I Make Things: Wrapping Up the Year

It’s been a while since we last caught up on my arts & crafts adventures, so with the benefit of a little perspective (it’s almost the middle of January already!) let’s look at how 2023 wrapped up. It was, in many ways, a “best of times, worst of times” situation. October and November were difficult months for me at a personal level, and that inevitably makes itself felt in my art life. It is what it is. I was at least able to prepare for my one big market of the year, which took place at the end of the November and ended up being one of the “best of times” moments. I got to meet a few new artists, talk to a lot of folks about my art, and sell quite a few pieces too. Financially, it was probably my most successful market to date. This surprised me a bit; I wasn’t sure how things would fare given the challenging economic times, but people are still buying art and for that I am very grateful. But the most rewarding aspect of the market was at a personal level.

I had a few friends come out to support me, which reminded me of how blessed I am to have wonderful people in my life. I spoke to a lot of people about art, and received many, many encouraging remarks and compliments which — let’s be honest — are always nice to get. It was especially lovely to see how many different people of different ages and backgrounds responded positively to embroidery. Maybe it really is having something of a renaissance. It was also gratifying to hear a lot of people say that my hoops were very reasonably priced or even priced too low. Pricing is something I’ve struggled with a lot in the past, and continue to struggle with. I have increased my prices a bit over the years — and I often worry whether this puts them outside the reach of people’s budget (or willingness to pay) — but it’s important to also acknowledge that they are not, strictly speaking, adequate compensation for my time, much less any talent or skill, in making the pieces.

I did the math once and if I were to charge local minimum wage for the time spent on an average hoop, it would cost around $450 in labour alone, never mind materials and other miscellaneous overhead (like market fees, for example).

Much as I sometimes think wistfully about the possibility of making art full-time, I know my particular niche doesn’t even rank as a lucrative side hustle. But, on the flip side, keeping it as a passion project (without the pressures of full monetization) has its advantages too. Although I enjoyed the market a great deal, part of that had to do with the fact that it was super low stakes for me; I was doing it mostly for fun, not money. Being a full-time artist is not an easy career path, especially in a society that still values commerce far more than art.

Anyway, enough ramblings from me. Here are the last hoops of 2023:

This hoop was inspired by an Art Deco style mural I saw at the McGill campus earlier in the year, when I was visiting my bestie in Montreal. I wanted to use a large hoop so I could have enough “canvas” to recreate the vibe of the original, but this always poses challenging when it comes to stitch selection. There is a sweet spot when it comes to the area that can be nicely covered using satin stitch (which is my fave stitch for creating a smooth, paint-like surface); satin stitch doesn’t sit as nice and tight once your area gets too big. So, for this hoop, I decided to go mixed media, and use felt in some parts of the design. Together with the French knots, it gave the surface more texture as well, which was a bonus.

I really enjoyed the last few floral still life hoops I made, so I decided to create one with orchids, one of my favourite flowers. I’m very happy with how this one turned out.

This was a William Morris-inspired mini floral hoop. Simple but sweet.

I loved my personal Matisse-inspired hoop I made earlier in the year, so I decided to make this pair for the market. These pieces did sell, albeit after the market (to one of my lovely blog readers, hello!)

This Monet-inspired design had been on my mind for a long time; I was very drawn to the soft pastel colour palette of the original painting — I love blues and pinks. Technically, it might have been my most challenging hoop to date. It is almost entirely long-and-short stitch which, over an 8 inch hoop, is a LOT of work (and a lot of yarn). Sky and water are always challenging subjects to “paint” with yarn anyway. But I like a challenge!

Afterwards, though, I needed a “break” so I went back to one of my fave themes: Klimt florals. I had one of these in my personal collection before, but ended up trading it (for a vintage Coach bag!) this past fall. I don’t regret that decision, but I did find myself missing the piece. So I made a new one! It’s not exactly the same as the previous one, of course; with the exception of the blue Matisse figure, all of my designs are one-of-a-kind. But I love it, and I love knowing that its “sister” is somewhere out there making someone else happy.

The last hoop was actually an old hoop, revisited. I made this pansy design sometime in 2021 or 2022 (I forget) but it never felt quite finished. I prefer designs that cover the entire hoop, and this one didn’t. Then I got the idea to add some more “foliage” around the edges via French knots and, voila, it’s perfect now.

Although I had a somewhat wobbly end of year, I am now looking forward with new energy at the possibilities of 2024. Here’s to new art, new friends, and new horizons!