The long-awaiting upgrade for Crafty Tips is delayed due to the sheer volume of websites currently listed. One of my major goals was to make room for bigger pictures to really showcase the wonderful items everyone is making. Every site has to be re-visited and a new picture or a new copy of the old one has to be saved. As I visit each website, shop and blog I am seeing a wonderful trend – the emergence of true artisans. Don’t get me wrong, the workmanship of the crafters has always been top notch but there are definitely some who have truly grown in their craftsmanship and artistry.
Many of the listings represent those first early days of a professional crafting business. Their work was quite nice but not anything that really made someone say “WOWZA! That’s really special!” Makes sense really, as an artisan or crafter continues making their items they become more skilled. I guess in many ways it’s not so much the skill growth that has changed but the new and innovative designs themselves that are becoming more sophisticated and exceptional.
I was going to showcase a few of the artisans that inspired this post but didn’t want to imply that their earlier work was somehow not worthy. I could just imagine the replies, “Oh yes, Michele, I admit my earlier pieces were uninspiring and oh, please do show that old piece to the world next to what the awesome pieces I’m making today.”
I can’t wait to relaunch the site with the inspiring new items that so many of you are making and designing. The design has been set up to truly showcase the wonderful items everyone’s making. The current pictures made it difficult to see the details, materials and skill that went into the displayed items.
There’s so many of you that I would love to reach out and hug and tell you how amazing it is for me to be a small part of your success and growth as an artist.
Best wishes to all the talented folks who are a part of Crafty Tips and I can’t wait to see what everyone is working on the next time I audit all of the listed sites!
As a gentle reminder, it would be really helpful to me if site owners could drop me a short note when their website address changes, they change the type of item they make or if they make the hard decision to discontinue crafting professionally. I would be glad to change pictures to match your current product line (within reason) or make changes to your site descriptions. After all, I want to do all that I can to drive new visitors and new customers to your websites.
Open the conversation by being the first to comment on True Artisans Emerging.