Something from nothing......

I am a creative individual.

However, it has taken me a number of years to get to a place in my life where I could relax enough to appreciate my own talents, thereby realising other's may feel the same way, and find the courage to actually put my creations out into the public domain for the judgement/pleasure of others!!

Bittersweet is the road of the creative artiste. It comes down to a clash of ability & talent vs. lack of confidence & low self-esteem. An art form in itself which may take many years to cultivate. And I thought developing my capabilities as a craftperson was my only hurdle. Nurturing who I really was inside, including ignoring my insecurities while trying to believe in myself, but knowing I DID have it in me to fulfill my dreams even if it took me a lifetime to get there! At the end of the day, I really don't give a rats patootie what anyone else thinks. I am happy doing what I am doing to make my days on this planet worthwhile. I spent too many precious crafting hours worrying about that other people might think less of me because I wasn't the regular 9 to 5er. I like it that I am the regular 'open all hours' craftperson!!!

The Magic of the Windcatcher..........

I am going to tell the story of how I started making windcatchers.......
In January 1998, my eldest son was diagnosed with cancer at the ripe ol' age of 15. For many months following this his prognosis was not what you could call positive. I had to find a way to stay strong for him, as he began the fight for his life.
When something of this magnitude happens in your world it is difficult to find words to articulate the feelings that overwhelm you. Coping with the uncertainty surrounding the treatment, investigations, medications and then the heartwrenching wait for test results was exhausting emotionally, physically & mentally. In the meantime, my innocent boy just wanted to go to school, play sport, enjoy his friendships and try to be a normal teenager without any unwanted attention.
During this time I was sick with worry and beside myself (and I wasn't even the sick one!!!), but my son's ability to just get on with the business of living in the face of an uncertain future was nothing short of amazing.
His way of coping was to just get on with it!! When I did not have a clue how I was going to deal with his illness, my son showed me the way. I got my strength from watching him get out of bed every day and be just exactly who he was, an awesome kid who loved life, with determination to continue living it to the best of his ability regardless of what the future might hold.
I used beads to keep my mind off things especially in the evenings. After work and family time, after tea was eaten, we would all settle into the living room and try to relax. I started stringing those beads up on fishing line, which led to hanging them from pieces of driftwood and branches. A sense of peace would come over me and I would lose myself in the creative process. The rest is history.
I have sold these windcatchers in surf shops on the most beautiful beaches in Australia; at cool markets on the east coast; to tourists in motels, hotels & backpacker hostels; to tourists in camping & national parks; to people via the internet and on commission in retail stores.
After my initial efforts of perfecting my craft - resulting in windcatchers hanging all around my home and garden, I made a couple to give as gifts to my friends. One of them was for my boss. I worked for her in a factory with over 40 other girls. Initially, she wanted to hang the windcatcher in her bathroom. At work, she had her own office up high in one corner of the building surrounded by glass walls so she could oversee the factory floor below. Up there she hung the OCEAN & EARTH windcatcher (also called suncatcher or windchime) I had given her for her birthday swinging around on a hook in full view of the whole factory. This was in early November of that same year. Within minutes of starting the shift, I was receiving positive comments about the windcatcher from the workers around me. More came at tea and lunch breaks and by the end of my shift I had people asking to place orders for similar windcatchers.
I went home with 4 orders that first day for three OCEAN & EARTH and one ANGEL windcatcher for a baby girl. Then came the realisation I would have to set prices and themes in line with what craft supplies I had to work with at home, and to keep costs down. When I got to work the next morning I found I had several more orders waiting to be placed as well as requests for more themes/styles with all sorts of different budgets to work with. My 'home business' had somehow managed to invent itself!! By Christmas that year I had filled 55 orders for windcatchers ranging from ANGELS & FAIRIES to GOTHIC/PUNK and just about anything in between! One of my work mates had ordered four girly ones for her granddaughters and I had orders from some male workers as well.
I had managed to turn a hobby that had given me more effective stress relief than anything else I had ever experienced, especially during a time of intense anxiety & worry, into a business prospect with minimal effort or outlay.
One of my windcatchers sold to a well-to-do American tourist who purchased it for her daughter's home for $85.00 at a surf-style shop in a very popular beach village in Queensland. Another I sold via a chance meeting with a backpacker for $70.00. In that instance I was transporting my latest masterpiece to a shop and had stopped for fuel at a service station. The backpacker in question was hitching a ride with a friend and complimented me on the Canberra Raiders jersey I was wearing. The colours of lime, blue & a touch of orange had caught her eye. In the back of my car was the windcatcher of the same colours. I mentioned this and invited them to take a look if they liked. 5 minutes later I had the sale and the backpacker had a large windcatcher she had to somehow find a ride for as well. Unfortunately, I was not going in the same direction as them anymore, but they definitely liked her purchase of an Australian crafters' handiwork!!!
I truly love my rustic windcatchers and their history in my life. I am still selling them to people, via my eBay sellers' site, as well as other sites & outlets, although I have really reduced their size of late to enable easier shipping to my customers.
My son is now 11 years in remission and as healthy as an ox!!
Of all the windcatchers I have made over the years my favourites are those in the colours of the ocean; sea-greens & sea-blues, and the one I made for my son back in 1999. He still has it hanging in his home.