When I first started volunteering at a local hospice, I was assisting in repositioning an elderly woman so she wouldn't get bed sores. This woman wasn't exactly conscious, nor was she completely unconscious. She was somewhere in between. As we gently rolled her from her back onto her side, she automatically reached out and grabbed onto my wrist. When we were done positioning her, she still held onto my wrist, obviously getting some comfort from it. As there were other patients to attend to, the nurse I was assisting replaced my wrist with a pillow that the woman continued to clutch and the idea for The Imperfect Heart was born. (Continued below.)

For whatever reason, this woman did not have family with her when I was there, which is not surprising considering how busy we all are. Even when we want to be with loved ones, we still need to work and just take care of daily tasks. I thought, "What if we could leave a little part of ourselves with those we love when we have to be away?" Being a fabric hoarder (a fine female tradition), I started digging out material I've had and stored for the past 20 years and started sewing hearts out of them. I wanted to create a heart that was big enough to hug but not so big it became burdensome in a hospital bed. I also realized that the size I picked (12.5" by 12.5" before sewing) was ideal to place under a sore elbow or heel to reduce pressure on these areas. In addition, the size is great to give your lower back a little extra support while on a plane and are comfortable behind your head when travelling by air or car.

The name of the store comes mostly from thinking about the families that have a loved one in hospice. This is a time when reflection brings up memories of things we've done and said that we wish now we had done differently. Family members' hearts ache for the coarse words once said or for the time when they chose to be somewhere else instead of with their loved one. Even those of us who consciously try to be the best person we can be would make different choices if we could in hindsight. Our hearts allow us to love but they can also lead us astray. No one's heart is perfect, no matter how much we desire it to be so.

Since The Imperfect Heart was started using my fabric stash, many of the hearts were created with fabrics that appeal to children, as there was a time in my life when I would make baby quilts for friends' children. The fabric tends to be bright and happy, which in turn makes me happy to work with it and finally give it a purpose. When I sell at a local craft fair, children seem drawn to these pillows. They often will pick one up and spontaneously give it a hug.

Purchase 3 pillows and a 4th goes to an inpatient hospice in Albuquerque!

In December 2021, I started making paper art housed in shadow boxes. I absolutely love making these shadow boxes, experimenting with how different colors of paper and intricate cuts make a full scene with depth. Then, in 2022, I started my New Mexico Lotería series! These are based on the Mexican Bingo-like game. While I wasn't born in New Mexico, it has been my home for the past 25 years. I have become acculturated to its singular mixture of Hispanic and Native cultures and have started to share this unique heritage through this series.

I hope you enjoy browsing my shop and find something special here that brightens your day. Everything is made by me. Sometimes they don't always come out as perfect as intended. The final outcome is a craft that will never be the same as any other. Each is unique, just like each of our hearts.

 

Who Are We? 

The Imperfect Heart is owned and operated by Albuquerque resident Jen Bennett, Ph.D., who is a part time crafter and part time instructor for the University of New Mexico's Psychology Department. Jen enjoys balancing her life by creating art with a variety of media, currently focusing on paper and cotton fabric. She is owned by four cats (all rescues) and shares her home in the Sandia foothills with her husband.

 

We Care!

We care about the environment! When shipping we use recycled products whenever we can. We've never purchased a packing peanut or an air pillow and reuse bubble wrap whenever we can. We do use new cardboard boxes so that we can be sure of their integrity but do purchase cardboard boxes that are made of recycled materials. You can purchase from us with confidence. We do what we can to reduce our footprint on this planet.