Leathercraft Vs Leatherworks

[jprieto]

when do you use the word leathercraft and when do you use the word leatherworks?

i mean...

what is the difference between these words

forgive my ignorance

[bruce johnson]

Interesting question and hope some of the international members weigh in. I have followed this same discussion on other forums in the past. For a lot of people, they may be pretty synonymous. Some will say that a leather crafter in the US tends to bring up the image of crafts - modpodge, hot glueing felt shapes into birds, creamics, macrame and that sort of thing done as a pastime or by kids at camp or scouts. Crafts are something done for enjoyment and not necessarily profit motivated. "Working" is a business and profit is more of a factor in that scenario. It kind of follows the trend into hobbies and pastimes post WW2 according to some discussions.In reading from people in other countries it changes some. A "craftsman" indicates a higher level of skill or artistry than a "worker".

[DoubleC]

Do you think it's ever OK to use the word artisan? I've had this discussion on a writing forum I was on back and forth forever, is writing a craft or is it art. But some of the things I see here I think are truly works of art.

[bruce johnson]

Do you think it's ever OK to use the word artisan? I've had this discussion on a writing forum I was on back and forth forever, is writing a craft or is it art. But some of the things I see here I think are truly works of art.

There is no regulation in almost all of this. There are a few groups that are trying to get some standards, but pretty slow sledding here in the US.There is sure an art to leather and then the mechanics of doing things with leather.

I have heard Leather Artisan, Leather Craftsman (person?), Leathersmith, and probably a few others if I thought a little more. Then you can self-add the adjective "master" to these too without a lot to back that up. Some people work in shops and others work in studios. Mine has a roillup door and you used to be able to park a truck in it so it is a shop by my reckoning.

[DoubleC]

There is no regulation in almost all of this. There are a few groups that are trying to get some standards, but pretty slow sledding here in the US.There is sure an art to leather and then the mechanics of doing things with leather.

I have heard Leather Artisan, Leather Craftsman (person?), Leathersmith, and probably a few others if I thought a little more. Then you can self-add the adjective "master" to these too without a lot to back that up. Some people work in shops and others work in studios. Mine has a roillup door and you used to be able to park a truck in it so it is a shop by my reckoning.

It may be a garage but you create art Bruce, I've seen it. And people will talk (referring to the writing forum) that you have to follow basic mechanics of writing so it's a craft. Well I think Van Gogh (maybe a bad example :-) had to follow certain mechanics of the craft in order to create art. But who could look at Starry Night, done from looking out his window of an institution and say it was a MH craft?

I wish there were standards although how you'd set them I don't have any idea. Then I'd know when I'd moved up from noob to nobody and beyond.

[wareagle]

the way I have seen it in the business world is:

A Leather works is the place where people that work with leather do their craft.

A Leather crafter is a person that works with leather from scratch (cut, pattern, prepare leather for what is being made and finishing).

A Leather worker is a person that works assembling pre-cut leather into a finished pattern.

A Leather Artisan is a person that creates and embellishes what he has made.

[DoubleC]

That sounds reasonable. I guess I'm a leather crafter at this point. Thanks, Cheryl

[mlapaglia]

I agree with the Leather works concept. TO me it has always been a place not a person.

[jprieto]

I noticed that a lot of the members here sell their creations under a business entity XYZ Leatherworks ----- so my question is, why they not using XYZ Leathercraft ??

See what I mean?

i will be making leather creations from scratch (pattern, cut, mold, stitch, etc)

now then ...

So, let's say I want to start selling my leather creations, and I register a DBA ....... should I name it

(1) MEME LEATHERWORK,

or......

(2) MEME LEATHERCRAFT

Which is proper usage?

THAT is what my concern is, as it relates to this post.

What say you?

Edited June 3, 2012 by jprieto

[DoubleC]

My name doesn't even have leather in the name, LOL so I'm afraid I can't help. From what I understood Bruce to say you can call it either one, the USA doesn't have any set rules.