It all started with a friend’s wedding.

Well, not exactly. It actually started with a trip to the Goodwill Store, over 20 years ago. There, I came across stunning and vibrant curtain panels, and a red, textured tablecloth. I had gone in looking for the usual, a few good work shirts. However, I soon lost all interest in these. The fabric pulled invisible strings of creativity.

This, I think, is when I developed my love of color. In fact, it bloomed. I have read that people who experience a near death experience often discover a new love for rich colors following this event. There was no such experience for me, but now that I think back to this time I feel there may have been a sort of rebirth, or a sort of settling down after navigating challenging times.

Indeed, the timing was perfect. A friend was getting married. I had never known any friend or acquaintance who tied the knot before. Both this friend and her to-be husband were highly creative, down-to-earth individuals. By some alchemy I would be at a loss to explain, my imagination effortlessly shaped the fabric into a gift for them: a pouch designed to hold wedding bands and vows.

I have since made several more, perhaps even hundreds. Some may have been used as intended; others meant to hold various treasures. And this is what I love about pouches. The feedback I receive about them invariably reveals how they spark the imagination. They are rarely purchased with a specific need in mind. The size and style of a pouch seems to naturally and instantly bring to mind an object or gift for which it is perfectly suited.

The pouches above are my newest creations. The square pouches have been used when offering music CDs or picture frames as a gift. A friend uses her large, floral square pouch to carry her book and notebook to her weekly book club. The round pouch was born following a special order for an elegant wrap for gourmet honey or coffee wedding favors. I placed meaningful objects that have belonged to my husband in a pouch I kept for this sacred purpose. He passed in 2010. This pouch rests on a table, near a framed photograph of him.

For me, as simple as they are, pouches are a pleasure of inspiration. I am never sure how they will turn out. The fabric, its textures and design patterns, inspire the next pouch, its shape and size. And to this day, when I walk in the Goodwill Store for my seasonal work clothes needs (I can perhaps talk about my work-life in a future post), my true intention, and greatest delight, is to venture to the back of the store in search of curtains and other materials waiting there for me.

A sense of delight arises from something as simple as a small, handmade object. It pulls at sensory strings. This is equally true for the artisan as for those who purchase our creations. My sense is that we all possess some core instinct that resonates with these. This, in turn, aligns us with a sort of calm or beauty that is reassuring.