Members chancey77 Posted June 5, 2012 Members Report Posted June 5, 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artisan I think that pretty much says it all about being an ARTISAN. It was a VERY old term used in the Middle ages...now the terms are just replaced by what you are trained to do... Carpenter,Saddler,Dyer,Craftsman,Blacksmith... again very old jobs ( but TRADES THAT CONTINUE) Myself, I always get a funny cringe any time anyone says Leatherworks...it just sounds silly... I like to consider my self a Leather Artist. Just like a Painter, Leather is my canvas. And I draw original art work, and then carve and color it on leather...so Leather Artist Works For me... But I have heard people here in Europe call me an Artisan...just seems a little old fashioned, and is really to broad of a spectrum, though I guess I do fit into more than 3-4 or those categories, so MAYBE THEY ARE RIGHT???? These are people who know next to nothing about what it is I do, only that I am in several different trades. Carpentry,Masonry,Metal Worker,Leather Artist, Telephone Lineman, Musician whatever puts food on the table... So I guess it just depends on YOU. There is no is:) AS PAUL PUT IT BEST. Quote
Members Bluesman Posted June 5, 2012 Members Report Posted June 5, 2012 WAYYYYYYYYYYYYY to much in a title. How about "I want to be paid, for what I created". I could care less about the title, and more about the dead Presidents. To much thought and useless conversation here. Tool it, make it, sell it........DONE! Quote If it ain't moving and should......WD40, If it's moving and shouldn't....Duct Tape. There you have it, now fix something
Members Jazznow Posted June 10, 2012 Members Report Posted June 10, 2012 I Agree with Sylvia here, but that may be because I'm from Germany. Here we follow more or less the definitions sylvia quoted. A worker is doing repetitive work that in most cases needs little skill (there are exceptions like sewers who sew together shoe uppers). They usually get only low wages. A craftsman is doing complex task that need a great amount of skill and practice. In most cases u have to stand quiet hard exams after an apprenticeship of three years to call yourself an craftsman or more exactly a saddler, shoemaker, tool maker and so on. To call yourself a master craftsman you have to visit another school or do certain courses and stand another hard exam. Some years back it was neccessary to be an master craftsman when you wanted to work on you own/have your own shop. Today only ths is only the case in certain crafts that effect health or security of other people (like an orthopedic shoemaker, an electrician or an car repairsman). Often you can work on your own without doing any exam (I can do leather work without one, but I'm not allowed to call myself a Saddler, shoemaker, bagmaker since those are official crafts and I would need an exam. Note: in Germany we have a law for everything and everything that is not explicitly allowed is forbidden lol. Greetings Jonathan Quote
Members katsass Posted June 10, 2012 Members Report Posted June 10, 2012 (edited) From the grump: There is no 'craftsman', 'craft', 'worker', 'artist', 'artisan', 'works', etc. in my business name. Just "Katsass Leather". The folks that come to me, come because they saw something that I did, or, they were told by someone that I made something for to see me for what is wanted. I call each customer a couple of weeks after delivery to ensure that they are well satisfied with the product they purchased. When pressed about what I do, I tell them I take some dead cow skin and make things from it --- mostly holsters. My maker's mark seems to be well remembered by those that see my work, and a little looking about or asking will get customers to me. To me the superlatives and semantics are just words, a man's work stands on it's own. Other's will tag you from what they see, no matter what you call yourself. Mike Edited June 10, 2012 by katsass Quote NOTE TO SELF: Never try to hold a cat and an operating Dust buster at the same time!! At my age I find that I can live without sex..........but not without my glasses. Being old has an advantage.......nobody expects me to do anything in a hurry.
Members DoubleC Posted June 10, 2012 Members Report Posted June 10, 2012 I would subtitle my name if I were honest with 'Accident in the Making.' I recently started out to make a lizard underlay snake guitar strap with the wide strap being dark, the narrow natural, and the lizard brown. It then changed to a lizard overlay snake so I could try and not mess up the strap with the cut. Then it went to an ostrich body leather in light brown because lizard is too delicate for an overlay really. When I messed up the edges on that it became a dark brown/black snake. When I messed up the edging on the oblong hole in the small strap it became dark. When the vinegaroon rubbed off on the wide strap from my oblong template I made I first dyed it natural tan using very watered down dark cocoa, but it just looked dirty so I dyed it regular tan watered down some. I'm getting ready to sew the backing on and if I mess it up, it will become laced. All I can think is, 'what if this was a custom order?' I think I'll take that part off my website and replace it with, 'you can buy what I end up with if you want.' I may not be good yet, and don't expect to ever be great but I can adapt so maybe I could add that too my name. Custom adapted leather work/craft/art/now pay me. Still I've enjoyed what everyone has shared on here, just hope the poor person that started the thread didn't decide to leave leather working completely and move on to something easier to identify. I think it's interesting how we can all use the same tools and raw materials yet have such different and interesting opinions of what it is exactly we do. I think I'll stick to leather mangler, shorter and easier to remember. Cheryl Quote http://www.etsy.com/shop/DoubleCCowgirl
Members catskin Posted June 13, 2012 Members Report Posted June 13, 2012 Lots of good opinions above. Here is what comes to mind for ME when these terms are used. Leathercraft = leather that has been carved, tooled, stamped, dyed painted, etc. Leathercrafter does the above. Leatherwork= harness, shoes,etc. things made from leather without the artistic part. Leatherworker does the leather work. Some things can involve both such as saddles holsters etc. Quote
Members Mudruck Posted June 13, 2012 Members Report Posted June 13, 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artisan I think that pretty much says it all about being an ARTISAN. It was a VERY old term used in the Middle ages...now the terms are just replaced by what you are trained to do... Carpenter,Saddler,Dyer,Craftsman,Blacksmith... again very old jobs ( but TRADES THAT CONTINUE) Myself, I always get a funny cringe any time anyone says Leatherworks...it just sounds silly... I like to consider my self a Leather Artist. Just like a Painter, Leather is my canvas. And I draw original art work, and then carve and color it on leather...so Leather Artist Works For me... But I have heard people here in Europe call me an Artisan...just seems a little old fashioned, and is really to broad of a spectrum, though I guess I do fit into more than 3-4 or those categories, so MAYBE THEY ARE RIGHT???? These are people who know next to nothing about what it is I do, only that I am in several different trades. Carpentry,Masonry,Metal Worker,Leather Artist, Telephone Lineman, Musician whatever puts food on the table... So I guess it just depends on YOU. There is no is:) AS PAUL PUT IT BEST. LOVE IT! That is going on the next stack of business cards..... Leather Artisan! When I was deciding on a business name, Leatherworks, "316 Custom Leatherworks", fit better for me instead of anything else. Quote
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