♥ Appreciating Handmade ♥

Whenever I talk to acquiantances about my handmade bags (a little promotion on the side always helps ☺) I mostly get one of two reactions: 1. either they are pleasantly surprised/impressed/amazed, and immediately ask a lot of questions and want to see more of my bags... 2. or they pull a face and say 'oh'. The kind of 'oh' that lets me know they think handmade products are crap. (excuse the expression). The latter lets me know that theirs is an uneducated reaction. Most probably they have absolutely no idea how much time, effort and planning goes into a handmade product. So used to the mass-produced products that are churned out cookie-cutter style in huge factories, they do not see the dedication behind a handmade product. And its value. I have lived and worked in the Far East and I have seen the textile factories in China where thousands of look- alike bags are manufactured, packaged and ready to be shipped to Europe and the States. I'm not saying these bags are lousy, but they are sold here so cheap, that buyers will have no qualms chucking them into the garbage once they become tired of it. There is no appreciation of the product at all. The attitude is: who cares? I can get 10 more for 5 Euros from the many discount stores that have opened up all over the country! How sad is that? And as we collectively move deeper into a 'disposable society' I feel that I need to educate those people in particular in order to counter-balance this attitude. It's an uphill struggle, but I do believe that ignorance is the main factor getting in the way. I believe in handmade products and I will continue to spread the word about its value and virtue!