Things [ Hand Made ]

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My chance to wonder about hand made things and tell the world about those I make, love and cherish!

Tuesday 9 August 2011

If you want to get ahead......

get a hat.
A hat made at a millinery workshop where I worked as an assistant helping people.

Warning... a rambling self indulgent post that may not have a point!

When I was younger I love to make things, anything. Just had to make something.
I had to make a thing, not just draw a picture but to phyisically put something togehter. I never really considered that I woul use these talents as an adult My family were a creative supportive family and I dint relaly know people who made things for a living so it was never reallly something I considered.

When I was 14 a new teacher came to my school. She was a textiles teacher and suddenly a whole new world opened up for me. here was away of making things. My parents arranged for me to have extra lessons with this teacher and I felt in love with costume of all types. I particularly enjoyed making hats and quickly had a large hat collection.She let me make the costumes for a school play and showed me that it was possible to make anythting. I started to think about a career in theatre design.
Untill I got to A levels.
Then it got harder. Life was not alwasy straight forward and I lost sight of how I could be paid to make things.I started to see "making things" as a childish thing to be hidden away.
I was given some careers advice. To become a teacher.
It was not bad advice and for a long time I had though that it had been suggested to me as reasonable but maybe a bit lazy advice. These days I realise that the careers teacher saw something in me that would make a good teacher that I did not know about myself.
I became a teacher. Its a great job to do and full of creativity. I loved it.
It takes up a lot of time and energy and I tended to make things from kits and not design them myself.
 I lost confidence.
Then I had the opportunity to travel and soon afterwards started the journey of motherhood which has bought me to here. A time in my life when I can indulge in making all sorts of things. It has taken a long time to build up my confidence again. Blogging/the internet has allowed me to "meet" so many creative people who are driven to make things just like me.
 I now have my  part time job which allows me to meet all sorts of talented creative people like the Milliner who led the work shop this rambling post started with. My journey is a round about one to get to where I am and when i meet someone who has taken a more direct route I am a little envious but the more I meet and chat to the more I find it has nothing to do with the training but everything to just getting out there and making things.

No I agree, I am not sure what the point of this post is either but I felt it needed to be said!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you still wear hats? I love them, was a milliner in fact. But your right it is just getting on and doing.

Jill said...

So glad you are feeling able to explore your creativity. I 'ended up' a teacher and in the early days, in a school that encouraged it, was able to fulfil my urges to make things - turning corners of the classroom into space rockets or jungles or under the sea scenes- doesn't seem much time for that sort of thing these days. I am sure there must be other careers that call for these skills, but goodness knows what they are. Love your willow work with your children and your hat - just keep on making ...

Deborah OHare said...

And I am glad you did.
It all sounded so familiar to me. I won't bore you with the details but I think our experiences have been very similar.
I think you are correct about just getting on and making.
Deborah

Gina said...

I think the point is that some of us just need to make things!

menopausalmusing said...

I am convinced that "making" is either in you, or it isn't...... and it never goes away.