Sep 22, 2021
Picture a broom in your mind. Did it have glitter and dried flowers on it? Have you ever even dreamed those were possibilities? Creative Paskalini Savopoulos (Lena for short), is obsessed with crafting decorative and functional brooms by hand.
She recalls falling in love with a broom at a Renaissance Festival. She didn’t buy it at first – but she found as she was walking around she couldn’t get it out of her mind. When she returned to purchase it, she was disappointed to discover it had been sold. This inspired her to enroll in a broom making course.
Lena covered the basic types of brooms she creates:
- Hand whisk: small brooms without sticks; they come in a variety of shapes inspired by bird wings and tails
- Cobwebber: long slender brooms with lightweight sticks used to get into high corners
- Hearth broom: small brooms used to sweep out fireplaces
- Sweeper: long handled flat brooms for sweeping
- Besom: a gathering of broomcorn wrapped around a stick (associated with witches)
Lena loves to transform forged sticks into her broom handles. Her supply pile looks like a beaver dam. Traditional brooms are made out of wood and broomcorn. She loves to incorporate unexpected materials like glitter, crystals, dried flowers, and ribbon. Lena is inspired by the cycles of nature, colors, and animals.
Broom care is simple. Either hang your broom or store it upside down to prevent the bristles from warping. Store brooms in a cool, dry space.
She also shared a sample of fun broom folklore:
- Sweeping over someone’s feet will keep them from getting married
- Flipping a broom upside down lets guests know it’s time to leave
- Sweeping on a Monday is bad luck
- ...and more
Her web site is: https://vagabondspun.com