The Rainbow Rug

Crafters build relationships with their handiwork. It sounds odd, but it is true. Take the Rainbow Rug, for example. This was one of my first T-shirt Rug creations. I chose the colours to be bright, fun and happy! Working on it made me feel that way, even when it wouldn't lie flat and I had to rip it out and re-work it a bit. When it was finished people smiled when they saw it on my table at the market, it was marked "favourite" with a little heart on my Etsy Store and it was even included in a treasury list. It's a nice rug. I liked it, others liked it, and my daughter had her eye on it (she was angling to beg for it if it didn't sell!).

But sell, it did! It was on display at Access Fitness during the weeks approaching the holidays, and it happened to sell on a day that I was not at the club. Cash sale. Great! I was glad someone chose it. Someone, somewhere. Maybe a member of the club? Man, woman? I didn't know. I was glad it sold, but it was one of the first things I've ever sold and NOT known to whom I sold it!

Crafters build relationships with their customers too! One of the things I really enjoy about selling BusyLizzy Boutique items at markets, craft fairs and festivals is the contact I have with the shoppers. I love to chat with the patrons as they select a unique gift for a special person, hear their comments as they linger over the table, and watch their excitement as they pick up something that "spoke to them" from my table as a little treat for themselves. Perhaps it is a little easier to "let go" of my unique handmade creations when I meet the people who will enjoy them.  Even with online sales, I often have a chance to have some dialogue with the buyer via email, and I know where my creation is going to live. I am thrilled to know that refashioned T-shirt Tank is being sported in Dublin Ireland, those Barefoot Sandals are being enjoyed in Brooklyn New York, and that slashed up Zumba® T-shirt is "joining the party" in Texas. I always send a hand-written thank you along with their package when I send it, and quite often receive an email back with thanks and comments; the personal touch means a lot to me.

Back to the Rainbow Rug.... A few months have passed and I've often wondered where it is and who is enjoying it. In fact, we were chatting about that very subject during our recent "Hooking up to Crochet" meeting at a local coffee shop. As the meeting disbanded, I turned to notice a woman I know from the gym sitting with another lady, who was not familiar to me. We had a quick chat about the crochet crowd and the new friend asked for my card. She might join us to learn to crochet next time we meet. I was floored when she took one look at my card and said, "Oh, BusyLizzy Boutique... I bought your Rainbow Rug!"

There she was, sitting right there in the coffee shop while we discussed that very item! (Insert "Twilight Zone" theme music). I learned that the rug was a gift for her son, and is sitting by his woodstove, brightening up his first apartment.

<Sigh> I feel better now!

Cheers!

P.S. If you'd like a rug, there are a few more of my rugs on ETSY or I can make you one in your colour selection... just be sure to say "hi" when you purchase it! :o)