November 27, 2009

I'm a Craft-astrophe

In the pre-mommy life going shopping with the girlfriends was a common occurrence. But it’s been years since I have hit the stores with some friends. Which is too bad because shopping with the ladies is really one of the best things about being a woman.

Yesterday morning, however I had the pleasure of walking up and down the aisles of the One Of A Kind show in Toronto with three friends. This is a massive artisans show which has row upon row of local artists showcasing their beautiful (and ugly) art, baby stuff, clothes, food and things that you can’t even describe. It’s like the website Etsy come to life.

We descended on the different booths – trying things on, coaching, criticizing, gossiping and discussing our families (phew, it is normal for boys to inflict random violence on each other). I came home with some new underwear which my girlfriend says is the most comfortable in the world, and some wool sleevie things which my friend Gill says ups my cool quotient, and a ridiculously cute dress for my daughter.

And I returned with some lust for huge salad bowls, pillows, photography, an orange purse and the list goes on… The show can be overwhelming and you definitely need some friends with you because I have noticed that when you are at a craft show you get a form of craft dementia -- everything made out of recycled and “found” materials by someone in their basement starts to look amazing.

But everyone has different tastes -- there were booths that we would rush by as if their wares offended us, but there would always be people in there spending money.

I also have a renewed respect for the artists who are who have toiled away in their studios just to create things of beauty. I don’t have a crafty, artistic bone in my body, my husband and I laugh because I can’t even cut out a circle properly. So I wander around in pure amazement at what some people can do with an old sweater and a seat belt.

Sometimes I wonder if my kids are losing out because I am so uncrafty. We aren’t sitting around the table constructing fabulous dioramas or rocket ships from toilet paper. I peruse the amazing talents of kid craft websites like No Time for Flash Cards, the Crafty Crow, and The Filth Wizard. These sites are really amazing, they are a form of craft porn – I love to look but I will never do what they do. I also find it hard to hold back the snarky comments when I look at three-dimensional felt turkeys, but that's because of my own sense of inadequacy.

I take refuge in the fact that I can cook,so if anyone would like to have my kids over for craft-time, I can reciprocate and teach them how to make a delicious and beautiful Pavlova.

(aren't these cute?)