Why do people say "handmade"?

[Spyros]

11 hours ago, Rahere said:

Returning to the subject, I've just had to replace a curtain rail, plastic fatigue after 30 years. The same design shows a difference in the runners, the old ones have metal axles, the new ones, plastic, and don't run as smoothly. That's mass production for you, slow degradation of standards. Us, either it's right or it never sees the light of day. There's the difference: their product was never perfect and is declining to the point where "good enough" has to be prefixed by "barely", with the though that in a couple of years, even that won't be true.

I don't think it's the mass production that causes the slow degradation of standards, it's peoples' desire to to pay less and less.   We are free to choose anything we want and we invariably choose the cheapest possible.

To be honest sometimes this also the smarter thing to do, a lot of household items from a couple of generations ago were ridiculously and unnecessarily over-engineered.   You could see heavy as bricks cameras, televisions and kitchen appliances manufactured to last 3 lifetimes, when they were guaranteed to be technologically outdated in few years. 

Not your curtain runners though, metal is definitely better.

[Handstitched]

@fredk  I tried entering the NSW Leather Guild  ( Australia) some years ago. I sent them emails with pics of my work etc. .....on 3 separate occasions , but  I never heard from them, not even the courtesy of a reply. My work obviously wasn't good enough. Theres no excuse for the lack of courtesy.   Hence my comment about guilds being a bit....'snobbish'. 

Needless to say I haven't  bothered with guilds or clubs ever since, and to be honest, I don't think it would have made a single jot of difference if I was in a guild .

I've had my share of clubs & committees in the past,  , they gave me the s**ts ,  I had a gutful, so  I just continue to learn & improve..... and share my skills regardless. If people ask me how stuff is done, I'm more than happy to teach them.

 

HS

[mcguyver42]

I think the point is value.  Are you in a position and have the desire to deliver value?  Value doesn't always mean the lowest price; as a matter of fact, value usually costs more, and there are plenty enough people who have learned that.  If your expenses are such that you have to compromise, the value goes down, the percentage of repeat business and referrals follow.  Here now, you can either scale things back or try to build an image to attract new business.  If you don't have the desire to deliver value, well I guess that cant be learned or taught.  You simply cash in by working the "spread".  Hopefully most craftsman are the folks that have the desire to offer competent service or products at a fair price.

[chrisash]

I think most people judge on how good your work is theses days rather than qualifications, being a master xxx does not always mean you keep to the same standard as when you qualified, Reputation takes a lot of work and effort to achieve, yet easily lost

[Rahere]

5 hours ago, Spyros said:

I don't think it's the mass production that causes the slow degradation of standards, it's peoples' desire to to pay less and less.   We are free to choose anything we want and we invariably choose the cheapest possible.

To be honest sometimes this also the smarter thing to do, a lot of household items from a couple of generations ago were ridiculously and unnecessarily over-engineered.   You could see heavy as bricks cameras, televisions and kitchen appliances manufactured to last 3 lifetimes, when they were guaranteed to be technologically outdated in few years. 

Not your curtain runners though, metal is definitely better.

My best tale on over-engineering was the 1970s, hip implants. Led by surgeons, the project was at the point of failure, but fortunately my pa was on the panel as a materials specialist, waited until they 'fessed up, and threw Leonardo at them. The body's a marvellous machine - so let's machine it. Surgeons open and close, watch and learn. He got the prostheticians in, gave them an electrical motorcycle cylinder reamer, jigged it up, instant success. The implant was about half the weight, and the rest is history now.

[Rahere]

As far as the Guild's concerned, a lot of it's to do with one's purpose in life. More particularly, there's two Worshipful Company of Cordwainers and Leatherworkers https://www.arts.ac.uk/colleges/london-college-of-fashion/about-lcf/cordwainers - I just get this image of seried ranks of cobblers prostrate before their lasts. In fact, they've a somewhat Masonic approach to charity, extending their knowledge as seen in that link. It's not a million miles from what you're doing here. At the same time, lobbying's not their monopoly, I've four representations to Parliamentary Select Committees in the fire myself right now. As WS Gilbert put it, "a lot of dull MPs, in close proximity, all thinking for themselves is wot no man can face with equanimity." Sometimes, you need to get your ideas where they matter.

[chuck123wapati]

Here in the US the push for socialized gubment dictated education has created the "EXPERT" syndrome , if you haven't bought you education and have a piece of paper to prove that then you just aren't an expert. The old saying c's get degrees is more  used now than ever i think. You will notice on here even the young folks all want to hear form the 'Experts".  If you told most of them you were in a guild they wouldn't even know what that really meant with out googling it. Just my opinion.

So in my google travels this morn i found this site. They do awesome work ,with machines, and use the term handmade What do you all think? https://www.theazweekend.com/stewart-boot-company/

Edited June 15, 2021 by chuck123wapati

[Tugadude]

Thanks for linking that video Chuck.  Very interesting.  I would classify their boots as handmade.  Regardless of the fact that machines are also used.

[chuck123wapati]

18 minutes ago, Tugadude said:

Thanks for linking that video Chuck.  Very interesting.  I would classify their boots as handmade.  Regardless of the fact that machines are also used.

Years ago about 1970 or so my brother in the air force stationed in the Azores had a pair of boots made for my dad. Even the heels were stacked leather i assume made by hand, the only thing they had to work with was a line drawing around dads feet and a picture of the boots he wanted. The boots fit like a glove when he got them and were his prize possessions. I am sure the shoe maker is long gone as is my dad and i dont know if he used machines or not but IMO they were handmade. AS are the ones in the video even though machines and even rubber heels are used you just cant get that quality from a mass producer. Funny though on belts for example if i had one handstitched and one machine stitched, only difference, i wouldn't call them both handmade. i would call one handmade and one hand crafted.

[Klara]

And what if there's no stitching at all? Just a strap of leather (cut with a strap cutter), a point cut free-hand, the buckle attached with rivets, and that's it? No machine involved since the tannery, but does that make the belt more valuable than a machine-stitched one?

Edited June 15, 2021 by Klara