Destination Bali

A bit of an odd few days this week. Odd as in you just feel a little bit scratchy and uncomfortable in your own skin. Noah unwell and I think a bit of cabin fever has set in . Followed by some pretty intense naval gazing. 


A sketchbook of ideas for gorgeous products... 
what to pursue? 
what is the best design?
what is needed now?
 A difficult question in our current location. We are living within a basic community everyone has what they need and no more. More is shared. Handmade is not bespoke it is practical. This changes my ideas about design and function quite a bit. 


In Bali time is not money. Each Item is adapted for individuals need rather than another item bought for a specified function. The lack of consumption makes perfect sense. A lack of consumption gives you all the time back that you would spend researching an item, getting the best price, buying the item and the subsequent maintenance of said item.


To give an example of what it is I am talking about. At the moment I am making a blanket for when we go home. We found a knit store on one of our longer trips ( read when we were lost again). I was so excited we pulled to a screeching halt.


I am rambling.... more about the blanket later.


 The people  here are fascinated by the crochet. I have made several things during our time here. Easter baskets for the kids a blanket, some pom poms etc. . Each time they ask Do you sell them?  When I answer no they are surprised and Laura actually tried to convince me to. I explained that it wasn't practical? they took too long to make.... many hours...the hours don't mean anything here. You buy wool for $9 AUD you make a blanket and you then sell it. Anymore than $9 is profit.. You are making money, it is worthwhile.... no working out that you would be working for around 5 cents an hour.


The flip side is the pleasure that I enjoy from making something. Only here is Bali have I stopped to think of the value of that also. The uptake of this is going back and looking at the sketches and not discounting the items that will take time or have a handmade component.
The possibilities are opening up. Instead of feeling a little bit flat about manufacturing and the waste involved,  the need for volume, ordering now,  the product arriving tomorrow, and fitting in a standard size package for the post. 
I don't think our customers need that so much anymore. When online shopping was new and untried  it was necessary to take the doubt and guess work away from ordering from an unknown. If we take back some of the process, I can be even more hands on and gain the joy that someone is waiting and looking forward to this item arriving. A more personal product to both myself and the purchaser? More of a link between what I design and the printing, painting stitching and collecting I do for home and friends


There is a crafting revolution at the moment, it has been gaining momentum for the last  few years ...the rise of purl bee, attic 24, and people pinterest people exchanging ideas and discovering the how to... the craft / art/ person behind a piece. For a glimpse at the handmade and the glorious  The work of Ann Wood Cecelia levy, Flowerbombs and string gardens


A collection is forming in my head.