Camp Dear Handmade Life is a dream that took over a year to develop. When the whole world seemed to be transitioning to online events, I pushed against it because:

• I was burnt out on virtual anything and everything (please don’t make me go to another Zoom birthday where we’re all talking over each other).
• I couldn’t figure out how to translate one of the most important things we do at Dear Handmade Life from IRL to online, building community and connections.

Then, on one of my afternoon walks with my baby Luca, my mind wandered back to my early days in business. I started my first business (a VERY handmade line of stationery) when I was eight because I wanted to send letters to my pen pal. I started my clothing line in college because I wanted to wear one-of-a-kind artsy tees. One of the reasons our makers festival, Patchwork Show, was born was because I was sick of trekking to big cities to sell at craft shows. And, our conference, Craftcation, made our dream for a craft and business vacation at the beach a reality.

Everything magical, everything good, everything that changed people’s lives that we’ve made was born from necessity. And, instead of creating what I “should” create, I always created what I wanted, what I thought was missing. I knew in my heart that I wasn’t the only one who needed handmade stationery, or bespoke t-shirts, or a dose of local creativity and community, or a life-changing conference at the beach.

And now I know that I’m not the only one who’s sick of being cooped up in the same “Groundhog Day” routine at home, and who wants to infuse some connection-making growth and education into her life.

Instead of creating a virtual event that fit the mold, we began to create the kind of event that we wanted to attend. It was time to do what all great entrepreneurs and artists always do… break the rules!

And through many many hours of brainstorming, countless sessions of furiously jotting down ideas at 3am when that classic middle-of-night inspiration struck, and refining, research and reimagining… Camp Dear Handmade Life took shape and evolved into the incredible at-home summer camp experience that I can’t wait to share with you.