My space…it could possibly drive some people nuts. Organized? Well, believe it or not, yes! It does not look that way. If someone dares to venture into the realm of my creativity, I tell them not to touch a thing. Nothing needs to be cleaned up, put away, de-cluttered, OR God forbid, thrown out. I know where my stuff is!! Not another soul in the world may know where IT is, but I do. From the chaos, jewelry, that appears to come from an organized origin, emerges. Click on any jewelry pic for more information on that piece. To see more of my work feel free to visit my Etsy shops at http://www.hendywood.etsy.com and http://www.hendyshome.etsy.com
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CLICK ON ANY PICTURE FOR A LINK TO THE STORE WHERE IT LIVES. I have found, during my creative endeavors, that I would rather reclaim it and then recreate. Take this lovely little Tree of Life necklace. It was a fence post in a neighbor's yard. The post almost made it to the trash, but I "reclaimed" it and turned the wood into something much prettier than a fence post. I'm a middle school teacher that goes through and discards unneeded supplies. There's got to be a better way, right? The blue dot in the center of a nicely rounded and perfectly smooth piece of mesquite wood? - The remains of a color pencil that was too short to be held by a 7th grader. Look at it now! This sweet little necklace? - A button. Yep, it started out as a little button, which would have worked very nicely somewhere ... but I saw a necklace and cut the "button" right off, lol. One of my favorite reclaiming projects so far. This purse was a pair of pants that was destined for the trash bag. They were plumb wore out. However, the pocket was still there, so I saw a purse. Of course I washed the fabric before making the bag :) The button was handmade by me from a branch I picked up from the yard. I think, if it can be used again, don't throw it away!
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE Sooo...I thought I might try to venture out on my own a little more. A new page is under construction here at Hendywood.com and we will see if anything sells outside my good ol' reliable Etsy. Kinda scary. There is a lot that needs to be considered. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a biggie. Am I using the right words to get noticed by Google? Once that happens, then someone might find me and buy! THAT would be exciting! Product, pictures, pricing, description, shipping, shopping cart. Shopping cart...how the heck do I do that?!? I went to Paypal and followed their directions, much simpler than I thought it would be. The earrings in the picture were once a pair of cute, cute, cute buttons. But, I thought they would make cute jewelry, so I took the button part away and drilled holes for hanging. These were the first items listed on my shopping page. Hope they get found! Remember, the page is under construction, so enter at your own risk, lol! Please click and take a look around at the new venture. Leave a comment and let me know what you think! /shop-hendywood-directly.html For a wider variety of items go to http://www.hendywood.etsy.com and http://www.hendyshome.etsy.com August 5th was a big day for little old Hendywood. We hit 1000 sales! It was exciting for us, lol! How did that happen?... Since my father was a carpenter, I grew up in a wood shop. As I grew older, I kinda lost touch with the wood. Sad, really. In 2004, I told my hubby I wanted a table saw for my birthday, something to cut wood. I figured if I could cut the wood, I could build something. I was getting a hankerin' to get back in touch with the wood. Well, wouldn't you know. God had other plans. I got the table saw for my September birthday and was learning how use it, but in November that year, life took a left turn. I had to spend some time battling and recovering from thyroid cancer. It took me away from my wood and saw for a while. But it's all good! The cancer went away and I dug the saw out and cranked it up. I worked on larger projects, like furniture and it kicked my butt. I debated doing this, because I knew, if I liked it, it would only cost more money. - I signed up for a bowl turning class at Woodcraft - It was December 2007. A Jet mini lathe showed up under the Christmas tree that year and my life took a right turn. That little lathe has not stopped since. The number of bowls started to pile up! I called them Didit Bowls if they worked and Dammit Bowls if they didn't. Fortunately, there have been far more Didits than Dammits. Ha! I needed more space ~ OR ~ get rid of some of this stuff. I'm a teacher. The kids at school call me Mrs. Hendy which is fine with me. I started throwing around ideas for a name for my work. Another teacher (who's last name was Wood) put Hendy and Wood together and the name 'Hendywood' was born. - Now what - http://www.Hendywood.Etsy.com April 6, 2008. I remember it was a Sunday. My husband thought I should read an article in the paper about a website called Etsy. You could sell handmade stuff on there and make it your own website (as long as you followed their rules). I decided to give it a go. I figured out the basics and ended the day with about four bowls up for sale on the World Wide Web. It was a scary time. I sent word out to people I knew and wouldn't you know, within a week I had a sale. I 'bout peed my pants when that happened. My sweet sister-in-law bought the bowl in the picture. I will never forget my first sale... Below are some of the early pieces. After a while, let's say a few years? I noticed people were buying and my style was evolving. I started working with stones, glass, and metal, adding a little variety. I also added a new Etsy shop. http://www.HendysHome.Etsy.com Below is a peek at the the evolution, lol. Buttons, silverware, charms, gemstones. It's all fair game! I even got back to the sewing machine, something I learned in my childhood.
Over 1000 of my handmade items are floating around the world - incredible. And it all started with "I want a table saw. I need to cut wood." Take a look at my work at http://www.Hendywood.Etsy.com and at http://www.HendysHome.Etsy.com |
Karen HendersonWife, Mother, Grandmother, Teacher, Lover of Animals, Woodworker, Jewelry Designer, Owner of Hendywood. Archives
June 2016
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