Why do people say "handmade"?

[chuck123wapati]

2 hours ago, chrisash said:

But could they think of it, make it; and most importantly market it well enough, to sell it

in early 1900's a shoe making company sent a salesman to Africa who stayed there for a 6 month period and then cam home with no orders, he told his boss they wont buy shoes they all walk around bare footed

A few months latter the same company took a gamble and sent a second salesman to the same place, after a month had passed they got a telegram from Africa stating "Sent as many shoes as you can great market here and no competition"

 "i would consider him a success because he is a good business man"

[Spyros]

9 hours ago, Klara said:

Stuff to purchase, yes. "Dues to pay" only if you are still referring to the hundreds of dollars the reader of the book is supposed to invest in top-quality tools before having made the first cut or stitch. Because Armitage promises that there is no need for "apprenticeship" - you do exactly as he says and you make nice things from the start. No need to learn "proper" saddle stitching or how to cut free-hand...

And it works! I followed the instructions for the gusset-less bag, pre-pierced all the holes and put my pocket protector for dog treats together. Felt a bit like doing Lego...

I much prefer Jo's style (from JH Leather) - she makes it look so easy. But I'm almost sure that Jo formally trained as a saddler, i.e. spent years full-time learning how to cut straps, how to work with an awl, how to care for tools etc.

Back to Armitage's book: Imagine a person expresses an interest in leatherwork and gets the book for Christmas. They read the chapter on tools, go to a web shop and learn what all these absolutely essential tools cost in their top-quality version. Will they buy them - or will they think "Wow, leatherworking sure is expensive, now I know why leather things cost so much money." That's what I meant with my comment about reinforcing the misconception.

I would like the book much better if the chapter on tools were different. Like listing the tools in the order in which they are needed for the projects (and clearly saying so!) So the reader would only need to buy the things actually necessary for the finger protectors at first, and then add tools as he progresses through the book and the projects. 

Back to the actual topic: I buy handmade things - even expensive ones - when I like them more than industrially made stuff. Because they work better (like my friend's knives) or because they are prettier (my friend's knives as well, a felted shawl, a sewn scarf), or because I need something right now and the handmade thing is there and reasonably priced (a leather coin bag, various pottery). Basically I agree with whoever wrote this https://www.jlsleather.com/hand-made-well-made/ - well-made is more important than how many machines were involved in the process. 

I think all those videos and instructions should come with a fair warning that this craft is not for everybody because it requires above average dexterity and hand-eye coordination.  Making things look easy is great for making popular videos, but it's kind of misleading in my opinion and will inevitably lead to frustration.  Sooner or later the person watching the videos will be required to cut something freehand, or make paint stand on a 1mm edge without spilling over, or skive something which is already very thin, or make multiple holes on something very thick while making sure they come out the other end exactly aligned, or sharpen a tiny awl blade without turning the awl into a dart, etc etc.  

Regardless of machines and tools and jigs and techniques that make those and other tasks easier, I think it's fair to expect from a crafts person to be better with their hands and their eyes than most people.

I also think tools cost is nothing compared to labour cost, when you realise what you have to pay to provide a fair hourly salary to the person doing the work (whether it's yourself or someone else).  Especially if you're in a western country.  In that respect leatherworking is absolutely extremely expensive, because it takes time.  We just tend to not value our own time high enough, because deep down we love what we're doing and enjoying every minute of it, and so we think it's kind of cheating to ask to get paid for it the same as someone slaving away in a job they hate.  But that doesn't mean that the cost of doing leather working got reduced, it just means we're getting poorer and poorer the more leatherworking we do. 

Edited June 17, 2021 by Spyros

[Frodo]

 

.............It goes on to suggest that the terms “whitelisted,” “manpower,” “manmade,” be replaced with more “bias-free” alternatives such as “allowed” and “artificial.”..........

 

If you think i am kidding, you are wrong

 

Federal Reserve Instructs Employees to Avoid ‘Biased Terms’ Like ‘Founding Fathers’: Report (yahoo.com)

 

 

[Klara]

6 hours ago, Spyros said:

I think all those videos and instructions should come with a fair warning that this craft is not for everybody because it requires above average dexterity and hand-eye coordination.  Making things look easy is great for making popular videos, but it's kind of misleading in my opinion and will inevitably lead to frustration.  ...

