How to appreciate handmade jewelry

As you may already know Robert Kalin is the founder of Etsy. What a young vibrant man! After watching this video, I said to myself, yep! the interviewer's right. There are a lot of lousy products on Etsy and I was specifically referring to my field which is beaded jewelry. Right away the title of an album from Camara Obscura came to my mind : "Under-Achievers Please try Harder". http://www.camera-obscura.net/

With that being said, I realized that I was looking at things the wrong way. This way of thinking showed me that I was about to miss out on the real fundamental meaning of buying homemade. And for many reasons.

No one can claim to have the supreme authority in regard to taste and beauty, no matter what the media communicates. We can be influenced positively and negatively, and yet in the end, we have the final say over what we like or dislike on a personal level. When you buy handmade you not only get what you see, you also get what you feel! From my perspective the most important value with handmade jewelry, or for any handmade product, is how it makes you feel.

Wearing a piece of handmade jewelry gives you a sense of connection with the artist or craftsman. When you decided to purchase that particular piece, you not only saw it as beautiful, you also felt compelled and shared a certain level of understanding between yourself and the expression in the art.

In essence how you feel wearing a particular crafted jewelry is the expression of your inner energy and personality. This is something that you have in common with the artist and that is to feel a real connection with another living being.