These two questions were brought to the attention of the Artisans that were selected for the American Craft Council's online marketplace that replaced the Baltimore Show in post pandemic 2021.
This is a great honor to be recognized as a Master in my field and be among the top of the countries Crafters in a nationally recognized American Craft Council. It was even more special due to the fact that I was selected back in 2019 to be an attendee at the Baltimore Craft Show, live. This was a very bittersweet time as, during my move to Santa Fe, my machinery was damaged and inventory was stolen and starting all over was what had to happen as I dealt with unscrupulous movers and was engaging in a lawsuit. This was a big deal to walk away from that show. ACC was the show that would catapult the business and put into a class acknowledged for mastery. The timing was off and so was my big break.
Acceptance to the virtual online marketplace in 2021 was like a redemption, I got the chance and ability to be seen by my audience, artisan and craft lovers that seek out the caliber of work and want to support the Makers.
The questions, were part of the depth and thought-provoking care and insight that the Craft Council continues to drive about the importance of Craft in our world. I love self introspection, maybe a little too much. I also loved this question. I believed it needed to be broken down into two questions.
How does craft nourish you as a Maker? (during the pandemic) This was a simple answer for me, It provides a connection to my soul's joy. It allows me to utilize my imagination, which is my superpower. From the imagination, it becomes a set of processes until the final product is tangible. We make many decisions and learn to think in ways that make it possible to make a living from what we love. During the pandemic it became clear to me that this was my time to create better, to utilize time to learn marketing, to get specific with the direction of Reimaginary Friends and become much better at business, as well as collaborations and form my new community.