The Earliest Birds Aren't Birds At All

When Philip was hacking down our field of carefully cultivated six foot weeds in preparation for mowing, he stumbled over one of our volunteer potato plants that cropped up in last years spot. He pulled it up and found those cute little red babies. The very first potatoes of spring. You can't show me potatoes you've just dug up and not expect me to go and toy with my potato bed to see what I can find. I have to have fun too. Have I mentioned how much fun it is to grow potatoes before? It's like digging for buried treasure.

I grow potatoes for the "new potato" size. Still, I have to admit that these are still too small. Must wait. I may have to tie my own hands behind my back to keep them out of the dirt for another month. My mulch is working well to protect them. Unfortunately I noticed some slug action in the wet straw. If anything can make me feel giddy like a kid waiting for Christmas morning, it's a bed of growing potatoes.

You won't be surprised to know that I can fill an entire hour talking exclusively about potatoes.

Don't worry, I'm not going to. I'm about to change the subject.

So here's a revolutionary idea: what if I don't develop a signature color story? What if I just pick the colors that inspire me most right now and just when people start associating me with those colors- I throw everyone for a loop? I don't have to have a signature anything, as a matter of fact. I've been thinking a lot about how many crafters are trying to develop their own look and proprietary patterns in order to stand out from the crowd. It's called branding (for anyone who didn't know that) and it's important. But I sometimes feel that there's so much "owning" of our own art and crafts that something gets robbed.

What I like about design is that most designers are snatching ideas from the same pool or resources and inspirations. What you then get to see is how each individual interprets the same stimulation. That's what makes them special.

No crafter can own flower pins, felted dolls, stuffies, or aprons. We can own the patterns we've personally made for our version, but anyone has a right to take your idea and reinterpret it. They do. They can't copy it, but they can change it a little and it becomes their own thing.

I understand the importance of branding. So many of us need to make a living off of our designs and if everyone is stealing them from under our noses and making a living for themselves it sets us back, which is why we have so much copy righting going on. We need some protection.

But what I love best is the free flow of ideas without paranoia. Which is why it's weird for me to be working on a project that I can't share right now. I put the potatoes up today because I can't show you what I was working on all day yesterday. This sucks because I have finally come up with a recycling project that would surely impress most of you. (Listen to that ego my friends. Healthy as hell and maybe just a touch puffed up today?) Don't worry though, I'll be able to share it later on. I wouldn't be able to even work on this project right now if I wasn't closing my store this month. So I'm going to say that PKM is totally right when she quotes that great old saying: when one door closes, another one opens.

This week-end Lisa E, my mom, and I all went to a craft fair in Portland put on by the new craft store site called Lov.li and I mean to report on it with pictures but my pictures come courtesy of Lisa's camera and I happen to have that at my house. So until I get her her camera back the pictures will be locked away. I'll bet she's wondering why we're such deadbeat friends right now. The craft fair was a lot of fun and we found out that there are two more going on in Portland next week-end. So we're plotting another day out.

We did feel a little old and under-tattooed though.