By: Priscilla Wainwright
This past
weekend, I visited Lititz, PA’s Annual Craft Show. It takes over the whole town. With 579 vendor booths lining Main Street,
Broad Street and filling the town park, it is one of the largest shows, if not
the largest of its kind, in America……and it gets bigger every year.
Crafts of
all kinds were represented, from signs, to photographs, to country-style
woodworking objects (toys to furniture), quilts, sewn and knitted crafts, and
jewelry. Most crafters made their
products themselves. The array of
talent was broad and amazing. The whole
thing just reminded me again that there is no limit to human creativity.
I spoke to
several of the crafters about how they got started. In most cases, their businesses began as
hobbies or things in which they had a natural interest.
One jewelry
maker started when her husband was diagnosed with bone cancer in his jaw. He had multiple surgeries removing jaw
bone, adding prostheses. He was out of
work a long time. She decided to go
into her business as a way of supporting her family. In her case, the old proverb rang
true: “necessity is the mother of
invention”.
Another
gentleman of retirement age told me that, as boy, he loved to put models
together. Then in later midlife,
certain illnesses occurred and he had to go out on disability. So he started crafting hand-inlaid-wood
pens. He uses lasers to cut the
wood. He showed me his prize pen. It had a light pine-colored barrel and
inlaid was a silhouette of a tommy gun.
The fit was perfect and the detail exquisite. The pen was presented in a miniature violin
case! He had over 100 hand-crafted
pens with all kinds of inlays and designs.
Some
vendors started crafting for the purpose of making money doing what they
love. For others, the business motive
came later, after they had been doing their hobby for awhile.
I currently
have a client who is retired. She is
starting to take jewelry-making classes in order to get out, meet people, and
explore a long-time interest that she has only casually thought about over the
years. She has no idea, at this point,
whether she’ll go so far as starting a business.
All of us,
especially women, are innately creative.
What potentials
lie within you waiting to be released and realized? Have you had youthful hobbies you let slip
away, or interests that perhaps you said, “someday I might try this”. Ever see things at craft shows or see items
in a catalog and say, “I bet I could do that”, but never followed through?
There is
immense satisfaction in designing something, creating it, and admiring the
finished product. There is also
satisfaction in seeing your skills improve with practice, whether it’s singing,
playing an instrument, painting, crafting, writing, whatever.
I have a
girl friend who loves silk flower arranging.
She changes the decorations in her house frequently. That’s it.
She doesn’t exhibit, sell wares, or design for others. It’s just for her and her family. That’s enough for her. She loves it and has a ball doing it.
What’s
dormant within you? It’s never too
late to start. Many folks begin in
later life. The self-esteem and
self-respect value as well can be immense.
I’m not suggesting
you start a business. But who knows?
What I am
suggesting is that you dredge within and see whether there is some dormant
talent or interest that ought to be awakened.
Go to www.scarvesstyleandglory.com,
click on “Scarf-Tying Tutorials”.
There you’ll see videos of folks having fun teaching others new skills
via YouTube.
What joys
await you as you release your talent and let your inner glory shine?
You won’t
know ‘til you try.
************
BTW, Lititz was voted “America’s Coolest Small Town” in a
nationwide contest. It’s 9 miles north
of Lancaster, PA on Route 501. If you
live in the Mid-Atlantic region, a visit to Lititz is definitely worth your
while.
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