Clover and Creeping

It's actually Oxalis, but we always just called it clover growing up. It's blooming now, here in the piney woods of east Texas. I picked a fist full yesterday from the farthest corner of the third-acre, back where the ivy is creeping over everything, and near where the tiny pink roses are, finally, taking a rest from blooming. 

The clover is actually for a small lookbook I'm putting together for Balm and Honey. I've found the most incredible yarns that sing, softly, of spring, and I'm knitting them now into cloths to sell. I have plans of setting up at the local farmer's market after the spring honey comes in and my herbs and flowers are ready. Looking forward to that, definitely.

When I was working in Colorado and living in that tiny cabin (remember those days?), I would drive into Cortez every week for the farmer's market. It was a glorious one. There was a girl who ran a vegetable booth there who probably came to think of me as a creeper before the summer was over. Oh man. She was the coolest. Her clothes were handmade and colorful and imaginative and messy and perfection. She cut her own hair, I heard her say once, and it was the best, most beautifully styled hair I've seen on a person outside of the theater. In the winter, this girl worked as a ski instructor, but in the summer she was an organic farmer and grew her own food and made her own trail mixes and tea blends. She drove this rusted Jeep and had these two spotted dogs that sat at her feet and only moved at her command. She was impossibly awesome. I think of all the people I've met and would like to have lunch with, she is among the top on my list. See? Creeper. I told you.

Speaking of cool people and creeping, I'm heading to the Mother Earth Fair in Texas on Friday with hopes of meeting up with the likes of Joel Salatin and Wranglerstar and Claudia Lucero. Heck yes. If you'll be there, too, please drop me a line at brin@brinwisdom.com and let's meet up!

Spring is on its way, friends. It is, it is. Take heart. -Brin

Calling All Instagrammers!

Tuesday came knocking this morning, dragging a brilliant sun and a biting chill in behind her. I'm happy to see that blue sky, though, and the light in here this morning is perfect.

The latest Valentine's Day cloths from Balm and Honey. Love!

Are you on Instagram? If so, I want to tell you about a giveaway I'm doing over at Balm and Honey. Follow @balmandhoney on Instagram anytime now through Valentine's Day and be automatically entered to win one of the handknit House Helpers above. What? Yes. No purchase required or anything, just pull up Instagram right now, follow @balmandhoney, and your name goes straight into the drawing. The winner will be announced Valentine's Day at 8 PM on Instagram. So... follow @balmandhoney... live your life... then watch Instagram Valentine's night to see if you're the lucky winner!

If you've been wanting a chance to try these cloths, now's your chance to win one. (Have you seen the super fun feedback that's coming in from my Balm and Honey customers? Agh. So fun. I think it's my favorite part of being an Etsy gal... except for the knitting, of course.) The only caveat: domestic US entries only, please. I love you out-of-the-US-gals, too, but our USPS is getting grumpier about shipping outside our lower 48. Thanks for understanding!

See you Instagrammers in a few. And everyone, hope you have a perfectly nice Tuesday. Thanks, as ever, for your support and love. We need each other. -Brin 

Handmade Feelings

 When you buy something made by a person,

there is something special there, and you do feel it.

The consciousness with which a thing is made

is often more important than the thing itself.

- J. Donald Waters

I agree with that first part, for sure: when you hold something made by hand, it is special, and you do feel it.

In the process of rebranding Balm & Honey in time for this spring's big honey/candle/soap/lotion introduction, I was told to write 150 words or less on what my little business is about. Uhhhhh... hmmm. It took awhile. Eventually, I typed: 

Balm & Honey came from a heart-aching yearn for simple, authentic products. 

We knit, keep bees, make soap, and dip candles for beloved customers.

It isn't quite what I'm going for, but it's a start.

Last week, I finally (!!) received an invitation to venture inside Ms. Nell's house. Oh, y'all. That place came straight out of a book. Everything she has tells a story... is a story. Whether we were standing in her little sitting room with the coal burning fireplace, or chatting in the huge, bright kitchen, every item came from someone or was made by someone. You could feel it in her house- that special feeling. She knits, too, so we compared handknit cloths. What is that intangible presence we sense when holding something another has made? It's recognition, maybe, that the thing had a life even before it got to us. That someone, somewhere, used their breath and brain and being to add something to the world that wasn't there before, and never would have been had they not been born. Ugh. Call me ridiculous, but I don't know if there's a way to overstate how much this means to me.

Anyway. A big batch of colorful, handknit cloths is in the shop and ready to start their life with someone new. Hurry over if you want to take a peek... five have already sold since I started typing this post!

Wishing you that handmade-special-feeling sort of day. -Brin

A September Sale!!

I have been knitting. Knitting, knitting, knitting. Ball after ball of yarn has been unraveled and transformed into all manner of the [greatly] beloved House Helpers. And now they're on sale! For the rest of September, find my handmade, 100% USA cotton House Helper cloths discounted at my shop. Then enter coupon code SAVESEPTEMBER for an additional 10% off!

I'm making room for a line of unique, handmade goodies for the holidays (shopping totes out of vintage pillowcases!... bread bags out of vintage linens!, etc.) and need to clear some space to make room for everything. Yay! No better excuse for a sale. *wink*

Run on over and get yours before they're gone by clicking here! And thanks... ever so much thanks... for supporting handmade. -Brin

Real

That's the thing with handmade items. 

They still have the person's mark on them, 

and when you hold them, you feel less alone. 

-Aimee Bender

Those words. They're perfect. They resonate strongly with me. It's the reason, I think, that I drag home old furniture. The reason I search out pillow cases with wobbly stitches at thrift stores. It's why cakes from bake sales taste better than the store's... why cuttings from a neighbor's yard take root as nursery plants wither... and why uneven, thick bars of hand-poured soap clean better than bargain brands.

It's why I like to keep knitted and sewn and stitched and carved and painted things around me: they are real. Someone made them. They have a life that other things don't have. When you turn them over in your hands, you see soul. Not MADE IN CHINA.
 

I live in a community where handmade hasn't quite taken hold. There are no CSAs here. No one's going off grid or urban gardening or championing the small guys. The big box stores are crowding in by the dozens and folks are thrilled. And yet, the undercurrent of real still grabs some of us and pulls us down into the vast, deeply connected world where people make, grow and create.

Pull, current, pull. 

There are more handknit dish cloths in my shop today. For those who have purchased lately, thank you. Thank you for your patronage and kindness. For those looking for a small way to support the handmade movement, here's a discount for you: enter code HANDMADE at checkout for 10% off your order, and bonus savings for additional Balm and Honey purchases. 

Here's to handmade. Here's to all who create, and to all who support those who do. Here's to filling our lives and home and hearts with things that are real. -Brin