Maker

"I value every person that loves to make something having an audience to share their love of craftsmanship." 

Over the weekend I had several people to the pop-up shop stop in, only to have been hoping for "more".   A few walked in, checked out the empty part of the shop, and asked if this was it?  Some stayed and chatted, some left, some left with stuff.   In some of these moments I felt a tad bit disheartened, like we weren't enough.  Why wasn't the space I had created with my own ideas and own hands enough?  But I knew that wasn't true, and, I realized, it's not everyday that someone walks into the very place where a maker studies, experiments, hones their skills, builds their brand.  Sometimes I forget that every brand ever created started as a single person, making something.  That brand travels through it's life not as a logo on a shirt, but as the idea and creation of an individual.  As others come into that brand; the creatives, the testers, the users, the brand morphs, it changes to draw together a set of values, as the maker you have no idea that you are creating a collection with so much heart it eventually comes alive.

Often times when I lived in Vegas I never felt like anything was enough.  Never enough money.  Never enough time.  Never enough space, never enough stars.  I always felt like I was struggling to know my true self.  When we arrived at the farm, on the land in the spacious countryside, looking out the window at a sea of golden corn was enough.

I like that we have created enough brand to have an address.  I like joining the makers serving in our community.  I like watching the community gather around it's makers.  I value every person that loves to make something having an audience to share their love of craftsmanship.  

In moments of brief self-loathing I have to remind myself it is a wonderful thing when a maker opens a store.  So unique that people may not know what to expect when they walk in the door.