Is crafting always tied to nostalgia?

Yes, Josefa, in my case, you could say that. Handicrafts aren’t just some detached activity you can do without any personal investment. It’s something you became interested in at some point and chose to invest your time in. Everything you create with your hands—even that first lopsided pot holder—brings a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that you’ve finished the piece. You can’t achieve that inner satisfaction by buying an item. Purchased items are just material things with which we first have to build a relationship. Otherwise, they’re just things—nothing special. Only when you create things with your own hands can you grow through them, develop further, master them, and bring your own imagination to life. And that’s why you feel a connection to every piece you’ve crafted yourself. When you give something like that away, you’re also giving away the love you poured into it while making it. 

And of course, the older we get, the more we look back on the past. That’s where we’ve had our experiences, learned new things, received support, and had people by our side who shaped us. These are all emotional connections. Handicrafts bring people together—then as now. Otherwise, we probably wouldn’t have such a great community here.

Warm regards, Ina