Good Trade! The Coudal Partners Swap Meat

Like Wind In His Hair said to Lieutenant Dunbar in Dances with Wolves, after he traded his chest plait for the lieutenant’s Civil War uniform jacket: “Good Trade." That’s how we felt when we received our swap meat item. Let me back up. Secret Leaves entered the Coudal Partners Swap Meat several months ago. This is an online swap in which you send in one of your handmade wares and in time you will get something someone else made of equal value. We traded one of our Scrap Journals and about a month later we got a lovely handcrafted necklace in exchange. It was so much fun getting this in the mail that we are hoping to enter the swap again. Our necklace prize came along with a note telling how the jeweler, Megan Vandehey, came about making this particular piece. It was a bittersweet tale involving heartbreak, but in the end she is learning a wonderful skill and is all the better for it. A great story and a great experience. We encourage every artisan and crafter out there to participate in the Swap Meat.
(I know I am reaching for it with the reference, but I love that movie.)