so what's the deal with hand made?

oh, you mean besides being totally awesome?!?

i never knew a time before machines made the majority of the goods produced in the world. chickens are plucked by robots, vehicles are made by mechanical assembly lines, my clothes are sewn by the distant cousins of Edward Scissorhands. it's a little freaky when we stop to think about it.

don't get me wrong. i would be a miserable mess without modernity. i am a cowardly hypocrite. i complain about what's wrong with the world, but i don't make as many sacrifices as i should to effect change. why don't i? because they're sacrifices. they're hard. and i make the mistake of thinking like so many others, that i don't have the power to make changes that change the world.

but why does this matter, really? well, i guess it depends on who you talk to, but in my book, there's just something je ne sais quoi about owning something beautiful and knowing it was created by a fellow human being. and not just some stranger, but a woman with a life and a family and a history. and a future. a future she's inviting me to become a part of if i choose to take her hand and walk with her.

see, we're all really just looking for a connection. life sometimes feels like a series of missed opportunities - friendships that may have been life-changing had we given them the chance. but we didn't.

it's just tempting to get caught up in the whirlwind of our society - to buy something because it's cheap and easy - two highly overrated qualities in our modern world. we run from committing ourselves because it requires time and trust and risk. we give a little of ourselves and we wonder how much we'll have left in the end.

but then something so strange and wonderful happens. we share a little bit of ourselves. and we are replenished. but surprisingly, we get paid back with interest. we somehow have more of ourselves to offer than we ever had before. and suddenly, we can't stop giving of ourselves . . . we want to share more and give someone else the opportunity to share with us. it's incredibly addictive.

isn't there something magical about a friend across the ocean? someone who sends you her crafts - beads she has labored from her own imagination, with her own hands, her own heart - and entrusted them to you. and in turn, you offer her an opportunity at a life different than that she knows. but more than that, you tell her that you care what happens to her. and it's possible that "i love you" shouts louder than all the others. it tells her she matters. she's worthy. she's precious. she's loved.

so, you see? it's a big freakin' deal.