I am here again with the third prompt for the Love Your Blog Challenge by A Playful Day, this week it has taken a slightly different turn with the word: ugly.

As people say, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and you could say it is the same with ugliness. But I think there are a few ugly things happening in the crafty world which are not subjective and which we shouldn’t forget. Hard work is often unappreciated, designers are not being paid enough for their creations, and a low appreciation of handmade things in general makes people who are trying to make a living out of their craft really struggle to get by.

I purchased this beautiful cupcake pin cushion at a local craft fair this last weekend. It is so pretty and pink I just had to have it. Can you believe this was being sold for £1.50? That is even less than a coffee in Starbucks! When I mentioned to the stall holder that she should really sell them for more she looked terribly embarrassed and uncomfortable. It is so sad that some people feel like selling their work for very low prices is the only way people will buy them.

So let’s all try a bit harder to support the amazing creative talent of crafters out there: go to your local craft fair, tell the stall holder if you love their work, invite your friends and tell them how amazing it is to own handmade things and keep on buying on sites like Etsy and Folksy. Hopefully together we can make sure that people like the woman selling that pin cushion feels that her work is appreciated enough to sell it at the right price.

x

Sol