Thursday, October 23, 2008

Sphere of Influence

I think I have a problem. It's not a a bad thing really, but still, I could see it spiraling out of control. I have mentioned before that I love making milestone sales for people. In the last couple of weeks I've been someones first sale, 100th sale and 1000th sale. Although this has gotten me some sweet freebies in the past, I do it for the sheer delight of making someones day. To that end my sickness has spread to simply making peoples day with an unexpected sale. I keep seeing posts from discouraged sellers on etsy and twitter that exist in my list of favorites. There are so many people I love not only for what they create but also because I like them as people and I fancy that if we actually met, we could be friends. So I keep shopping, thankfully I've still got plenty of people to gift for the holidays so the shopping isn't frivolous, but the real reason I'm doing it is that I love the feeling I get when I receive a heartfelt thank you and I know I'm made someone happy.

In the same vein, I got a comment here the other day that got me thinking about my influence. I was so glad to hear that someone was encouraged to try tatting again because of my work and this is not the first time people have asked how to get started with the craft or told me they were gonna give it another shot after seeing what they could make with it. I've joked a lot about how I'm going to singlehandedly revive tatting, which I know to be a silly notion. There are plenty of other tatters around that are not only more talented than me, but also have a much larger sphere of influence having authored books and hosting comprehensive websites on the subject. I'm just one weird chick who picked up the craft a few years ago and sells my wares on one website and keeps a blog that gets all of 50 hits a day. Still, it makes me super happy that I have done a little to expose people and if you are one of those people picking up a tatting needle or shuttle to give it a go and you need a little help or encouragement, feel free to call on me. My sphere of influence may be small, but I'm amazed that I have one at all.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

LOL, I thought I was the only milestone impulse buyer!!! I do that all the time. For one shop, the seller now a great friend of mine, I was the first and the 100th sale. I love doing that!!

Also, about influencing others to tat... I spent about 20 minutes drooling over your shop (certainly not the first time!!) and I love the pendant of yours that I won on This Old Henhouse's blog... and I'm just itching to try out tatting as a result! You are so talented and make such beautiful things!

Anonymous said...

That is so nice of you! I think your work is insanely beautiful. When I look at it, it is indeed sensory overload for the eyes.
I started crocheting my necklaces and did not know that some of the details were part of tatting. It is fascinating!
Looking at all the different patterns make me want to learn how to tat for real!


www.muntedkowhai.com

Unknown said...

well, that's a pretty genrous sickness you have. :-) very considerate.

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