My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year. The one story I’ve known about their wedding since my childhood is that my mom made her own wedding dress – It is the one detail that continues to sit with me.

A young bride taking the time to stitch her wedding gown is not a common occurence today. Our tendency is to find the best product on the market to fill a material need, with little thought given to the idea that we might make it ourselves.

The other day I started to create a piece of furniture from a piece of wood cut down from someone’s yard. There is a certain, unnamed joy in the task. As I learn about the different types of wood, tools, and processes, I realize these are things that I could never really appreciate without this experience. While I may never make another piece of furniture for my house, I imagine that this piece will remain special to me. There is no greater art than the things that are created by our own hands and creative inspiration. Which leads me to believe that maybe the best products can be homemade.