....  We just tend to not value our own time high enough, because deep down we love what we're doing and enjoying every minute of it, and so we think it's kind of cheating to ask to get paid for it the same as someone slaving away in a job they hate.  But that doesn't mean that the cost of doing leather working got reduced, it just means we're getting poorer and poorer the more leatherworking we do. 

Or maybe people need to accept that being frustrated is part of life sometimes. And that proficiency comes from practice. And that even as an adult you can't expect to be good at new things right from the start. Leatherworkers have the "advantage" that bought patterns and pre-pierced holes make the work a lot easier. For spinners there is no such shortcut. Or for musicians... 

Money is not everything and millions of people do things for fun that won't ever bring in any money at all... I never felt I was getting poorer when working with wool. It was at the markets, waiting for customers, that I got annoyed. My animals and the making of things enrich my life and I would do it for free. Selling is mostly boring, and I want to get paid for it

 

[Minnesota]

I had no idea there was this kind of conversation swirling around the term "handmade". I'm not sure I really have anything of substance to offer here but it occurs to me that maybe the term "Artisan" (which I have seen in this conversation a few times) is more appropriate for what we do. I know I will be repeating much of what has already been said, however, In the same way that a baker uses basic tools like a measuring cup, rolling pin and a hot oven to make artisan bread. A woodworker may use a tablesaw, mallet and chisels to make custom furniture. Leatherworkers may use needle/thread, after poking their holes with a mallet/chisel punches. Or they may go the route of a sewing machine to make their custom creations. What we do has far less to do with the tools we choose to employ than how we manipulate the raw materials we work with into pieces of art. Understanding what a tool is for and how it affects the final outcome of the thing you are making is what makes us Artisans.

To the original post: I think the terms "Handmade" and "Handcrafted" have just become synonymous in our vernacular with terms like "Artisan" and "From Scratch". Handmade indicates to the buyer that what they are getting is something that wasn't just assembled from a pile of ready-made pieces that needed to be fit together. Saying this belt or this purse, this watch band or this backpack is handmade is the makers way of saying "With love, I made this". 

 

Edited July 3, 2021 by Minnesota

[Rahere]

On 6/17/2021 at 8:16 AM, Klara said:

Or maybe people need to accept that being frustrated is part of life sometimes. And that proficiency comes from practice. And that even as an adult you can't expect to be good at new things right from the start. Leatherworkers have the "advantage" that bought patterns and pre-pierced holes make the work a lot easier. For spinners there is no such shortcut. Or for musicians... 

Money is not everything and millions of people do things for fun that won't ever bring in any money at all... I never felt I was getting poorer when working with wool. It was at the markets, waiting for customers, that I got annoyed. My animals and the making of things enrich my life and I would do it for free. Selling is mostly boring, and I want to get paid for it

 

This may be why I've given up music. The parasites trying to cash in, monetizing the art, thinking they own me.

[sbrownn]

1 hour ago, Rahere said:

This may be why I've given up music. The parasites trying to cash in, monetizing the art, thinking they own me.

Really?  Given up doing music or listening to it?

[sbrownn]

On 6/15/2021 at 4:11 AM, mcguyver42 said:

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.

If you are working for a customer then what they want drives the product quality and price.  If you are selling into some kind of retail market then you have to decide what that market will be and if you have the skillset and connections to get into it.

[Rahere]

2 hours ago, sbrownn said:

Really?  Given up doing music or listening to it?

Doing. I was guided in voice by Sir Geraint Evans' wife, and passed it on to a fellow chorister who became the top Baroque coach of his generation, the choir we saved from Britten's buggering about produced Florence Welch, Ed Simons, and a long list of others.. I left to make a career which was capped by a decent share in the top gong known to man, and planned to return in retirement, aged 56. But the system was rigged in 1977, and is still out of control. It's typified by about £1.5 bn put into the music arts during this crisis: not a penny reached the performers. Why feed the monsters? These are Epstein/Weinberg clones. Before the lockdowns happened, I'd had it with them anyway: I'd made it to Stagecraft Mentor with London's Southbank (Royal Festival Hall), which then crashed because of financial stupidity, as did the LSO and several others. I've spent the last 15 months studying the psychology of trauma and failure, and right now, the UK's a potential bomb of resentment. Attunement's gone, we kicked ass over innoculations, and ventilators (thanks to work my father did guided by Prince Philip), we're doing fine at soccer, so empathy's zero.

I'm not going to dive deeper in name-dropping, I'm hated enough already. 

[Handstitched]

Wow, this topic just keeps going doesn't it   Just like the leather projects we make....by hand  

HS