Yes, he is a very ‘cute’ zombie panda.
I strive for perfection in everything I make but sometimes it is not possible. I have to remind myself that I am not a machine! However, I once mentioned this to someone and they said what I should be saying with everything I make: If it is not perfect, is it good enough? That’s how I measure what I sell now, whilst still striving for perfect! But, I feel good enough is acceptable for a handmade item.
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I would love for all our soap to look perfect but because of the way cold process soap reacts at different times of the year. Temperature effects the colour, look, and feel we can only hope each piece looks individually beautiful which I think adds to the charm of handmade goods. They need to be well made but I definitely prefer to sell and buy no two the same.
The cheeky trick would annoy me too…I’d rather see it upfront. Maybe I’ll buy the item, maybe not.
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For me handmade simply means it is not mass produced. It has nothing to do with quality - as has already been said, mass produced factory made items can be very poorly made.
For me also, handmade means made directly by one identifiable human being, who is perfecting a craft or skill to produce an item. That person might be good at what they do or they could be in need of lots more practise.
An item needs to work or fit its intended purpose. If it doesn’t, it shouldn’t be sold. Artistically, any variations in how it’s made simply define a target audience more closely. So some people will love a wonky stitch, others will crave straight lines and even spacing. Neither is right or wrong, artistically, it’s just all about the eyes of the beholder! But they have to function or work correctly!
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I agree that whatever the item is it has to do as intended. I’m happy for each item to be individual, but not to have any faults. In baking I HATE that mass-produced cakes/pies look exactly the same! In textiles, however, they should be more similar at least in the finish, but sizes etc can vary slightly. If it’s balanced that’s fine by me. Art isn’t perfect (always!) 
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Whats perfect ?? Its all a bit subjective really. Whats an imperfection ? An imperfection to you may be an intrinsic part of the whole item. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder , I bet you could take anything off Folksy and find an ‘imperfection’ in it but surely the human touch is what we look for when we buy from a maker. I dont want things to look manufactured and I dont want them to look messy either. Something doesnt have to be perfect to be well made, well considered and designed and beautiful.
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Small imperfections can add charm to an item and just shows that is hand made and very unique.
I’ve just bought two wooden kitchen chairs, old and very characterful, one has some splits at the bottom of the legs, lovely, because its has had lots of life. Marg. x
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It depends what you are buying but I think some handmade items need to have character like for example Marg’s chairs or the customer could just go into a shop and buy one that looks like all the others.
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agreed!
but you wouldn’t want to spend £43895374856 on a bespoke chair and find the legs were uneven 
maybe unless your legs were uneven!! lol
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Hi everybody!!
I want to thank all of you for all the amazing, helpful and interesting comments you left to my question. I could take a bit of everybody so thanks so much!
Ana
or your house had a “deep end”.
like my downhill kitchen floor…maybe i should rethink my comment! haha
I was going to say unless you live in an old cottage with uneven floors
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I think my work has imperfect elements within a perfect finish. You wouldn’t want the hand cut tiles in my bird baths to be perfectly square or it would look manufactured. The offset squares, and other shapes, give them the handmade look, and make each piece unique. When they are set into the mosaic, that bit is finished as perfectly as possible.
So like the other glass makers, the imperfect glass is the bit that gives it the item the handmade quality, but how the item is finished using them is the bit that you want to look professional.
Jo
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Well my personal opinion is that as human beings we are fallable, so I dont see how a handmade item can EVER be infallable, mind you we do have our moments when something turns out dead on, but it’s also OUR vision, we are creating when making handmade pieces.At the end of the day so long as humans are fallable there can be tiny imperfections ,I do think though that we all strive for perfection , and there IS a difference between, IMPERFECT ,or ‘fallable’ work, AND SLOPPINESS.does that sound fair?
I don’t think handmade has to be perfect, but it does have to be very well made.
Sometimes, it’s those tiny imperfectons that give it a quirky twist!
Sarah x
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I’ve been to lots of craft fairs in my time and there is always 1 person who asks me if I made the items myself and of course I answer yes, they then always reply “really, they are so well made and perfect” so by that I know my items are good enough to sell.
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I agree with most of you.
I like to think my items are well made and finished. Saying that, if I make 2 items the same I cannot make them identical. The pattern on the fabric may be in a different place, the embroidery may be slightly higher or lower on one than the other. However precise I like to be there will always be slight variations. In fact, I usually try to make them slightly different anyway, maybe with a different colour embroidery or different lining, so that the items are one offs…unless a customer requests them to be the same.
I am another one who does not like the ‘rough, unfinished edges’ look that some people do. …but that’s just my opinion.
I think I see far more imperfections in mass produced items.