Journey of a maker
Let me introduce myself, I’m new to business, I’m as green as they come! But from a very young age I knew what I wanted to do, I’ve danced around it for years, dabbling, letting little pieces shine and then smothering them. I’ve dulled myself down to fit in all variety of boxes, to float through society unnoticed, safe and guarded.
It’s hard to give ourselves a label of accreditation without the framed certificate, to decide which moment we go from hobbyist to professional, we are so used to being told who we are based on our grades. Is it self-entitled to call yourself something such as an artist? Or a musician? I’ve always been more comfortable with the title ‘maker’.
I spent three years at Uni then decided to go see the world a few months before graduation…. No certificate. No career. No title. Big HECS debt! The life drawing was a hoot and the Uni bar was on point! But to be honest I can’t remember much I learnt in those Uni years, apart from my appreciation of how makers all make differently.
It’s my experiences in the big world that still shape the way I live my day to day life. Survival strategies from Rome’s dodgiest backpackers, a love of coffee from Italy, a warm olive oil remedy for ear ache from a little town in France, art, art and more art from every corner of the world! You never realise the knowledge, skills and character you gather along the road. I travelled on a shoe string budget, faced some fears I never knew I had and gained the most valuable lessons in life!
Now as I venture into my tiny business (feels less daunting calling it tiny!) I question myself…. Why am I doing this when there are so many talented, capable and educated people out there? Who am I to think people would possibly like my creations? We are our own worst critiques, judges and bad talkers.
I let that self-doubt and bad talk fall away, I can always make coffees, read readers, pour beers, clean floors, enter data, twirl fire, dance, strum guitars, walk dogs, tie dye and all the various things that have paid my bills along the way, but for now I’m making treasure, creating magic and following my instinct. After all I am a maker and that’s the part of me I’ve always known!
When you are born a ‘maker’ there is no hiding from it, it creeps into your every detail, from the way you sign your name to the way you tie your hair, it’s so deeply ingrained that it is quite simply who you are. Makers see the world in their own unique way, we notice the little things, the glimmers, the magic, the pieces left behind, I believe there’s a little maker in all of us, you just have to allow it to shine!
Patti - By Blu
“Blessed are the weird people:
poets, misfits, writers
mystics, painters, troubadours
for they teach us to see the world through different eyes.”
― Jacob Nordby,