End of summer newsletter

I notice a warm feeling as I sit on the porch. It is a small space on a truck that my husband has transformed to a tiny-house-on-wheels. The feeling is about receiving praises from people who purchase my handwork.

The experience of something new

Having just bought myself a new backpack, I know the feeling. Of wanting to unwrap the parcel. Of discovering the fabric and smelling it. Looking intensely at the details. And to have the pouch go through your hands while watching it from all angles.

To have received something that you have thought over before purchasing. The time it took to arrive for the parcel. The happiness when the little parcel is actually in your hands. It is all part of the whole experience.

This is what Stephanie wrote: ‘I wanted to buy one of your pouches for quite a while now. But needed some time to decide. I want to get something just for myself and not out of necessity but out of an emotional attachment. So I checked your website several times for the last two years and saw one after the other got sold.’

The mind and hands behind it

What is also part of the creating of a pouch is, oddly enough, my own life. I can not come up with a creation that has been made quick. There is one exception, ‘Spanish Slate‘ just slid through my fingers. Each purse has it’s very own story. Each one has its own unique color. And furthermore, none is the same.

Click the photos to go to the relevant page for the pouch

They all originate from my hands over a passage of time. Usually when traveling. Some pouches take years before they find their way into the world. Others go within a few days after I published them online. Some never leave.

My pouches need to be seen in context

My dad and sister Charlotte were visiting us together with her gorgeous daughter Jasmay. I took the opportunity to photograph Jasmay. In doing so, Charlotte got captivated by one of the handmade pouches. It is now being a decorative piece in her home. To be enjoyed while casting her eyes on. I think that is just as well. Because, in the first place, I try to create beauty. Her words were: ‘I placed it on the salon table, not for using. It’s so beautiful that I want to look at it.’

Art can bring about an interaction between the artist and the viewer

The personal exchanges make it special. To receive feedback and wonder. For me these are echos of my own thoughts when I look at embroidered pieces I collected over the years. It goes further than that, sometimes a personal exchange follows. One that goes on for several long e-mails.

Or just shorter ones: ‘I am sitting here on the sofa, stitching and looking at the sea. With two of your pouches with my yarns and needles in it. I want to buy again. This time pouch Summer, as it was love on first sight.’

Take for example the reply of a Belgium woman. It resounds in my very own mind: ‘A package arrived. My heart leaped. I decided to open it only when I was back home, alone. Because I felt this was a moment I wanted to experience with attention. Wow, Cindy, it’s truly beautiful. You can feel the pure material and the energy you poured into this pouch. The finishing is also very detailed, and it’s a pleasure to hold and examine it, both inside and out. This pouch will have a place of honour in my home.’

Compliments motivate

Compliments are so nice to get. Not so much those about a shirt you wear or anything that is shop bought. Compliments from people who value originality and handwork are pleasantly heavy on the mind. Especially from people that are creative themselves. I notice the pouches I create make people that want them content. Just as I am when I look at the old pieces I got from India. ‘So gorgeous, so carefully composed, so warm,’ how fantastic to hear this.

I notice something stronger. I get inspired by the people who buy these pouches. Be it strangers, family members, Instagram or Facebook friends. It works both directions, and this gladdens me.

Dedication, time, and personal effort that mass production can never replicate

Imagine I would have these people closer around me. That would make quite a colorful community of people. There is one English couple traveling by hand-built old timer van. An American man building guitars. Another is a German successful artist who uses the smallest pieces of natural findings. Someone lives in a yurt (how cool is that!), while another else prefers going into the outdoors in a tiny caravan. My aunt paints flowers in the desert. Someone from California was keen on taking their dog into the kayak for extended trips. She bought a pouch for her 16-year-old niece: ‘Franka is super excited about the pouch and impressed by your workmanship.’

A Swiss man wanted to surprise his young niece as well. He asked me to write a personal note: to inspire her for the great outdoors. The pouch he asked me to send to his niece was a tribute to cycling the driest desert on earth. Each pouch has its story and this one should inspire for sure. My sister, who cares so lovingly for our dad, said: ‘You should bring your pouches more to the attention. They are so pretty!’

So, here goes.

The truth is, I am not often feeling the need to be online to share what I do. When I am traveling I prefer to be without internet. When I am inspired to share, it is rather via a long blog post. The quick and fast and impromptu just isn’t my style. Actually, it is (just not the online activities). And that is why I am downed by Repetitive Syndrome Injury. Not much more than moderately using the computer, and elaborate cooking is on my plate now.

The hands that do a lot of work

Soon Geo and I are off in our van (the truck above isn’t driving any more. It was way too big for our purpose). My hands and arms will get a rest from gardening and carrying water. A rest from self-sustainability and cooking (must not forget to mention knitting).

In the case you are contemplating a certain pouch, I can take it with us. And send the pouch of your choice from where we are. Let me know in a personal message. There’s never an obligation, though.

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