Why do people say "handmade"?

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, Viles said:

I think it is an old throwback phrase from the 80's when we were competing with Japan and China. I think in our minds back then we thought there were massive cold machines crafting different things at the touch of a button. Things, the world, and individual knowledge has moved so fast in the past 30 years that it's hard to imagine that we could believe that. 

https://www.bigcommerce.com/ecommerce-answers/how-define-handmade-items/

Webster's Dictionary defines handmade as an item made by hand or by a hand process. It was first used in the early seventeenth century.

4 hours ago, Spyros said:

My point is, I can't think of any leathercraft item that is not handmade.

The recurring issue with the term "handmade" is that some crafts incorporate both hands and machinery during crafting. For example, a garment made with store-bought fabric and sewn on a sewing machine might be considered handmade by some, but not others.

Since consumers are more willing to pay top dollar for handcrafted goods, it might be tempting for an ecommerce retailer to toss that label onto items, especially if there is no one monitoring the actual production. This is unethical and can damage a retailer's reputation. Many business owners are trying to maintain an ethical relationship with both the online community and their customers.

[chuck123wapati]

What the gubment says !!!! “23.3 Misuse of the terms “hand-made,” ‘hand-polished,”etc.
(a) It is unfair or deceptive to represent, directly or by implication, that any industry product is hand-made or hand-wrought unless the entire shaping and forming of such product from raw materials and its finishing and decoration were accomplished by hand labor and manually-controlled methods which permit the maker to control and vary the construction, shape, design, and finish of each part of each individual product.”

[chuck123wapati]

if you sell on etsy it means this.    https://whileshenaps.com/2013/09/what-does-handmade-mean.html

Etsy’s expanded definition of handmade now includes “hand-assembled.” The policy states: “Handmade items must be created by the seller operating the Etsy shop (or a member of that shop). Selling commercial or mass-produced items on Etsy’s handmade categories is not permitted.” So the stuffed animal can be made by a member of my shop, but it can’t be mass-produced. If I have four employees sewing for me, my toys are handmade. If I hire 4,000 factory workers, though, they aren’t, even if the process is exactly the same.

Edited June 8, 2021 by chuck123wapati

[Tugadude]

Words have the meaning we pour into them.  That meaning is based on how we view things.  Made in the U.S.A. has a legal definition such that certain requirements must be met in order to qualify to receive that description.  Now we have 'Assembled in the U.S.A.' and I guess that also has legal ramifications.  

Whether the use of the term handmade conjures up the intent the user intended is out of their control.  At least it mainly is.

This response was handmade, and made for the subject at hand.

[Rahere]

As far as cars are concerned, we still have one or two companies in the UK which actually do make the whole thing by one man. Rolls has just offered a similar facility, 1 per year, starting cost around 1.5m. My dad shared an office with Fred Lanchester at the end of that Renaissance Man's life, did his in-memoriam portrait. Look him up.

And then there's the home engineer maker community...of which we're part, I guess.

A starter nix in handmade is the disability community, so artisan becomes more neutral. 

Perhaps we should rebrand pigskin as lawyerhyde. Lambskin as Qwikbuck.

 

[caressofsteel]

The term handmade is mere marketing in niches where the term still implies quality.

I recently saw one YouTuber cutting leather with a scalpel. They said that all products were cut by hand and burnished by hand; that is why they were so expensive and high quality. Meanwhile, there was a motorized burnisher and clicker dies in the background. So this was pure marketing on his part. 

The thing is his stuff looked top quality even being die cut and machine burnished. But you have to tell the customer a story and that customer needs to believe they are getting something special.

[Spyros]

12 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

Whats you definition of hand process? running a clicker press or sewing machine? 

Yeah, why not?  The fact that an even more manual process exists (hand stitching), doesn't make running a sewing machine any less of a manual process that requires good hand-eye coordination, practice, knowledge and natural dexterity.      Besides, stitching (whether manual or machine) is only one part of the process of making a bag or a wallet, there are many more as you know, and they are manual.

[Frodo]

made by hand means it was made with out the aid of machines  

 

take it for what you wish,  a hand sewn quilt fetches a higher price when sold

a machine sewn quilt is literally half the value of the hand sewn 

[Tugadude]

This is an interesting discussion.  The fact that this isn't the first time it has come up on this forum is proof of that.  

There's an interesting underlying thing going on that I think is worth noting.  And it boils down to humanity versus machines.  Someone mentioned a video where someone is claiming their work is handmade yet there is a clicker press in the background.  In reality, their work is probably a combination of the two.  Some pieces that are repetitive are made on the press while some are made by hand.  So the work is a combination of the two.

I remember when one of my kids was in school they took a field trip to an auto plant.  The manufacturer was General Motors and we were to be given a look at the assembly process.  The class had been studying robotics and we were going to get a guided tour of a portion of the assembly line that utilized robots to a large degree.  I can tell you it was fascinating.  I forget the actual numbers, but the guide explained to us that one of the robots was able to be programmed to install an adhesive to within 1/2000th of an inch in space and do it consistently.  The robot moved to an exact position each time a windshield arrived on the line, laying down a perfect bead of sealant/adhesive every time.  I suppose the only need for human intervention was turning the thing on and making sure the adhesive didn't run out.  

Machines can do some amazing things, some of them much better than humans can.  There are also things that just don't make sense, like creating a clicker die for every single piece of leather you're ever going to cut.  Where would you even put them if you could afford them?  

While the term handmade may or may not be accurate in all instances, I still believe there is a connotation that when something is handmade, its construction was done largely by humans and it was made one-at-a-time, and not part of a mass production.  The quality control of mass production often comes at the end of the process.  Of course it depends on what it is that is being produced.  There are items that have QC all along the way, but some things are either right or not and they don't know until it is finished.  With handmade items there is a sense that the QC process begins the moment the worker chooses a piece of leather for the project.  And it never stops.  It is an ongoing thing and when the product is finished, it is right.  At least that's my way of looking at it.

In my career I've been fortunate to have visited numerous manufacturing plants.  Some of the equipment I've seen was simply incredible.  The things that can be done would amaze most people, who have no idea how things are accomplished.  That's why there are popular television programs where they show how things get made.  Because it is often surprising and interesting.

Anyway, I don't think I helped to distinguish handmade any more than anyone else.  But when I hear that something is handmade, I just know that it conjures up certain thoughts and emotions which guide how I perceive it.  In the end, is handmade better?  Depends.  Depends on the hands I suppose.

[chuck123wapati]

8 hours ago, Spyros said:

Yeah, why not?  The fact that an even more manual process exists (hand stitching), doesn't make running a sewing machine any less of a manual process that requires good hand-eye coordination, practice, knowledge and natural dexterity.      Besides, stitching (whether manual or machine) is only one part of the process of making a bag or a wallet, there are many more as you know, and they are manual.

why not? because your customer might not agree maybe a good reason. After all its the consumer that really decides what they feel they are buying is handmade or not nowadays it turns into a review, or a comment on your work.