Do What You Can With What You Have And Let That Be Enough

Sitting chatting with Jo and Jess from Fruit Bowl Craft Jam its all go. Children are reading, Jo's just taken a call, coffee orders are being sorted, Katherine from Sleep and her Sisters arrives and we have half an hour before Opera Kitchen closes to get to know each other and chat about Craft Jam. Too easy ... we all love Handmade and away we go.

There's a congruency in their speaking of what inspires Jo and Jess, why they are putting themselves out there and asking others to join in with them. And it really isn't about a new fad but is deeply inspired from their mothers and grandmothers way of life. There is an honest reclamation of the spirit of handmade as it applies to the everyday and beyond into art and craft. Re-purposed, recycled, patched, thrifted lifestyles, lengthened, made to last are the memories from the days of our mothers and grandmothers. Re-visioned for 2010 and beyond, our honest endeavours are a creative statement against mass production and materialism as well as creative expression.

What travels with this notion is a passionate commitment to a lifestyle that is swerving away from this mass production and towards bringing home pieces that tell a story. Memory keepers for traditions, collectibles and family heirlooms. Pieces that are made from found and discarded materials, or created using vintage patterns and idea's. Jess and Jo's passion for sustainable craft feels like a precious guardianship of the old values. A lineage they share together and are taking out beyond themselves.

This is where Fruit Bowl Craft Jam comes in. The market is a curated opportunity for Handmade to become even more visible in the Hawkes Bay community. Its an invitation to all (and people are responding from all around the country) to come and participate, for stall holders to chat with people about their inspirations, to tell the story and hand on the traditions as well as sell beautifully made one off pieces. Their vision extends beyond the market place, with Craft Busking, and a Craft Jam stall holders and support people get together.

I'm pretty excited by the possibilities this team are opening up for Handmade maven's in the Hawkes Bay. We all shared the notion that arts and crafts in the Hawkes Bay is still a little subterranean. Well I think that's about to change. What really struck me, was that when we all get together with a common purpose how easy it is to make more happen. Their motto "Do What You Can With What You Have And Let That Be Enough" is tee-shirt material. Welcome to saving the planet from this viewpoint.

New Zealand Handmade and Fruit Bowl Craft Jam are spreading Handmade love all around, come and join us ... Carol  ♥

Dates to note:

Fruit Bowl Craft Jam - Makers Market - 4 & 5 December at Hawkes Bay Opera House, Hastings. Only a few stall spaces left now, if you have applied and haven't heard back, PLEASE make contact again. There was a wee problem with their application form.

Stall holders and support evening - 10th November venue to be confirmed. Check here

Craft Busking - Hastings Square - weekend 20th November

Places to find Fruit Bowl Craft Jam
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