Why do people say "handmade"?

[Frodo]

3 hours ago, Tugadude said:

Weaving with your feet would be quite a feat.

 

Edited June 10, 2021 by Frodo

[Tugadude]

Hey, with all of the serious crap going on we have to have a little fun.

[fredk]

I've read most of this discussion. I think I'll add my perspective now. Just the way I find it all and how my family, my friends, associates and the general public in N.I. view it

Since about the early 1970s 'Hand made' has become the short-hand way of indicating that something is made by a crafts person/people and hasn't come out of some mass-producing factory

Yes, a crafts person will use machinery to make the parts he/she needs to make that final product. But he/she will, maybe with one or more helpers, will make that item

My father was craftsman of sorts. He was a fully trained and qualified cabinet maker. He used to use drill presses, a planer-thicknesser, a Shop-Smith lathe, electric planers and more. He got the raw timbers in, worked them on his machines as needed and built the cabinet as was required. Even though he sometimes made a dozen of a certain style of bathroom cabinet no two were exactly the same, because they were 'hand made'. You want exactly the same? interchangeable parts? buy one made in a mass-producing factory

Its a habit of English speakers to reduce some concepts and ideas down to certain terms, even if that term is wrong, or to reduce phrases down to the least number of syllables  thus its quicker and handier to say 'hand made' than 'craftsperson made'

[Klara]

1 hour ago, fredk said:

....Since about the early 1970s 'Hand made' has become the short-hand way of indicating that something is made by a crafts person/people and hasn't come out of some mass-producing factory ...

I dare say people in France and Germany see it the same way.

Since things are beginning to clear up, I'll throw another term into the discussion: Home made. Which for some reason is bad ("Make your work look hand made, not home made") - unless it's cooking or baking. Home made bread is a good thing (well...), a home-knitted sweater not so much... Given that quite a number of craftspeople and artists work from home, I assume that home-made is short for "know-nothing no-skills hobbyist made"?

 

[fredk]

5 minutes ago, Klara said:

I dare say people in France and Germany see it the same way.

Since things are beginning to clear up, I'll throw another term into the discussion: Home made. Which for some reason is bad ("Make your work look hand made, not home made") - unless it's cooking or baking. Home made bread is a good thing (well...), a home-knitted sweater not so much... Given that quite a number of craftspeople and artists work from home, I assume that home-made is short for "know-nothing no-skills hobbyist made"?

The latest buzz word is 'Artisan'. Artisan coffee, artisan cheese, artisan sandwiches, artisan cakes.. . . . . etc.  Nowt has changed in how those things are made but put 'artisan' in front of the description of your 'hand made' sandwiches in your cafe and you can charge 3 or 4 times the normal price. Direct example; a cappuccino decaf coffee in Starbucks = about £2.80, go down the street, same coffee, made the same way with the same machines but 'artisan' = £6.50. Go to a local coffee & tea importer with a tea room, same coffee from them = £1.60. Guess what? people are flocking to buy the 'artisan' coffee, they are leaving the likes of Starbucks empty, and the wee local place, only the wise go there.

Put fancy words and fancy prices and the common folk will flock there because they think they'll get something special. My son and I call it the 'Kings new clothes' syndrome.

A deviation. When I had a photo studio I did children's portraits, sometimes family groups. I charged £25 to £30, for the sitting plus a selection of small proof prints. A group of photographers got together and formed the 'One Thousand' club. They charged £1000 for a portrait sitting. Just for the sitting. Minimum order was £1000, even if you just wanted one small photo. People flocked to them. I was told 'you must not be a very good photographer if you only charge £30'. I did put my prices up, a wee bit. The 'One Thousand' club also did weddings. Although they charged £1000 they weren't very good photographers. I and a few associates ended up re-shooting almost all the weddings done by the Club and re-doing a lot of their other work.

The common person can be blind-sided by fancy terms like 'hand made', 'genuine leather', 'Artisan . . . ,

 

PS. I was once given a jacket and the label said 'Genuine faux replacement leather type material' !

[Tugadude]

People are easily manipulated.  That's why companies spend billions of dollars on marketing.  Most people don't NEED much, but they are made to WANT.

Whether it be a bigger television or a better phone with multiple cameras, it seems the majority are seldom satisfied.  And you need look no further than Apple and Samsung to see the evidence.  

The part about homemade is an interesting one.  I would argue it is related to handmade, but I don't think too many products are marketed as homemade.  I do see "home style" used a fair bit.  

And the "artisan" thing?  I am a wet shaver and there are numerous companies calling their shaving soaps artisan.  Some are good, some are not.  Like many words, it really doesn't mean much anymore.  Because the people behind the words often lack integrity.  Not all, but most, I think.

[Frodo]

Interesting.  homemade means domestic manufacture 

                    handmade is made by hand or hand process

handmade

 adjective

Synonyms & Antonyms of handmade

created by a hand process rather than by a machine

• received a handmade sweater at the baby shower

Synonyms for handmade

• handcrafted, 
• handwrought

Words Related to handmade

• homemade, 
• man-made, 
• manual

• bespoke 
• (also bespoken), 
• crafted, 
• custom-built, 
• custom-made

Near Antonyms for handmade

• automatic, 
• machined, 
• mass-produced

 

[Handstitched]

Wow ! This has turned into quite a topic...again. 

The added bonus about what I do, is that I can have a beer  ..at lunch time  How many employers let you drink on the job?  Just .....thought I'd throw that into the discussion . 

HS

[Klara]

3 hours ago, Handstitched said:

Wow ! This has turned into quite a topic...again. 

The added bonus about what I do, is that I can have a beer  ..at lunch time  How many employers let you drink on the job?  Just .....thought I'd throw that into the discussion . 

HS

Everybody I ever worked for in Germany and France (there the red wine was at one point included in the meal paid for by the company). 

@fredk How long did the 1000-Club stay in business? And how did they manage to get any customers? That's the sort of cheek that drives me crazy... 

[Constabulary]

Definitions may differ in different countries but a term you often read in terms of small business made items in MANUFATUR. I know the translations may throw out different meaning. A MANUFAKTUR may differ in sizes (number of employees and so forth) depending on the branch but usually - nowadays - when you read MANUFAKTUR over here (like leather MANUFAKTUR, Glass MANUFAKTUR....) is most of the time is associated with a small business producing high quality goods in a rather small volume (again - depends on the definition) with a high amount of hand and / or art work.

Not sure if MANUFAKTUR has the same meaning worldwide and history for has changed the meaning but that pretty much the definition in the "old world" nowadays:

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufaktur#Der_moderne_Begriff  (use googel translate)

Quote

The latest buzz word is 'Artisan'. Artisan coffee, artisan cheese, artisan sandwiches, artisan cakes.. . . . .

We don´t have to look far - same with sewing machine like ARTISAN or COWBOY or THOR. No one in Europe (I guess) would call his sewing Machine Co. COWBOY - of course it´s a different story in the US. It gives you a certain association with something most folks (in the US) are familiar with - the original Co. name is HIGHTEX IIRC - so calling it COWBOY is a marketing name tailored to the US market. THOR and ARTISAN of course gives certain associations with something else. Thats marketing! Not meant as an offense to the brand names!

Edited June 11, 2021 by Constabulary