QOTW: Why do you think it's important to buy handmade?

Hi makers! It's Kelly, back with another great topic for this round of Our Maker Life's Question of the Week.

I think we can all agree, buying handmade is about more than just a purchase. Sometimes it's easy to forget there's a real person behind the small businesses we peruse online or at local events. People who are pouring their all into their work. Parents supporting their families, students putting themselves through school, individuals saving for the future. Whether the handmade business is a full time gig, or a way to put a little extra money in the bank, there's no denying you're supporting a person in one way or another when you buy handmade.

As a maker and small business owner myself, I make a conscious effort to shop local and buy handmade as much as I can. For the last two years, 90% of the gifts I gave to loved ones at Christmas were locally made (selling at markets and finding myself consistently surrounded by the handmade world definitely made this a lot easier!). My thought is, if I hope and expect people to buy my own handmade items, why wouldn't I give that same handmade love to other makers?

The warm and fuzzy part of buying handmade isn't just the fact you're quite possibly putting food on someone's table or funding a child's dance class.

Beyond the obvious financial support, you're also boosting the self esteem of someone who is tirelessly working towards doing what they love as more than just a hobby. By golly, you're supporting someone's dream! I can say from personal experience, there's no better feeling than knowing people are willing to buy something you made by hand.

Here's why Claire of @autumnandindigo, Anne of @trin_annelie, Ashley of @ashleyerikadesigns, and Destiny of @kniftyknittings think it's important to buy handmade.

Why do you think it's important for people to buy handmade?

@autumnandindigo

"It’s important to buy handmade for a large number of reasons… too many to count, really. When you buy handmade, you know you’re buying something made with love. Time, effort, thought, and a LOT of love. The money spent to purchase handcrafted items, is going to people with hopes and dreams – and you buying, is helping the artisan accomplish those things. Handmade items are unique, made in small batches (great for the economy, and far less waste), and are far superior in quality than those things bought at big box stores. And let’s mention that they make great gifts – made with love, and given with love.  That can’t be beat."

- Claire
@autumnandindigo
www.autumnandindigo.com

"For me, handmade is about connections. Between the one who buys and the one who creates, between the creators and their work, the materials, and the resources they use. And most of all, it connects us more with our inner selves. Handmade values and respects the people behind it, their work, and the environment in a very healthy and balanced way. It gets us to the source and I personally tend to appreciate and care for handmade items much more. That's why I think it's very important to buy handmade and support small businesses in times when mass production and mindless buying is way to common."

- Anne
@trin_annelie
Trin Annelie

@ashleyerikadesigns

"When you shop handmade you are buying so much more than you could ever buy from a store. You are buying a piece of someone’s imagination, a piece of creativity. A handmade item is an idea that, through hours of designing, planning, making, and remaking, has become an art piece. The piece does not only represent beauty, but also encompasses a moment in time in which its maker completed a perfectly imperfect creation. It is imperfect because it is handmade, and that is exactly what also makes it perfect. When you shop handmade you support not only an individual, but a community of people who are passionate about what they do, and you help them to keep on doing it. When you buy handmade, you buy love, and that’s not something you will ever find in a store."

- Ashley
@ashleyerikadesigns
Ashley Erika Designs

@kniftyknittings

"When you buy handmade, you are buying a one of a kind item that someone has put their heart and soul into. You are supporting someone’s creative journey, and helping to keep a craft alive that has been passed down through generations. In my case, you are supporting a mom who stays at home with her little one while she pursues what she loves. I am thankful to have the opportunity to spend more time with my daughter while growing my handmade business, and I hope someday she will ask me to pass my craft down to her."

- Destiny
@kniftyknittings
www.kniftyknittings.com

Why do you think it's important for people to buy handmade? Tell us in the comments below, or tag us on our @ourmakerlife with #ourmakerlife with a picture of your maker life for a chance to be featured on our feed!  
​If you have a question in mind you would like to see answered by fellow makers, just send us a quick 'OML QOTW' email - we'd love to put together a QOTW with you.

Happy Making!
Kelly, OML dream team

Kelly is the mind, body and soul behind @knitbrooks: handmade modern knitwear inspired by nature’s endless beauty. After completing a photojournalism program, Kelly used both knitting and crocheting as a way to relax after a long day working as a reporter/photographer. This hobby has since transformed into a way to combine her love of creating fashionable knitwear, with her passion for photography, a cozy lifestyle, and her awe and admiration of the untouched wilderness.