Crafting

I have not spoken much of my crafting here. Perhaps I should, for we are going to need more skilled craftspeople if we are to live sustainably in the future. The ages of importing everything and extreme specialization are just about over. More and more people are going to need to start making more of their own goods, and perhaps selling the excess.

I have always been an arts and crafts type person. I like creating things of all sorts. Everything from my writing to more traditional crafts. I am also extremely sensitive to a wide range of chemicals, ranging from bleach to the artificial scents used by the beauty industry. I can not even walk down the cleaning aisle in a store or by a bath store without getting a headache. A few years ago I started making my own soap and lotion and lately I have started selling it at various local craft fairs. I make other things too, but these are currently the only things that I can actually sell. They are all natural, of course.

Now I have made a website on Etsy for my things. I am ridiculously proud of this. (Warning: Luddite playing with technology. Stand back. This could get ugly.) The story of getting it up and running could fill several pages. I had to borrow a digital camera, take the pictures, and then find a way to transfer the pictures to my computer. This was more difficult than it sounds, for the camera does not have a USB cable and my computer would not read the card. The lady I borrowed it from has had the flu going through her household so I could not come over to use her computer. After much searching, I finally found someone who had a computer that could actually read this card. It is a new format and apparently, no computer older than a few months can read it. But it gets even better. My friend’s computer is one of those new mini laptops. No CD drive. My memory stick wasn’t large enough. So, she has emailed me the photos over the past few days. One at a time. And I have spent hours getting it up and running. There’s not a lot there yet, but there will be soon. Check it out: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6869280
(As I said, I'm ridiculous proud of this.)