There is a stone-carved block in the wall at our local farm shop that says "Waste not Want not". I shall need to photograph it sometime and show it here.
After my last post, I have also been thinking about other foundation stones, that are important in the 'principles' of what I make and sell. One is to minimise the amounts of origin 'materials' I use, and also to minimise waste.
When the materials are secondhand or being 'upcycled' this is quite low. In making the gift tags its the small pictures from the magazines that are used. The images are too small to become cards, but still speak to me, and see second-life as a gift tag.
As a child I used to cut and keep images from magazines - sometimes they made it into a scrapbook. I had no idea why I felt compelled to group them by colour or styling. Now in making my eco-cards and tags I've taken that habit one step further - instead of hoarding them, I get the satisfaction of the process and send them out into the world again to gain a second use in a card communication or embellishment for a gift.
The offcuts of fabric or card that are too small to salvage go into the woodburner - in small amounts as kindling, but their usefulness is still integral.
We are surrounded by cutbacks and trimming down in workplaces and businesses, but when we value the whole process and why we are doing it, then every part can be valued. That's what I want from what I am doing here.
Hello!
I've not been by for a while, so I'm catching up on your recent posts. I popped by here to admire your lovely cards and tags :-) I have a couple of collections from you and they always make me smile. I love how you choose combinations of pictures and colours!
Sharing your motivation, your values behind the process of eco-cards has really made me stop and think about my own creative processes and why I choose to sell items occasionally. This is something I want to ponder more. Thank you for prompting me to explore my motivation!
Now I'm off to check out your latest items for sale :-)
D x
Posted by: D @ Homemade&Happy | February 27, 2011 at 08:36 PM