Heartful Village has been simplified and has a new intro page that better describes it's purpose. I've posted it here for your convenience, but clicking on the links will take you to the site:
| you are a one-of-a-kind original . . . |
 |
 |
. . . and your world should reflect your uniqueness
Yeah,
you're probably thinking that's easy for me to say. Like you can just
start designing and making everything yourself. Besides, even if
you're creative, it's hard to find the time. And where do you start?
So you end up with a lot of mass-produced (produced for the masses)
things that gazillions of other people have. Ever show up somewhere
and someone's wearing the same outfit you have on? It even happens to
famous people in expensive designer clothes. Celebrity websites and
magazines actually publish photos of those embarrassing high-fashion
mix ups.
I can help you find high-quality handmade products
You
don't need to make your own things. And you don't have to buy things
that thousands of other people have. I'm Marina Flournoy, the energy
behind Heartful Village, and this site is about helping you find
high-quality handmade alternatives to common mass-produced products.
just some things . . . not everything needs to be handmade
Mass-production
is not a bad thing. We wouldn't have easy access to cars and
televisions and refrigerators and computers and all kinds of other
things if they all had to be handmade. We benefit big-time from
factory-made products our ancestors would've loved to have had: Cell
phones and athletic shoes and vacuum cleaners and pencils and . . .
You get my point. I'm not trashing mass-production or mass-produced
products.
we just need more balance in our options
The
production-distribution cycle is so out of balance that you're
bombarded 24/7 with ads for things that need to be sold mainly because
they've been made. Or because they need to be made to keep a company
profitable, or to keep the stockholders happy, or for some other reason
that has nothing to do with you. And the ads are often effective
because the companies who make them know exactly what they're doing.
Which is getting you to buy something that gazillions of other people
have.
the marketers have their agendas
The marketing folks are not bad guys, and they can't make you buy something you don't want. It's just that their agenda is not your agenda, which is probably to make value based decisions. When you buy a car for example, you consider style, safety, comfort, cost, and whatever else is important to you. Then you settle on whichever delivers the best value overall. The mass-marketing model is fine for cars and lots of other things you need. But mass-marketing is in partnership with mass-production. And promoting unique high-quality handmade products is not what they're about. It's not on their agenda. No blame. That's just the way it is.
you need handmade products in the mix
Adding high-quality handmade products to the mix can make a big difference in your decisions on value. That's because when you spend a dollar on a mass-produced product, you pay for more than you get. You pay the factory workers who produced it, you pay the marketing costs, executive salaries, freight, store inventory and stocking fees, and of course there have to be profits made all along the supply chain. So in the end you get maybe 50 cents in value, maybe more, maybe less. Hit a few garage sales next weekend and you'll see what I mean: Near new products going for 20-30% of their store price. Now spend a dollar on a high-quality handmade product. This time, the artisan gets a dollar, and you get at least a dollar in value. The supply chain has been reduced to two very appreciative people. And someone fortunate enough to find that unique product later at a garage sale might still be willing to pay a dollar for it, maybe more.
but who's got the time?
Right. Finding unique products is a lot of work. Take it from someone who knows firsthand. The logical place for busy people to look is on the Internet, but there are a lot of handmade sites. And that actually makes it harder to find the things you want to buy. Some sites are really just beautiful portfolios for people who do not sell on the web (I call these eye candy). Some sites have been abandoned by people who gave up on the possibility of selling online. Some active sites are currently empty, and some have so much to offer that you're overwhelmed with the range of possibilities. Which brings us back to where we started.
I can help you find high-quality handmade products, right here on the web
Handmade Lookup, the heart of Heartful Village, is a directory of handmade products. But it's so much more than that. It's a totally free, constantly growing directory of websites hand selected by me, based on my stringent requirements. To be included, the site must have high-quality products, a secure way to sell them, an ongoing commitment to the business, and a history of sales and satisfied customers. And these unique products must also meet my personal requirements for beauty, distinctive style, and artistic flair. Think of your favorite shop or boutique. The owner makes selections based on personal taste. And you can shop there confident of a consistent sense of style and quality.
This site also has links to artisan collectives, to upcoming events (art & craft shows, open studios, receptions, etc.), as well as news and rss feeds for blogs and other sites featuring unique and unusual products—so you can explore the handmade world on your own. Think of Heartful Village as an anchor site with multiple doors into the web mall. How you navigate is entirely up to you.
Click the hand 
(here or on the menu) to browse Handmade Lookup. But first, take a second to subscribe to my newsletter so I can keep you current on new product links and special offers.
Thanks.
P.S. The slide shows are greeting cards. Just click an image and you'll be taken to it's page in our card store. Click here for more info on our greeting cards. Click here to learn about our card artists. Click here if you'd like to be a card artist. And please do check out our card store because sales of Heartful Village greeting cards is what keeps Handmade Lookup free.
