Why are homemade items special – especially as Christmas gifts? A local woman didn't need long to craft up an answer.
“There’s things that bring you joy, and you know it’s well made, and you know it’s made with heart,” says Mary Lehoux, a Plamondon-area crafter who manufactures a variety of handcrafted items which she sells during the Christmas season.
She says that it is important for people to buy local homemade products over mass-produced ones because they are unique and durable.
“Homemade stuff is special and it’s long-lasting,” she told Lakeland This Week, adding that it’s even more special when the buyer knows the person who made it.
In the Lac La Biche area, Lehoux continued, there are many talented artisans and crafters who offer a variety of locally-sourced products. While some of these products, she added, are more for show and serve as conversation pieces, others are items that people can use.
Lehous makes Métis-style moccasins, mitts, and little colourful slippers, elaborate Christmas wreaths, as well as centre-pieces for dining room tables.
These days, her products can mostly be found at craft sales and markets in the Lac La Biche area, including a booth she sets up regularly at the Lac La Biche Heritage Society and the Plamondon Festival Center.
With the Christmas season in full swing, she has been busy selling her homemade products. Sales vary, and some days are definitely better than others.
“It all depends on how many buyers that come in are interested in your stuff,” she said.
While the miniature slippers and centre-pieces that Lehoux makes are popular, one hot item that has been in demand are the small plaques that she fabricates from old-fashioned Christmas cards. These plaques, she explained, bring with them a feeling of reminiscence, especially when folks see on them old-style characters from the season of giving and joy such as Old Saint Nick himself.
“People my age and people that are younger-like 20 years younger or so-they’re nostalgic for Christmas cards,” she said.
As for the process Lehoux uses for making her products, before setting out on a project, she first has a goal in mind regarding the number she wants to make and having a good idea about the type of material that will be needed.
She uses some simple equipment for her work, including both regular and specialty scissors, metal cutters, squares for making straight lines, as well as glue guns.
The length of time it takes to complete a project, Lehoux said, varies depending on what she is doing, adding that a great amount of detail goes into each piece of work.
She explained that it takes her over a day to make one pair of Métis-style slippers.
Recently, Lehoux started working on a centrepieces for a table that has a couple of small trees on it and is decorated. She worked on this project for five hours, adding that it isn’t quite finished yet.
“So, it takes a while to do one,” she said, adding that she has to ensure that the colour theme she is using is just right and that all of the little stuff which goes onto a particular item looks nice.
Festival of Trees and Shopping Extravaganza
Lehoux encourages community members to seek out locally-crafted items at every chance they get. The Festival of Trees weekend in Lac La Biche includes a Shopping Extravaganza event featuring dozens of local crafters. Lehoux says those kinds of big events not only give the public a chance to see the work done locally, but also to chat with the people making them. That personal interaction – on both sides of the transaction – is a big reason she enjoys doing what she does.
Lehoux has been making these handcrafted items for over a decade and it’s a pursuit that she very much enjoys doing.
“I just love it…it’s just something that I love to do,” she said.