To the maker, a new project is incredibly alluring. So alluring that we forget the rollercoaster ride that is the creative process and, overcome by desire, leap in wholeheartedly. Head down, surrounded by mess, we work and work and work. As we reach the halfway point of the project, frustration sets in; the concept and our abilities become shrouded in self-doubt, and work is often accompanied by outrageous obscenities. Then, somehow, it’s the home stretch and, as if by magic, the fog clears and we enter a state of bliss, until we stand, proud as Punch, holding in all its glory the very thing that showed us both heaven and hell.
Originally seduced by the idea of creating my magnum opus after a lifetime of making, I quickly realized that this project was going to require a whole new level of commitment. When I first started work on The Maker, my trusty new assistant Kate by my side, I had no idea quite what I was in for. The creative process was the same as for any project, but this book took every inch of my tenacity, self-confidence, and even temper before it showered me with a feeling of satisfaction more than equal to its demands. (An unexpected bonus is that I now have an extra-extended vocabulary of obscenities!)
Those who follow my work might have expected my first book to be one of cover-to-cover modern craft projects for interiors, but I really wanted to set the stage and allow the reader and/or aspiring maker to think for themself. You see, to be a genuine maker—to earn the badge—means to make from a very honest place, using skills that have been nurtured and honed to bring something into existence that holds your unique fingerprint—your maker’s mark. If The Maker instills that value in the reader, and that sense of responsibility and camaraderie in the aspiring maker, then I am a happy woman.
I also wanted to take my big, big love of interiors one step further with this book and point out something that, I believe, can be missed as we collect our treasures and decorate our homes with them: the fact that we can only take both of these so far. Making for your space takes it to a level that is much deeper, much more unique, and where, in my opinion, we can really connect.
Happy making,