I had an interesting moment of clarity last week. I suddenly realised that in trying to find ways of occupying my time and possibly earning some money I'd turned not to the skills I've gained as an adult, but those I was taught as a child.
One of my earliest memories is of baking cakes with Mum. Always fairy cakes and always with water icing and sparkly sprinkles. I was probably a little older (but not by much) when I was introduced to needlework, embroidery, knitting and crochet by a combination of Mum, Grandma and my great grandma.
Don't misunderstand me - I'm not claiming to be a master craftswoman! My baking and needlework skills haven't really progressed beyond the basic principles I learnt as a child, but knowing the basics was enough to enable me to create little projects for myself, vital for keeping myself occupied as the oldest child in a large(ish) family with no TV.
Was mine a typical experience of childhood? I've no idea! But it does make me wonder how different life might have been if I hadn't been surrounded by adults who not only possessed useful and creative skills but had the time, energy and inclination to pass them on to me.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
The business of celebration
So, we've finally made it to 2012, year of the London Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. I realise that there will be as many opinions about the validity of both those events as there are people in Britain but I think it's fair to say that whatever your perspective it's going to be pretty tough to avoid either!
In fact, I've found myself thinking about the Jubilee in particular quite a lot over the last couple of weeks and I'm wondering whether HMQ has given me a rather unique launch pad for a business idea.
A couple of weekends ago I finally got round to making some bunting from material I'd been hoarding for a while. It was really straightforward and as I cut and stitched I realised that 2012 is the perfect year for bunting - what June street party will be complete without the obligatory string of red, white and blue triangles hung jauntily from trees and lamp posts?! A kernel of an idea began to form...
But then I started thinking about the idea of Jubilee. It's not a concept dreamed up by Queen Victoria's advisers to demonstrate to a slightly disgruntled Empire that actually they were more important to her than her dead husband. The idea of jubilee is a Biblical one which stood at the heart of the kind of community God was calling his people to build way back during their hike through the wilderness. It's about fairness and justice that is deeply practical, and it stands at the core of Jesus' own ministry.
So I'm thinking about bunting and about jubilees and that gets me to thinking (again) about fair trade. The end result is entirely logical - what about fair trade Jubilee bunting?
After conversations with a few people over the course of the last weekend, I've decided to bite the bullet and this morning ordered several metres of fair trade fabric (which is expensive and not particularly easy to get hold of). Over the course of the next couple of weeks I plan to turn it into many, many metres of bunting and sell it! We're running a fair trade shop at church over Fairtrade Fortnight (27 Feb - 11 March) and I'm running a fair trade evening on 6 March so we'll see what people think. If you'd like some bunting or you have any thoughts on how a embryonic fair trade textiles business could develop, get in touch!!
In fact, I've found myself thinking about the Jubilee in particular quite a lot over the last couple of weeks and I'm wondering whether HMQ has given me a rather unique launch pad for a business idea.
A couple of weekends ago I finally got round to making some bunting from material I'd been hoarding for a while. It was really straightforward and as I cut and stitched I realised that 2012 is the perfect year for bunting - what June street party will be complete without the obligatory string of red, white and blue triangles hung jauntily from trees and lamp posts?! A kernel of an idea began to form...
But then I started thinking about the idea of Jubilee. It's not a concept dreamed up by Queen Victoria's advisers to demonstrate to a slightly disgruntled Empire that actually they were more important to her than her dead husband. The idea of jubilee is a Biblical one which stood at the heart of the kind of community God was calling his people to build way back during their hike through the wilderness. It's about fairness and justice that is deeply practical, and it stands at the core of Jesus' own ministry.
So I'm thinking about bunting and about jubilees and that gets me to thinking (again) about fair trade. The end result is entirely logical - what about fair trade Jubilee bunting?
After conversations with a few people over the course of the last weekend, I've decided to bite the bullet and this morning ordered several metres of fair trade fabric (which is expensive and not particularly easy to get hold of). Over the course of the next couple of weeks I plan to turn it into many, many metres of bunting and sell it! We're running a fair trade shop at church over Fairtrade Fortnight (27 Feb - 11 March) and I'm running a fair trade evening on 6 March so we'll see what people think. If you'd like some bunting or you have any thoughts on how a embryonic fair trade textiles business could develop, get in touch!!
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