The sale starts at 10 am so arrive early for the best selection! There will be lots of great ornaments by various artists!
A shot of my studio, which is now full of ornaments! There are a lot here, because in the name of economy and out of respect to the environment I like to fire my kiln packed as full as possible when I fire it.
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I've been making all kinds! But here are a few favourites... these are just the raw clay ones, I have a lot of underglazing and glazing to do!!
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| Little Christmas Owl with Santa Hat |
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| Pug |
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| Christmas Shark With Santa Hat |
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| The Christmas Unicorn |
Today's topic is "Reasons Why to Buy My Stuff or Any Locally Made Craft This Christmas".
This is the time of year where we all hear "Buy Local!" "Buy Local!" chirped about the market places. Here are some reasons to head on down to Swoon a week Saturday for ornaments, or to any of the great markets this time of year, or to any other venues supporting local artists, crafters and producers of food:
1. - When you spend money on locally made art and craft, the money stays right in your local economy. In my case, any money I make is actually going straight to some local tradespeople. We need some major repairs done to our house! Of course money I earn through art will also go to small businesses that sell me supplies, mostly Dragonfire Pottery in Dartmouth who are AWESOME, and also DeSerres on Barrington Street in Halifax.
2. - Collectability and Value. I've been thinking about how to make my art the best possible investment for my customers. This year I've begun signing everything with my initials. Even my ornaments and figurines. So if you buy an ornament and see the "SP" I'm doing that so that years down the road they MIGHT actually be worth a few extra bucks. Or, they might not, but things do go up in value due to inflation of materials etc... I've also decided to resist the temptation to get into using molds. I don't like working with molds, sculpting is the fun part for me. So each ornament and figurine I make is a one-off hand-sculpted piece of art. My good friend and "Art-Ally" Evgenia Makogon has likewise begun working hard on series of collectible acrylic mini paintings which are absolutely scrumptious.
3. - Quality! Local art and craft is likely to be safer than questionable toxic products as what we hear about coming from China. All the potters I know, for instance, use food-safe lead-free glazes for functional ware. And when you buy local you can ask the artist or crafter what exactly is in the materials they are using.
4. - Don't forget about the venues and people who run them! In my case, my sales also go to support the shops where I have my stuff, as well as all the artists they represent. I'm huge fans of my current shops: Swoon, Jenny Jib, and Nest (in Mabou). All 3 business owners are committed to local art and craft and work hard for their artists; maintaining a brick and mortar shop is expensive and unless we want cities and towns where big box stores are the only places to shop I think it's important to spend $$ in places like this. For crafters who sell at market, there are table fees that go back to the market organizers to keep the markets going. It's an entire industry, the more art and craft that sells the more $$ that goes into the pockets of people like this, and that means more $$ staying in the local economy rather than getting shipped off to China or other countries.
5. - Human Rights! Now you've seen pics of my studio, would you rather have something for your tree that came from some place cozy, and happy like that, or from the sweatshops described in this Mother Jones Article about ornament factories in China? Seems weird to me to be buying items of "Christmas Cheer" made by exploited people overseas. Next time you get distracted by a shiny bauble in a big box store, think about where exactly that trinket came from! Although I'm guilty of bouts of workaholic -ism, I've been becoming more and more aware and conscious of the need for me to keep happy, balanced, meditative and focused when working on craft as I believe we need more objects around us that were made with positive intention. For the record, I'm currently paying myself less than minimum wage per hour but that's because I feel like I'm at war with China and I want to take back some of that market share for my homeland! Plus as I've mentioned earlier I'm terrified by the thought of ever having to get a job.
6. - Artists and Crafters are Nice People! This goes for everyone I've met in the industry. When you support artists and crafters by buying their stuff, it's likely that they have other artists and crafter friends they want to help out. It is likely they volunteer on committees or in guilds, or teach art in their communities, fostering creativity in youngsters and adults. Some are even organized and profitable enough that they have created jobs for other people. Super great place to direct your money in my opinion.
Leads me to the last point (for now)
7. - Money is energy! I had this thought last night that money is power. Maybe that's why the word "Currency" is so similar to Electric Current or River Current... money moves people and things. Aha, thanks internet, I just looked it up in the Online Etymology Dictionary.
Turns out I was right on!
- Currency: 1650s, "condition of flowing," from Latin currens, present participle of currere "to run" (see current (adj.)); the sense of a flow or course extended 1699 (by John Locke) to "circulation of money."
So I know times are hard out there and maybe you just have a few bucks for xmas shopping, but think about it, money really is power and with every dollar you spend you are actually casting a vote for the world that you want to see!
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