h. duxbury creations

Or maybe old ones.

It is 2010, and I am in university, my final year of my B.A., still a bit raw from a year of changes, thrilled with the fledgling friendship with a creative, brilliant human who, though I don’t know it yet, will be one of the best friends in my life. We have discovered the joys of craft blogs and share them with one another via email and MSN messenger. Those were the heydays of Shabby Chic style, and DIY craft blogs brought a certain community together in the joy of making. Upcycling was a new term to me, and I loved watching people make their own stuff, update or recreate old stuff and just generally get incredibly creative. The focus on reusing and repurposing was so uplifting for someone trying to find ways to be sustainable.

All of these blogs were free, full of tips, patterns, tutorials and inspiration. Some blogs had discreet ads, or spots where you could “buy a coffee” for the blogger, but the focus was not on monetization, but sharing with the community that loved the same things you did. Without those enthusiastic, informative and (very important for a university student) free resources, I might not be the artisan I am today.

Fast forward, 2020 and it feels like the world is falling apart and being held together at the same time. I am waist deep in self publishing my first book. Those slow, inspiring blog days of a decade ago have been traded for the fast paced, ever shifting, profit driven world of social media. However, once again, it is blogs and their free, enthusiastic sharing of information that allow me to publish my book from start to finish, including creating my own cover.

When I saw the shift toward blogs happening again, I was thrilled. There is something slower, deeper and more personal about a blog post than the hyper visual, auto-scroll format of social media. And then I discovered the many ways blogs have been monetized. Paywalls, subscriptions, so many ads you can’t read the actual content.

I no longer want to be part of a system that focuses on side hustles, monetization, productivity. Sometimes the journey has to be about joy, about creativity, about compassion and sharing.

So I am divesting of my ecommerce driven website and trying to create something a little slower, a little more meaningful, something with a bit more room for inspiration and creation. So here is a blog, with no agenda other than I hope that it reaches someone who will find it inspiring or useful.