Why I am championing homemade and handmade

I have been wracking my brain to put into words why I feel so strongly about handmade and homemade crafts, bakes and makes. I have always liked individual and bespoke items. From the fimo jewellery of my youth and salt dough models during my teens to the button art, papercuts and map art of today, I am naturally attracted to objects that have been made with love and care.

After moving into a new (bigger) home a year ago, I started surrounding myself with these items at a rapid rate and I think I have hit on the reason why.

I need beautiful things. Beautiful things that brighten my day and make me smile. It’s a necessity, not just a desire to fill my life with pretty, crafty or intricate handmade items. Things that I can look at and know someone has crafted an item so that I may enjoy it as much as they do. Maybe they were up until the small hours of the morning just to finish a new design. Maybe that was after a full day at work and putting two kids to bed, getting their kit ready for the next day, but still finding time to fit in an hour of craft in between cooking tea and catching up with Bake Off. A need to glance across the room at a wall hanging or tuck into a flavoursome cake, and know that someone put a little bit of their own soul in there to make me happy.

The ‘need’ has made me look at the things I buy very differently. Now before whipping out the debit card to buy a bag, a purse, a scarf, a photo frame, even a loaf of bread, there is a little voice inside my head asking “could you buy this handmade?”. The answer is often yes. In fact more often than I thought it would be, the answer is yes. For instance, I have refrained from buying myself a much needed new wallet after mine is fraying at the seams, and instead commissioned a designer I met at a craft fair to make me one. And she will make me one that is the colour I want, has the features I want and will be made to make me, her customer, happy. Last week, I did not hop on over to the John Lewis website to buy the, admittedly very attractive, doorstop that I saw in a home magazine, but instead looked through the crafters commenting on the Handmade in the UK Facebook page I follow and ordered one that matched my colour scheme and used the fabrics I chose from a selection the maker offered to me.

It couldn't be simpler really. When I need something for the house, an accessory, an item of clothing, a foodstuff, the little head voice just repeats its simple question. “Could you buy this homemade?” And when the answer is yes, I go and buy myself a little bit of the love, happiness and soul that will be crafted into my completely unique purchase.