Time

It's started again.  With September and school and cooler days comes the frenzy of activities that defines our first world lives.  I look at the weekend schedule with wide eyes and think, "How does this happen?"

One of my biggest concerns in starting this endeavor was adding to the cacophony in people's calendars.  I practically have a nervous breakdown if there aren't blocks of time in my day to just be and create.  While my sanity and good nature is dependent on time to process things internally, other people have entirely different needs for their happiness.  Many people I know have to be busy all the time.  They thrive on continually moving, and boy, do I admire that.  These folks are so productive, so quick on their feet, so proactive.  They make things happen.

Six months into this community we're building, we've moved from being a DBA to being an LLC, a Limited Liability Corporation.  It feels official and more substantial.  It feels like commitment.  As we reviewed our organization with our lawyer, and allocated roles within the company, I sat amazed that we built this thing from nothing.  We wanted to start a school for the handcrafts so we did.

When you start something, you do it as much for yourself as you do the community you wish to serve, let's be honest.  I wanted access to knowledge and skills too;  I wanted my work life to be about my passion for making things, for creating.  This thing that is as essential to me as breathing I wanted to make accessible to others.

The three of us have learned a lot over the last six months.  We've learned about our strengths and challenges - what presents hurdles for one is power juice for another.  We've learned about who our people are and who we haven't been able to reach.  We've learned about what people want to learn and what doesn't entice them enough to juggle their schedule.  Six months feels like six years in some ways - lots learned and so much more to learn. 

We have some things on the agenda I'm really excited to share.  We will be presenting an ongoing series of sewing classes designed to help people overcome their fears about sewing clothing.  If you've followed my musings here from the beginning you know I'm obsessed with how destructive the fashion industry is - from creating an unrealistic body shape ideal to the sheer waste of cheap fashion and it's effect on our planet - I believe that one way out of the trap of cheap fashion is to teach people to make their own clothing.  You will learn to make jeans for your body and so will I.

We'll also be offering a lot of classes designed for gift giving, so keep an eye out for things you can learn to make here and do more of at home.  See - taking a class can be a completely selfless act.

This post is titled Time, and I'm trying to remember why I started with that.  Busy people need to carve out time for themselves.  It's important to find time to nourish yourself - it makes you more productive and more kind, and the world can certainly use more of that.  I know Erika has a lot to say on this subject, so I'll leave it for her to expound upon it.  Let me just say, thank you for being a part of this journey as we take this next step.

-Robin