In this exercise I am to read a specified article from the Guardian newspaper and answer a series of questions on it.

McGuirk, J. (2019). The art of craft: the rise of the designer-maker. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/aug/01/rise-designer-maker-craftsman-handmade [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Do you believe there is a demand for hand made objects and work? Why do you think that some consumers seek out these qualities in the objects they buy?

I think that there is a demand for hand made objects. They have character, they tend to be of higher quality than mass produced items and they often allow you to engage in recycling, for example by buying a great piece of furniture from a charity shop.

When it comes to a new item, the craftsmen more often than not make a point about engaging in sustainable behaviour so you can be assured that choosing their work means that you are putting the planet first too.

I haven’t a clue if there is a demand for work as craftsmen! I would assume that if there are still items being manufactured and sold then people are still required to fill those positions? I discovered from watching BBC’s ‘Have I Got News For You’ that where there are niche interests and hobbies there is a whole underground world of magasines, conventions, societies etc, maybe its the same for the world of craftsmen?

Do you think the desire for hand made products is based on a romantic perception of the hand made and a sense of post-industrial nostalgia for the pre-industrial? Why or why not?

I think every person has an element of craftsman within them. Even if they don’t make items, on some level everyone can appreciate a well made piece. For as long as I can remember there has been a constant interest in how things used to be done. I believe this is because we are so saturated with mass produced products, so used to the items that are designed to break so that we have to get a new one, that the idea that things used to be built to last is like a romantic fantasy.

I also think that people admire the skill in a handcrafted object. A machine does not care if it leaves burrs on the side of a chair leg, but a craftsman will see them and smooth them down. A machine can vacuum form plastic into a mould to form a rosette but a craftsman can chisel it by eye out of a piece of pure wood just using hand tools. A machine can make a prosthetic hand, a craftsman can make it look alive, or paint it to look like a fantasy creature!

In my opinion, so much that is hand made is better, and I guess a lot of that opinion is based on a romantic notion about someone putting their soul into something. So, to answer the question, yes I do think that the desire for hand made goods (well mine anyway) is based on a romantic perception of the hand made!

Do you feel that hand made products are viewed as luxury or value added products? How do hand made products compare with mass produced items in terms of their value, life cycle, cost and ethics?

Yes I do feel that hand made products are viewed as luxury or value added. There is an understanding that the price includes the value of the craftsman’s labour and skill in addition to the product components.

In everyday marketing there are often phrases such as ‘hand made’ or ‘crafted’ etc used to underline the luxury value of the item they are selling.

Years ago I brought a chess set from a market in Kandahar, Afghanistan. There were two available, one was obviously carved by machine out of marble, the pieces were identical and perfect. The board was made of precisely cut marble squares set into its board. The alternative chess set was obviously made by hand, very badly, potentially by bashing rocks together. Now, although I love a bit of hand-made, what I wanted was a pretty chess set so I wanted to buy the machined version. It was more expensive because it was obviously better but the man running the stall swore to me over and over again that it was hand carved. The reason for this is that people view hand made as better than machined, this market trader didn’t need to lie to me, but I could see why he did.

Hand made products are generally more expensive than mass produced counterparts, but they also tend to last longer. They are kept for longer by their owners because they have made a conscious choice to invest in that piece rather than just fill a need, that piece has greater value for them. An example of this would have been if I had brought a £5 chess set from Amazon, it probably would have found itself in the bin on my way out of the country whereas I still have my marble set 10 years later.

Hand made products have a greater chance of a longer life cycle, they are more likely to be donated or passed on rather than disposed of. Even if they break, if someone has hand made a product there is more chance that its owner can figure out how to repair it, after all, its only been built by another human!

The ethics behind the two types of product are very different too. A mass produced item is from a factory which consumes natural resources to function. If that factory is in the East then it is often not subject to the same environmentally aware regulations as the West. One example of this is in India where there are issues with textiles factories dumping waste water from the dying process into local waterways.

A hand made object is more likely to be from sustainable sources and to be made with care and attention.

Reflect on any hand made item that you own (not necessarily textiles). Can you remember why you were drawn to it? Did the fact that it was handmade make it feel ‘special’ or did you just buy it because you liked the design? How did its price compare with the industrially produced equivalent?

I have a slightly unusual item for this exercise. It’s a generic plastic moulded Egyptian Pharaoh bust, painted to look like it’s made from wood.

I was in a dusty dingy shop in Luxor, Egypt when I brought it. I was looking at some actual hand carved figures and attempting to choose a decent souvenir. Everything was fairly average until, I looked up and spotted the Pharaohs head on the shelf above me. The colouring on this thing was perfect, it looked like someone with a lot of skill had carved something quite special out of a lump of wood. I wanted it. I wanted it because things made from wood are beautiful, I wanted it because it had been produced with skill, I wanted it for all the romantic associations of smelly men on camels hawking wares to adventurous white girls. As soon as the proprietor put it in my hands I knew exactly what it was, plastic! Mass produced, injection moulded plastic. It made me laugh, and the more I pointed out to the proprietor the plastic markings from the mould, or the paintbrush marks, the more he swore that not only was it made from wood he had cut it down and carved it himself. The worse the lies got the funnier I found it, and, strangely, the more sure I was that I wanted to buy it.

Initially it was the hand made aspect which drew me into that shop. When a craftsman has made something well, it really is beautiful. What drew me to the head inparticular was the wonder at what I believed to be the craftsman skill. What made me buy it was the amusement at the sheer cheek of the man flogging it to me!

The nearest I could find to my Egyptian head online is this pottery version from the European Vintage Emporium priced for approx £55. Mine was approximatley £20 but as I said, it was mass produced plastic!

Europeanvintageemporium.com. (2019). Vintage Egyptian Pharaoh large stoneware pottery figurine head bust ornament decor circa 1980-90’s | European Vintage Emporium. [online] Available at: https://www.europeanvintageemporium.com/product/vintage-egyptian-pharaoh-large-stoneware-pottery-figurine-head-bust-ornament-decor-circa-1980-90s/?doing_wp_cron=1574145913.9684751033782958984375 [Accessed 19 Nov. 2019].