2023 Goals

Is it possible for an avid crafter* to go a year without buying craft supplies?

*avid crafter - I craft most days, every day that I am well enough. Even if it is just 2 minutes. It is good for me and I feel happier if I've managed to colour or cut just one shape. I want to continue doing this. 

I'm thinking and writing about this around Black Friday. (Actually, it's pre-Black Friday but it's been mentioned for at least two weeks already - the term Black Friday is very misleading, it's more like SalesForWeeks!) My inbox and social media feeds are chock full of offers. My favourite companies have monthly releases. (Aaaand I have multiple favourite companies!) I also do multiple crafts, so not only is there all of the scrapbooking collections but the card making supplies too. (Yes, I know there is a considerable over lap there but there is /always/ something new and tempting.)

Yet my storage is full. In fact it is too full and I'm mid clear out. It's taking ages because energy is low and brain fog is thick. 5 minutes a day is painfully slow when I can picture a fully healthy me doing a two day blitz and ending up with an efficient tidy workable room, knowing exactly what I have and where it is stored.

Every time I pull out a box to tidy and cull I find three things.

1 - products that make me say things like "ooh, why don't I use this more often?" "I should make this with these dies." "I need to scrap that photo with these stamps."

2 - products that make me smile when I think of what I have made with them.

3 - products that make me think things like, "oh yeah, I got caught in the hype with this set." "It's really pretty but not really my style/colour." "I'm not inspired to use this."

Obviously category 3 is going in a destash pile. But category 3 also answers category 1's questions. I'm not using these things because I'm busy shopping/getting caught in hype/having FOMO with category three products. Also I know I get overwhelmed by too much stuff and categories 1, 2 and 3 combined is too much. Too much stuff stiffles my creativity and slows everything down. 

I wouldn't stop myself from buying essentials. I know I'd need more white cardstock, for example. But things that I use up and then reach for again... I'm thinking embossing powder, enamel dots, a particular colour mist or paint. Also, things that make crafting possible like adhesives, cutting plates, journalling pens.

I'd need to be strict though... when shopping for glue I'd need to only buy glue. When shopping for pens I'd need to only replace what has run out. When shopping for cutting plates I'd need to not pop a few other things in my cart to get to free shipping. 

Thinking about things, there is quite a lot going on psychologically. Advertising, free shipping thresholds, shopping incentives, sales, new companies that deserve support, "quick, don't miss out" tactics, seeing peers using and raving about this or that. And illness.

Going through these one by one might be helpful...

1 - Advertising

Of course these small craft companies need sales to survive. Advertising generates sales. There's nothing wrong with straight forward advertising. 

Design Teams are great for this and on the whole thay are transparent. If you see someone's work has a design team watermark then you know they were likely given product for free or at the very least had a chunky discount. 

2 - Free Shipping Thresholds

Yeah, I get lured. I need to work out when it is worth it and when it is not. I need to be driven by what I need, not what I want, I fancy, is sparkly, has a bird on it that will take me to that magic number...

3 - Shopping Incentives

"Spend this much to get this free." And the free is usually exclusive. Again, this is about me, not about the company. I need to make sure I don't get pulled in. How often do I actually need the incentive product? (Hint: probably never.)

4 - Sales

Do I need the products or am I buying them because they are on sale? 

I could use sales to my advantage and only shop during sales to save myself money. But is this good for the industry? Isn't the craft industry, at least who I buy from, dominated by small businesses, one woman shows, family start ups... do I need to do them out of 15%, or whatever the discount is? Would it not be better to pay these folks the full price? I'm not talking about buying from amazon or other giants or chains. I tend to not be interested in them anyway. 

5 - New Companies That Deserve Support

I'm thinking here about how I have supported kickstarters in the past. I'm expecting a parcel from Alex Syberia Designs. What if Kelly Taylor designs some stamps? I wouldn't want to not be supporting the industry or my favourite individuals. How do I allow for this but still make it work for me and my finite amount of storage?

6 - Quick, Don't Miss Out! Tactics

Again, this is all me. I'm going to ignore these emails. If they happen frequently I'll unsubscribe. I'm not a fan of them and I get pulled in too easily. If I miss out, so what?

7 - Seeing Peers Using And Raving About This Or That

I need to be careful when I see professional and semi professional creators who are using product. They aren't my peers. They were possibly supplied with entire releases for free and make an income through links. They make their money through making you need to buy the goodies. Again this is fine, but sometimes it is not as transparent to me as the traditional design team situation is. It's something *I* need to remember before getting caught in the fomo, the gotta keep up with the Joneses. 

8 - Illness

How much of my 'must buy all the things' is compensating for the lack of being physically able to do anything other than craft? How much is it me shopping whilst lying down fully supported because I'm not well enough to sit up at my desk and craft? Or wanting to be someone in the industry (product designer, demonstrator, teacher, etc) but not being able because of the M.E.?

There's a lot more to unpack here in the illness category but perhaps that's best left for later. For now I just need to keep being aware that this illness effects every part of my life, not just physically, and that is okay. Anyone who had their independence and physical abilities severely restricted for 22 years would be dealing with the same.

I feel I need a set of questions to ask whenever I want to buy something... 

1. Do I have anything SIMILAR already in my stash?
2. Can I get CREATIVE with something I already own and make it work? 
3. Do I really LOVE the product or do I love what other people are doing with it? 
4. Do I NEED it?

If the answers to The Questions are no; no; I really do love it; and, yes; then what? Sit on it for a week, a month? Make triple sure? Work to a yearly budget? (And I say yearly because I absolutely cannot have monthly must-buys. It's not sustainable in this space.) Have a 'go to' when I want something new? Like a jar of all of the stamp sets I own, and lucky dip pick one and use it. Or flip through the baskets or wallets or boxes and visually remind myself of what I have? Operate a one in one out policy? If I 'need' something new then something in my stash will have to leave to make space. 

So can I still be on a design team?

 

Maybe, maybe not. I am completely transparent with DT work - company logo/footer; #Ad; mentioning it in writing. Doing actual design work would be different, wouldn't it? If I was designing products? Or teaching with kits? That's got to be allowed. 

So what AM I going to do?

Make with what I have.

Enter challenges.

Find an outlet for my cards so they don't build up.

File my layouts every five pages.

Rediscover what I love and do that more.

If something new really strikes me (and I use a set I already have randomly picked from the jar, wait two weeks and still want it, and make the space for it by one in one out) I can purchase it - but it does need to pass The Questions.

What am I NOT going to do? 

Get sucked in by sales, freebies, postage etc.

Get lost in keeping up with the Joneses type mentality. 

Get over run with supplies so much so that it stiffles my creativity. 

Remind myself I have enough.