Unique Gifts...

First: Shop news
I have been busy re-shooting many of the of the product photos to make them clearer & less cluttered. The original idea was that of 'laundry,' to make the photos look like laundry, scattered about by a breeze, hanging or laying about the home & while a lot of the shots where nice, they where cluttered or didn't give a clear picture of the items in the shop. If you haven't stopped by in awhile, stop by & take a look. Let me know what you think. I've kept some of the other photos, just not as the first image.
New items:
Cool Turtles Bracelet
Cute Green Wallet/Make-up bag
A great little orange wallet/make-up bag
Hand crocheted orange tote
Vintage Leather Bracelet
Hand embroidered, reinvented vintage 70's tank top
Vintage late 70's punk stop preppies pin
Vintage 40's blue rhinestone cuff bracelet

I've finished moving household items from Etsy to ArtFire, so stop by the studio & take a look. There are a number of additions, as well.

So, now on to the main topic of this post, a phrase that I saw recently: unique gifts, something that I wanted to explore. It's a term that can have many different meanings & could be used in many different ways. For instance, as individuals & collective groups, we have unique gifts, things that we do well in some way. Some of us are artistic. Some create amazing works of art visually or aurally, things that make us think in new ways, lead us in new directions. Some create with the written word, taking to new worlds with their words. There are those that are gifted mathematically or who create with science. Some are gifted in business, advertising & marketing. There are sports figures who amaze us with their abilities. Some have the unique ability to help others. We each have unique gifts, some immediately obvious, some yet to be discovered.

The phrase unique gifts can also describe the physical, perfect items that we seek out to give each other, that one great gift that suits both giver & recipient, describing the relationship between the two perfectly. These can be difficult to find. Department stores & malls are filled with gifts, not unique or one of a kind, but mass produced items, carried in many places, easy to find. Some are high quality, some are low, but what most share is an absence of the unique. This is where the handmade movement comes in. Many handmade items are one of a kind, by their very definition, unique. Most others are made in small batches, individually designed & limited in production, artistically created, telling its own tale. Gifts can be hand made, by the giver, the ultimate expression of giving, giving of the self, from the heart. There are many great sites out there for finding unique gifts, gifts that display the unique talents of gifted individuals, most even have sellers who sell the supplies for creating your own perfect gifts. One that I would like to mention here is ArtFire. Check it out if you're looking for that perfect gift, want to create a perfect gift or even if you're looking to discover your own unique gift. SAM