Lots of people walked past and commented on what a great job I had. I just beamed at them and agreed wholeheartedly. A few times I had moments of guilt for having such an easy time of it, or found myself justifying to others why I wasn't working as hard as perhaps others were. Then I thought to myself why bother? It is what it is. It turned out to be an easy job, but it doesn't meant I didn't do it well. Why do we make ourselves feel guilty when the universe gives us a gift. So I went back to smiling, chatting, crocheting and signing people up for subscriptions.
The thing that really struck me over the 3 days I was there was the incredible diversity in our creative community. Young, old, kitsch, uber-cool, happy, grumpy, relaxed, stressed, down-right daggy, glitzy, contemporary, you name it, I saw it. And I liked it!
I realised as I watched the world go by how passionate I am about diversity, how important it is to me. I am so thankful to be part of such a diverse community. I am so thankful to the people before me who have kept the crafty fire burning, who have made it possible for me to enjoy the contemporary craft scene that I do. I wonder what craft will look like in 20 years. I wonder where I will sit within the spectrum of diversity.
So that was the show. Very different to the experience I had last year. I had lots of fun catching up with many, many lovely bloggers. Too many to even list. The show felt like a great big social gathering with all these familiar faces.
Then of course there was the goodies. I was pretty restrained this year. A couple of gorgeous tea towels from Yardage Girl, a lovely gift of paper goodies from Q Tea, some supplies for painting and a Stitches and Craft Tote bag.
A girl can never have too many totes. Little Cat seems to think so too.
I really LOVED the diversity of the show too - there really was something for everyone. I was disappointed when I heard the occassional dig at parts of the show. Craft snobbery I say! (Just imagine how indiginant we'd all feel if our uber-cool projects were labelled "nanna" in 10 years.)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you - let's celebrate the differences.
That sounds like the perfect job to me. I am glad you figured early on that you should enjoy it rather than try explaining it! Diversity is so very important to me as well. I fight this every single day at my work. Teenagers are not as open to this and must have models and also be constantly reminded. I have even dreamed of a time where schools have diversity coaches, not necessarily for kids, but for the adults who should be modeling it.
ReplyDeleteYour kitty is so fluffy and cute. Now that my kitty is on the mend he is out strutting his self around like old times and doesn't want to come near our house again unless he smells food. Or a needs a belly rub. What a bugger.
I am hoping I am one of those content older women who do not pass judgement, but enjoy the passing of time with all the changes that come with that. I hope that I embrace the change as progress and don't become a cynic. And I would also be content to just be crafty all day every day.
xxoo
Lorrie
I glad you had fun and you deserved that fun easy job for a change! Now I hope you are enjoying the super fun, but sometimes challenging job of being an artist!
ReplyDeleteWouldn't life be completely boring if we were all the same? I would have really enjoyed watching the world go by too. It's a great opportunity to meet with so many different people, and even better when it's a paid job!
ReplyDeleteYou did do it well! How? by smiling and being you ! friendly and approachable - hence the chatting and the signing up...
ReplyDeleteIt was great to be there!
Ah so true as usual. Why indeed do we feel guilty when work isn't hard. Isn't that exactly the kind of work we should be doing?
ReplyDeleteYour cat is so cute. Looks like the bag was made specially
Adorable pussy cat! I thought the show(my first)was a real melting pot of creativity.
ReplyDeleteYou weren't there on the Wednesday were you? I'll be a bit upset if I didn't take up a well overdue opportunity to sit and crochet with you. I'm so pleased you had such a great time.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had fun!! It was lovely to see you :) After I walked away with my sister she said 'she looked familiar', then I realised we both met you last year with your tins!
ReplyDeleteNo such thing as too many totes.... unless you no longer have room for fabric. That is the only thing that restrains me. ;-) I'm glad you have such a good time!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to have missed you at the Show. It seems you sat on your stand, and I sat on mine! It was so nice to see people as they wandered past. It really was a big social event wasn't it?
ReplyDelete