One of the many puzzling things I encountered when I started my Etsy shop about ten years ago was all the discussion online about OOAK. I couldn't figure out why everyone was talking about oak trees!
Eventually I learned from some helpful person that OOAK stands for "one of a kind."
Why OOAK?
The easy answer is that it is just plain fun to make something the first time. There's that thrill of discovery, wondering whether that idea in your head will actually work in a real life version. And honestly, making multiple items by hand that look identical can be dull and even stressful for anyone. (Think of the contestants on The Great British Baking Show being told to bake 12 identical biscuits and worrying when some come out burnt or different sizes.)
Then there are the practical considerations.
Sometimes my OOAK pieces use vintage parts where only a few can still be found 25 or 35 years later. A recent example of a piece I've made with a mix of vintage and new parts is this gear bookmark.
Other times the parts are newer, but were made as a limited run. The beading and craft world is just like the fashion world; it's hard or impossible to buy the exact same pair of jeans or shoes every year. (Yes, there are exceptions, but it's pretty rare. Even shops that claim to offer "classic" designs often make minor tweaks to fabric, cuts, or styling over the years.)
A good example of a design with rare/unusual parts is these Christmas Star Earrings. I bought those sweet filigree star charms years ago at a bead show from a new vendor who I never found again online or in person. Once I sell these earrings I won't be able to make another pair. It's the same for these Trojan Warrior Earrings that contain parts I purchased from a bead shop that was closing its doors.
Another example is these license plate ornaments. I found these tiny license plates at a craft resale shop in perfect condition and knew that I could turn them into cute ornaments. (They're already sold.)
Sometimes it's the technique that makes a piece OOAK. For example, I could probably make some similar versions of my painted ornaments or this pair of pink painted triangle earrings, but I wouldn't necessarily be able to make an exact match to the colors, let alone the exact abstract design. This silver and gold ornament is a great example. Not only is the paint unique, but the brass below was a one-of-a-kind sample piece.
Sometimes it's not that I can't replicate a certain technique, but that I found that it's just so fussy and time-consuming that I decide I never want to repeat it or at least not repeat it in that same way.
With larger, more complex pieces, time also becomes a factor. As much as I might like to repeat certain works, I have a limited number of hours to use. This has been the case with the wall pieces I've made for gallery shows, most recently the upcycled art show I was in, and other home decor items like this framed piece with a saddle quote.
OOAK in 2019
Every fall I get a burst of new ideas and end up creating more OOAK work than the rest of the year. I'm not quite sure why it happens that way.
Here are a few of the OOAK pieces I made this year: