Who, What, Why These Hands?

Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, America! My name is Stacy Miller and I'd like to welcome you to Hands by the Willow Trees! We are an art collective, and this is our story! But why call it Hands by the Willow Trees, you may ask? I come from a long line of extraordinary craftsmen. Fathers taught their sons, and mothers taught their daughters to use their hands to create through many generations. We were told as littles that our name, Willoughby, came from Wales, and our ancestors were basket weavers. Seriously? Common phrase being, "You know those blokes by the willow trees? They're basket weavers." So, as the story goes, Willoughby's originated from by the willows...and #if it ain't true it otta be!

Two things I know to be true are my family is full of craftsmen and my family is full of story tellers! As far back as I can remember, Grandpa Willoughby was always building something, and Grandma Willoughby was always sewing. Grandpa was a master tinkerer and Grandma ran the church sewing circle in their home. My dad told us, those church women would make him sit on the floor, in the middle of the sewing circle and pass the needle back up through the quilt as they sewed. My dad's parents had 6 boys and 2 girls, my dad being the youngest. All 8 of these offspring could use their masterful hands. Several were carpenters, with their own businesses, all knew how to build and create. More amazing than that, were the family members who married into the Willoughby family, bringing their many talents with them! We have sewists, quilters, crocheters, knitters, painters, metal workers, of course carpenters, and the list goes on!

Ones of the sweetest things my husband said to me, early in our marriage was, "You have one of the most encouraging families I've ever seen! Someone gets an idea to make something and everyone's on board to make it happen!" This is very true...Imagination was a key in our upbringing! This is the basis for our art collective. We want to encourage you to use your hands to create wonderful things! We will be opening an online store for artists and hand crafters to share their art with others. Please join us in this journey, let's put those hands to work! We'll talk more later!