In our last post, in honour of Mother's Day, we celebrated moms and the special place they hold in our hearts. Today, let's take a moment to celebrate our amazing kids! Even though they're young, they can teach us some really important life lessons with their special qualities and unique perspectives. Read on as I tell you about MADE WITH YOUR ART and how it was my daughter who came up with the idea…
Kids are naturally filled with wonder and curiosity. They're always eager to explore and ask questions to understand the world around them. How many times have we been asked as parents “but why?”. Unlike adults, kids don't hold back their thoughts and don't worry about what others might think when they keep asking the same question over and over.
When I look at my daughter growing up, I’m struck by how in touch kids are with their emotions. They express themselves freely and creatively without hesitation. When they're sad, they cry. When they're happy, they smile and laugh. And when they're angry, they might stomp their feet or show it in some other way. They don't feel shy or embarrassed about expressing how they feel.
I sometimes envy a child’s ability to live in the moment. They focus more on the present, fully engaged in play and actively learning, rather than worrying about what happened yesterday or what might happen tomorrow. They truly know how to embrace the now.
As for the story of how MADE WITH YOUR ART began, well, we know kids have the most incredible imagination and creativity. Their minds are bursting with amazing ideas and they can come up with things that leave us adults in awe. This is what happened to me. I had a business designing custom jewelry for museum stores. One day, my daughter came to me with a drawing and said, “Mama, this is my cufflink design”. I don't think she knew what cufflinks were, she just knew that I made them for my museum clients and she wanted to contribute. I thought that was very sweet. Then it hit me. Why not?! That started us on a path designing cufflinks and necklaces made with children’s art. We’ve since expanded to include a range of accessories from cufflinks and earrings to keychains, necklaces and rings. Now, when she comes to shows and events with me, she's so proud to share the art she helped to create.
MADE WITH YOUR ART is so much more than capturing a specific moment in time, it’s about celebrating everyone’s creativity. If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s the need to find joy in simple things, to appreciate our friends and family and to revel in our creativity. We want to celebrate those moments and create accessories made with your art.