The Importance of Failed Experiments

Whenever I decide I want to try a new crafting discipline, I do my research. I read a lot of how-to's and instructions, try to find instructional videos, look into the cost of supplies and try to determine whether or not it could be sold at shows or in my online shop. The final step before jumping fully into a new craft is the experimentation.

I personally believe that the failed experiments while I'm learning a new skill are more important than the successful experiments. When I fail, I learn something, whether that it's a particular method just won't work for me or, as is the case with the pictured ring, I will need a lot of practice before I try my own designs for something. The ring is a result of finding beautiful jasper tube beads that I thought would make a lovely ring. Unfortunately, the limited experience I have with wire wrapping resulted in a failed experiment. But I'm not about to give up. I am going to continue working with wire until I can make the ring the way I envisioned it.

Sometimes a failed experiment will even teach me that I would rather appreciate someone else's hard work than try to make something myself.

Ultimately, no experiment is a complete failure if you learn something from it. The end result may not be what you wanted, but if you learned something about the skill or yourself, than it can not and should not be called a failure.

Happy Crafting All!