SomethingSmith 

I was given a fabulous book years ago by my then boss, Ron Martoia, entitled THE SUBSTANCE OF STYLE. In it author Virgina Postrel defines art as “making special.” I continue, over a decade later, to find myself magnetized to that definition as an artist. Lately, I’ve noticed the noun creative surface. “Are you a creative?” “Come to our conference for creatives!” Honestly, I believe with all my heart that we’re all born “creatives” (although I strongly dislike the use of that word as a noun). Whether or not we tap into that innate creativity is what makes us an artist. Here’s the story of the artist I live with. 

What do you create rather than consume that makes your heart skip a beat? Art is an outpouring of our soul. Sometimes what we make special can then become utilitarian, but it truly begins in that place in our souls where passion is derived. Where our heart skips a beat. Where we envision, lose sleep, spend money and sweat profusely to create rather than consume. What we do, as Natalie put it in Garden State, when we feel completely unoriginal.

So, when I married my husband a decade ago who is a self-proclaimed “non-creative”, linear-thinking, practical, minimalistic guy…sparks flew in more ways than one. Scott is a systems guy. A planner. He is so organized that the first time my family saw his place when we were dating they thought he had just moved in (he’d lived there for years, he’s just that minimalistic). To him, the Apple Store is cluttered. He and I share interests, not a ton, and we share a similar world/faith view. That’s vital. We owned/rode a Harley together for years and had a ball. But every time I headed out the door to go to band practice or a concert, I’d have this inkling that he still needed to find a way to channel his untapped creativity and energy (other than throwing my stuff out when I’m not looking).

FATEFUL SANDALS   Then, about three years ago, after owning many a vintage leather bag, spending countless hours stalking vintage leather bag auctions on ebay and then finally a fateful visit to the Paul Taylor custom leather sandal shop in Asheville, Scott finally discovered his outlet. While talking to Paul in his shop, I’d never seen his eyes as wide. The smell of leather. Crazy looking tools. Worn benches. He found his bridge from the THEM to the US of the artistry world. It had been under his nose, on his feet and over his shoulder for almost a lifetime: LEATHER.

What started as this dopp kit he had always dreamed of that he cut and hand stitched on our back porch soon became his passion unfurled. It was effortless for him. He never took a class (other than over-examining leather accessories for a lifetime). He put this vegetable tanned leather little boxy bag together in no time and wondered if other people would like it as much as he did. He posted it on Etsy and a businessman from NYC called and placed the first order. He asked if Scott would make some custom totes for his non-profit donors. Before we knew it, our back screened-in porch became a leather-hide filled workshop, ebay and etsy orders began trickling in. And, most of all, Scott was energized by it. And this time, not because of the spreadsheets and cash flow, but because he loved CREATING the items and crafting them.

And now, a few years later, he has his own workshop, a few guys helping him in the shop and his business, named after our sons, ColsenKeane is thriving. Of course, being in the lucrative “business” of church-planting that we are, having part-time work has always been a necessity for us. But this is more than work; we love just sitting over a cup of steaming coffee co-dreaming together about our making special endeavors. It’s really deepened our marriage because we’ve found some common ground. I know nothing about leather (which doesn’t keep me from giving my opinion of course) and he knows nothing of composing music, but we share this fire in our belly about making something new that we care about. It’s amazing. And I’m so stinking proud of him.

So this week, tell me about what kind of smith you are. My husband discovered at almost age 40 that he’s a leathersmith. After a lifetime of pursuing music, I’m discovering I’m a bit of a humanitarian/faith-journey wordsmith. My sons’ Pre-K/Kindergarten teacher Kelly is a 4 and 5 year old child-learningsmith. She had my son reciting and loving poetry and writing in cursive and cooking meals at age 4!  My sister-in-law Mel is a ambiance-smith. She can pillage through a flea market and transform any space into something Martha Stewart would envy. My friend Karina is a cuisine-smith (and bead-smith…God doled out extra gifting to that woman) – without formal training, she has always dabbled in growing, canning, prepping and creating meals that are unparalleled and now owns her own restaurant (which I wish I lived closer to!). My sis Lauren Rosenau, after studying business in college and traveling the world, discovered she’s a wedding-capturingsmith. She’s fantastic. She could talk about brides and settings on her camera ’til the cows come home. It’s her heart-pounding art.

WIN A JOURNAL!   So tell me what kind of smith you are (or you’re aspiring to be) here in the comments section and I’ll enter you in my first ever drawing on this blog: the winner will be chosen with the random number generator to win this ColsenKeane custom made leather moleskin journal cover. Winner will be chosen at 10pm, MONDAY APRIL 19. I have one of these journals myself and I love it. It gets better with age. Sort of like the hot guy in the video featured above. So, tell me about yourselves and your discoveries of your creative inner-self. Even if it involves spreadsheet creation, you’re an artist too.

ColsenKeane Leather Moleskin Journal Cover