Primrose Design: say hello….

I just wanted to highlight this great post by one of my long-time favorite indie artists, Janet of Primrose Design.  She was one of many artists who came to the shop last Thursday to deliver her handmade goods.  Janet was the very first person to consign with my original shop, Blossom Boutique, which I opened nearly 5 years ago (whoa–that long??).  Although it was my dream at that time to open a brick and mortar, I was only able to travel to East coast indie craft fairs and sell from our online shop.  Those were the first days of etsy and the real beginning of the DIY movement, and, finding others like myself and suddenly becoming part of this new community was nothing short of a personal miracle.

Vintage Feedsack Sachet Stacks by Primrose Design

It really hit home last week how far we have come and how intensely influential this community has been in my life.  I participated in a screening of Handmade Nation by Faythe Levine at the Philly Buyers Market with Tara Gentile last Saturday.  We were invited as members of the press (well, Tara was–I was really a tag-a-long with a camera!).  It was quite a moment to sit there beside Tara, who is relatively new to the “scene” but has been embraced so quickly (and deservedly).  It impressed me that the film was filled with familiar faces and artists I have met along the way–many who were also just newbies when we were selling at Bust’s first Holiday Craftacular or Richmond Craft Mafia’s first Spring-Ba-Da-Bing–just like me.  I actually got a little choked up at parts, to see how far this journey has taken so many crafty misfits, and what a wonderful family history we have built for ourselves.

So, thank you, Primrose and so many others, for sticking with me through the ups and downs.  Thank you for your countless stitches and endless hours uploading photos, muddling through html, and writing wonderful posts like this, just to help a sister out.

And welcome, Tara, and so many other newcomers, young and old.  As you already have certainly discovered, this is an amazing family, and I am so proud to be building us a new home.