Hippy Market Ibiza
I was lucky enough to visit Ibiza in Spain and come upon the Hippy Market not far from the main hotels Ibiza has plenty of to handle such tourists as myself. I was a mere child when the hippies were spreading philosophies of free love, non-violence and flower power. So, now as an adult, stumbling upon this market influenced my creative spirit and filled me with tons of original and colorful arts and crafts ideas when I get back to the States.
Last Sunday, I got some startled reactions when I was doing a demo of macrame’ with hemp. Many people thought macrame’ had died out with the 70’s. I know if definitely had its heyday back in the 70’s. I remember making plant hangers, wall hangings, belts, vests, purses and I even added jewelry onto the macrame’. Now, it’s mostly hemp jewelry popularized by college students trying to earn spending money. That is no reason we can’t use it for grand things like we did back in the 70’s.
Actually, macrame’ has been around for a very long time and was once popular with sailors as both a form of self-expression and as a practical tool. Other crafts that were big in the 70’s and still enjoy popularity include candle making, leather crafts, tie-dyeing, ceramics, pottery making, weaving hand spun wool and beaded jewelry. You can see many hippy crafts on Esty My favorite place to get dye is on Dharma Trading. They also sell plain silk and cotton or hemp garments. Other accessories such as canvas bags or plain white cotton shirts and summer dresses ready for any kind of dyeing pattern I choose.
Of course there are also many books on making your own dyes from botanicals, and that is well worth exploring because when I was at the Hippy Market in Ibiza what was selling the most was anything organic and anything made with organic dyes. I now consider myself a happy hippy-crafter.