The Beginning of 'As My Heart Desires'.

Everything in life is about timing.

I became a handmade artist due to a combination of various factors and feelings, and this is the story of one of them.

Following various timing events since 'Me and Crafting: Adulthood Edition,' I left my factory job and started working at a cafe I had always loved after finding a job opening.

(If you haven't read it yet, please start here.)

It was a very cute shop where dried flowers grown in the garden were displayed inside.
While working in such a wonderful space, the world was in the middle of a handmade boom.
I also started feeling like I wanted to make something and sell it.

I had a friend buy me an eraser stamp kit for my birthday, which I had been interested in, and tried my hand at it.
(I was quite bad at it.)

I became interested in resin and oven-bake clay.
(I never got around to gathering the materials.)

Around the time I thought I wanted to try Kogin embroidery, I was browsing the craft section at a bookstore.
I picked up a book and flipped through the pages, but I didn't feel like it was something I could do.
(I am the type of person who clearly knows what I can and cannot do by instinct.)

Some time later, a very painful event occurred in my life.
At that time, I rushed to the bookstore seeking healing.
Inside the store, I remembered a French embroidery book I had been curious about when I was looking at the Kogin embroidery books earlier, and I decided to buy it.
Since I had always liked embroidered clothes and cute designs, I bought it on impulse at the time, thinking, 'Even if I can't do embroidery, I'll be satisfied just looking at the book.'
After that, since I had gone to the trouble of buying the book, I felt like trying my hand at embroidery!

I focused on stitching the design on the cover for about 6 hours and finished it in one night.
Since it turned out well for a first attempt, I felt,

'I might be able to do embroidery,'and decided to continue with it for a while.

When I thought about what to stitch next, I remembered seeing an artist on TV who made works by stitching onto photographs. Since I had always liked paper and had plenty of materials like drawing paper at home, I decided to try paper embroidery.

After that, I made various things like embroidered button covers and paper embroidery message cards, and gave them to my friends as gifts.

I was simply happy that people were pleased with the things I had handmade myself.

And before I knew it, the time I spent embroidering had also become a time for healing myself.

Embroidery, which I started because something painful happened.
Because of that experience,
I decided from now on to
'live as my heart desires'
'and cherish what I love.'

That was the beginning of my journey as a handmade artist.

In the midst of the handmade boom, I also started selling on minne, which I had previously used as a buyer.

Since I have a personality where I want to act immediately when I want to do something, I didn't choose a special anniversary or a day with sentimental value, but rather the day I started selling on minne.

October 2, 2016.

This day is the anniversary of 'kokoronomamani'.
10 years are about to pass since that day.

[Bonus]

The desire I had during my factory days to "design, manufacture, and sell everything myself from scratch,"
and the wish that "I could start something by the time I was around 30,"
have all come true in the form of being a handmade artisan, and that leads to where I am today.

Thinking of myself as a"one-person factory manager,"I apply the experience I cultivated on the manufacturing floor to my daily craft.

It may look glamorous at first glance, but my days are spent steadily and diligently working with my hands.
I want to continuefollowing my heartin my craft from here on out.