My Morning Surprise!

Monday morning, when I checked my email as usual, I received a pleasant surprise from Google Alerts. My online Etsy shop, The Filigree Garden, had been featured in the blog of KimberlyHanson, proprietor of The Wild Hare. Kimberly's post was lovely and very detailed. I am very grateful and flattered to have had my handmade wares presented in such a wonderful way. Many thanks to Kimberly! For a glimpse of what she wrote, you can visit her blog page for Monday, May 5.

Kimberly and I are both members of a very active and supportive "street team" at Etsy called BBEST, (Boomers and Beyond Etsy Street Team). BBEST is a great way for Etsy shop owners over age 40 to connect, network, promote their shops, collaborate on challenges, discuss interests, and make friends. This is diverse group of vibrant, creative and interesting people, and I am enjoying being a part of the BBEST community.

One very positive aspect of being involved with a team is the inspiration and encouragement offered when someone ventures into a new crafting realm or tries his or her hand at a new art form. Sharing our design innovations, as well as our frustrations, keeps us all motivated to move out of our creative comfort zones into new, more exciting possibilities. For example, Kimberly's shop, The Wild Hare, has always offered a very nice, assortment of handmade crafts including diecuts for scrapbooking, delightful cards and gift tags, lovely watercolor paintings, painted tile coasters, and delicate crocheted wraps. However, she recently shared her newest sewing adventure with us when she listed a series of fun and colorful pincushions, some in the shapes of "mini-muffins," and some that wrap around a finger for keeping pins close at hand. An interesting and eco-friendly feature of the "muffin" cushion is that a recycled, plastic water bottle cap is used to create its base; felt completes the design. Her new creations received a lively and positive response. It is always exciting to see what new projects teammates such as Kimberly bring to their Etsy shops.



The Wild Hare is a family affair. As Kimberly writes, "We are a family starting to do more of what we truly love - creating wonderful, practical, beautiful things with our hands and hearts. Parents, Children, Grandparents - everyone is getting in on the fun." To so many of us on the BBEST team, our Etsy "village" has become like an extended part of our own families. I think the aspect of community in our crafting lives is so important to stay connected to a higher level of creative flow. It provides a sounding board for our latest ideas, about which we may have doubts. It keeps us flowing out beyond our personal artistic boundaries, and yet it provides a life raft in case we feel like we have gotten into water that is too deep. We are kept afloat while we are tired; we are carried along with the tide of the community's energy until we are ready to swim again on our own. I am thankful for the support of my "Etsy Village" and for gracious team members like Kimberly.