[Nfb-krafters-korner] Intro and Questions

Tue Jul 13 18:04:48 UTC 2010

I know that there are blind people in the academic field.  The problem
is finding something that actually interests me.  In any case, thanks
for the mentoring idea and thanks to all of you for the advice on
crafting.  I'm really excited about these classes and can't wait to
join one. *smile*  I've never taken a class over the phone so this
will be a new experience for me.

On 7/13/10, Zimmer, Cindy <cindy.zimmer at nebraska.gov> wrote:
> Eleni,
> There are numerous totally blind individuals that hold jobs in the academic
> field.  Maybe you should contact some mentors from the NFB website who are
> in your area.
>
> Cindy Z.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Eleni Vamvakari
> Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 4:58 PM
> Cc: nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Intro and Questions
>
> Hi there,
>
>   I apologise in advance for the rambling but I feel this will help to
> explain my situation a bit better.  From here on in, I'll keep my
> posts short.  Anyway, my birth name is Tiffany, but I intend on
> changing legally to Eleni, so that's what I'll be using here.  Some of
> you may know me from The Zone, from Facebook or from other places.
> I've been totally blind since I was two-months-old.  I'm 26 and from
> New Jersey.  I'm a college graduate with a BA in sociology and a
> certificate to teach ESL, which was earned after graduation.  While
> most people feel that I should take a job in an academic, scholarly or
> prestegius setting, I'm finding it difficult to locate even ordinary
> work that doesn't require experience, vision, degrees that I don't
> possess or that pays enough/is close enough as far as travel to
> interest me, let alone that I'd actually enjoy doing.  I'm not into
> the whole telemarketing thing either, though I've tried it.
>
>   But I love working with my hands and making things.  I am very
> interested in starting my own business in crafts ranging from basket
> weaving, to soap-making, to broom/brush making and possibly chair
> caning, once I learn and feel comfortable doing these things.  I have
> a friend who's visually-impaired, with enough sight to read regular
> print but not to drive.  Now I've got her interested in some of this
> as well (plus jewellery-making, which is her own contribution) and she
> wants to be my business partner.  The broom-making looks and sounds
> easy enough, But the equipment and supplies are extremely expensive.
> So I've decided to start out with the baskets and soap, since the
> supplies are cheap and easily available online.  I found several
> resources for learning how to weave baskets, but unless I learn with a
> teacher or touch the type of pattern that I'm supposed to be weaving,
> I really can't use them.  Several are videos but they're of no use to
> me since I can't see them.  I've been looking around for schools for
> the blind that teach these skills, but none seem to exist in America
> today that have any of these courses.  Perkins does but said they
> could only help me if an agency financed me, which, of course, none
> will, since I've already gone to college.  This is really frustrating,
> since these were all so-called blind trades at one time.  To top
> things off, many blind people insist that I shouldn't do these things
> as a career because of my background.  I e-mailed a basketry guild,
> and though they were very nice, they really couldn't really help me
> from a blind perspective.  But I'll probably join them so that I can
> take their classes.  But I'd still like to meet some blind weavers,
> particularly totally blind ones, so that I can learn about any
> adaptations that we may need (especially with regard to measuring and
> holding the basket straight), types of weaving that are good for
> beginners (I've heard coiling mentioned alot), books that would be
> most useful to us etc.
>
>   My friend and I bought two beginner basket weaving kits and a
> soap-making kit.  I'd already decided to go with melt and pour soap
> and to stay away from lye, since it can be very dangerous and she
> agreed.  She made the first moulds, just to see how it was done.  I'd
> already made soap once or twice at The Diamond Spring Lodge, a place
> for the blind here in New Jersey, so knew what to expect.  In the
> second batch, I helped her.  It was really easy and enjoyable.  We
> used some essential oils that she brought with her and even
> experimented with the bottom of a disposable cup as a mould.
> Everything came out wonderfully.  But I'm still trying to figure how I
> would do this on my own.  That is, how would I insure that the
> glycerine was properly melted, that the colour blocks (or food
> coloring if I went all natural) blended properly into the soap, and
> how I would measure the oil so that I didn't put too much in each
> batch.  So again, are there any blind soap-makers here who could help
> me?  As a sidenote, she wove the first basket on her own, again, to
> get a feel for it.  We still haven't done the second one, where I'll
> hopefully be doing most of the work.  But when we do, i'll let you
> know how it turns out.
>
>   Neither of us have ever had our own businesses and though I know a
> few people who are in crafts, this is not their full-time job.  Can
> anyone give us an idea of how much we could make and which of the
> crafts that we've chosen, if any, are in high demand?
>
> With appreciation,
> Eleni
>
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