Crafts

I just got back from a whirlwind trip to London-Stockholm-Paris... it was lovely! I spent a lot of time in museums (you could spend a lifetime in these museums and not see it all). What really struck me, looking at some of the most amazing ancient stuff collected from around the world - was the craftsmanship. Way before all of our technology, before industrialization... people produced some of the most jaw-dropping bits of art entirely by hand. The jewelry - such painstaking work that must have been - sometimes made before magnifying glasses existed too! It blew me away. Surprisingly (to me at least) I was most impressed by the portrait miniatures collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London - viewed with a magnifying glass because there is so much detail to be seen.

It really renewed my appreciation for handmade products - where the skill of the artisan is celebrated and appreciated. It also renewed by passion for crafting - knowing that I'm participating in crafts that have such incredible history and seeing the end results that are possible when you reach the peak of your craft (no matter how crude your tools might seem).