, and more and more of us are buying at least a few categories of things that are handmade.

When you buy baked goods from a small stand at the farmer's market... When you support a neighborhood vet by buying his handmade wooden toys... 



NativeChild sells natural hair and
body care products online.

When you shop for beauty products on Etsy and artwork on Artnet or Saatchi Art... 







When you stop at a Navajo's stall in the plaza and buy her handmade jewelry, or pause on a road trip to buy a quilt from an Amish family, or support teens who make custom T-shirts to sell during a solar eclipse or music festival or political demonstration...



When you stock up on Christmas gifts at the community center's handicraft fair, instead of the mall... 





When you buy pierogies and tamales and gnocchi made by one-person businesses, instead of plucking them out of Safeway's freezers...



...When you buy handmade, you help create a society where passion and craft are rewarded, individualization is valued, and finding work you love is possible.

This holiday was started by a family business called From Scratch Farm. Amy Bierstedt, owner of Scratch Farm, sells everything from lip balms to laundry detergents to postcards!






The handmade business closest to my own heart is the one run by my daughter and son-in-law; Base 10's furniture is made of beautiful wood using traditional Japanese hand tools, and it features amazing joinery rather than nails and screws.



Also on this date:

No comments:

Post a Comment