W hen I arrived at my macramé plant hanger workshop hosted at the Small Print Board Game Café in Charlottetown, I felt immediately welcomed and at ease. I could tell from the start that, while learning a new skill can be intimidating, the Mobile Makery offers a relaxed environment and an emphasis on having fun. After the small group of us were settled and sipping on our fancy Nutella lattes, the workshop began with some simple instructions, some cautionary tales about not cutting the rope too quickly, and some helpful encouragement. While there were official names for the knots, my friend and I quickly took to making up our own names, and you better believe the puns were flowing. Much of this felt natural and like a throwback to making friendship bracelets. One highlight for me was when our kind and knowledgeable instructor told us that we wouldn’t be following a pattern. My assumption was that the goal of this workshop would be to replicate an existing plant hanger. Instead, we were encouraged to experiment and make our own patterns. I later realized that this was intentional, so that we would not only be creative and design our own unique plant hanger based on our own comfort and skill level, but also so that we would be better
equipped to learn from our mistakes. Try it out and if you don’t like it, take it out and try it again. “Embrace the suck” was our mantra – meaning we should welcome mess-ups as an opportunity. While this approach was outside of my comfort zone, this new way of learning helped me to establish more confidence and ultimately a more lasting skill – I ended up finishing mine on my own at home. Whether you’re making a large living room plant hanger, a teeny baby succulent holder, or maybe someday graduating to a hammock, macramé is a great craft to explore, and the Mobile Makery is a great host for a Saturday afternoon. The Mobile Makery offers hands-on workshops for the public at all skill levels, all while having fun and feeling good about supporting Island artists and Makers in a range of media. While there are no workshops planned currently, given our collective commitment to social distancing, I encourage you to check out more information on online tutorials on their Facebook and Instagram @themobilemakerypei.
Clara Deacon is a communications specialist from the South Shore of PEI. Outside of writing, she also enjoys dancing, knitting, cooking, and playing the piano.
SPRING 2020 www.pei-living.ca
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