Back From Where It All Started

Sometimes cliche' as may it seems, the line "Ang marunong tumingin sa pinaggalingan, makakarating sa paroroonan" still works for me. No matter how many make jokes about it, still it makes sense to me.

For 3 years of crafting and selling, I never see myself to be this busy and savoring all the goodness life of a crafter and a bazaarista has to offer. Pardon me if I am being sentimental but in the past months of joining bazaars, I've come to realize how far I've gone through since day one I started crafting. And I can't get through this day without me releasing all those mixed emotions I am feeling right now. 

collage 1: shows a compilation of the necklaces I made (forgot to include the bracelets, earrings, belts, and headwraps I did haha) from DAY 1 til present. 

I remember during the multiply days, (I started in multiply) what's trending back then is selling clothes. I started selling ukay clothes but got tired a bit so I thought of incorporating accessories to my line of products. I was a one clueless girl of how things work if I were to make my own accessories line. I don't know when,where,how to begin. What to make, where to buy materials, and where on earth should I get my accessories design. 

Handmade accessories back then, are not so much a big hit as compared to China-made metal accessories we see here and there. I started buying some in Quiapo, sell them in the internet and make profits. BUT that didn't make me happy, something's lacking and I know it is because I find the routine too easy, and just like what the rest is doing. So I gave myself a challenge, to make my own design. HOW? Since I don't have enough bucks to buy materials, I knew I have to start from recycling. The very first accessories I did, is a papermache pendant necklaces, which apparently, I was not able to save some photos from my multiply account (waahhh saddd ) But whoever bought from me back then, please do comment here and perhaps spare me some photos? haha!

collage 2: more fabric accessories came to Simone's Closet! yay!

Moving on, the papermache pendants were a hit BUT the production is taking me too long so I aborted that mission and thought of another material to use. I came to thinking beads, would be a great replacement, BUT then again, it's a material that almost accessory sellers are using, hence, I won't be able to create a name and identity for myself. 

A little more impatience and waiting for answers, I was near to giving up. But good thing I saw a stash of my old t-shirts and some ukay clothes I bought for Simone's Closet, which happen to have some holes and flaws, something poof inside my mind!!! I remember back in my high school days when I make quilt table covers out of excess fabrics, so I started cutting strips from my old shirts, played around those, experimented until finally I just saw my shop filled with photos of my designs. 

collage 3: the evolution of cobwebs

who would have thought I could make the cobwebs sell?! It was so hard to market it at first, but with God's help and a lil' marketing strategy, everything paid off! 

I think when you love what you're doing, you won't notice the time, or you won't even notice if you're having enough sleep or not. You barely even notice that you started with one design but in a span of a moment, you did actually have more than what you could imagine. And as I look back on the times, most especially on the onset of my crafting my days, I have seen a lot of my works and I can say, I improved a lot. These are just some of what I had already made, and as I look onto them it summarizes how enjoying my 3 years of crafting. 

To those who are asking how to begin, well there is no other way but to begin. To just do it (like I always say) even if you don't know how because eventually you'll find a way how to get there. Take inspirations, view others' works, but NEVER COPY. Take some pegs, to begin with, but ALWAYS LEARN ALONG THE PROCESS, CULTIVATE YOUR OWN STYLE, NEVER IMITATE but rather develop your own design, most importantly, MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Think of something that would create a mark for yourself. Something that in the long-run would benefit you. Something that would define who you are and not someone else's. It is still rewarding to know, that people appreciate your works because they see it as your labor of love and your own piece of mind. Try to be different at all times even if you think you're making a fool out of your masterpiece. Who the hell cares if you make a necklace that someone won't even bother to wear? It's better that way, the more different you can get, the more you'll open more chance for your works to shine. STRIVE FOR THE BEST.

In the entire process of crafting and selling, it is still the smiles, praises, and your customers' satisfaction, that matter, then comes next the reward of getting paid for your work of art. I've learned to look back from day 1, the ups and the downs, during times I want to stop and quit, or during the times I ran-out of ideas. Always craft and discover more ways and more ideas. And of course, when crafting gets though, the best way to remedy it is to look back and remember day one. 

cheers to crafting and cheers to all of my lovely clients and friends, who never stop supporting Simone's Closet!