Real-World_Media_CraftDoc_Niamh_Mackey from Media Factory on Vimeo.

Craftsmanship fosters nostalgia for a simpler time. This time likely never existed but the moral value on the human skill (Frayling, 2012) used is as, or more important than the crafted items. It has a connection to the real world in that it exists in space and time. Craft and creation is informed and impacted by the culture the craftsperson exists in (Stonorov, 2017). There is a push and pull between the crafted and craftsperson—one informs the other and neither could exist without the other. A person must be able to make something for craft to exist, but the person could not craft if the materials and cultural information did not engulf them.

Ingold describes the process of craft in terms of “intervening in the fields of force”. The creator adapts their process and steps by following their materials to create something that is unique and by extension valuable. During the crafting, the materials become dynamic, almost alive, and create things that have presence in space and time, and can be viewed. The link between creator and object is unique to the living. It reflects humanity and our ability to create. It is a comment on the precise moment in space and time it was created.

Craft has value because it has been created by someone and because it has utility. Hand-crafted items are often imperfect but this often adds to their value (Cheyne & Saito, 2022). History, creativity, craftsmanship and imperfection combine to improve the value of an object by imposing nostalgia on the person encountering it. Family heirlooms become the family members who owned them previously, and so their nostalgia runs deep. Their intrinsic nostalgia gives them value and means they are more likely to be kept by family. To throw away a nostalgic, valuable heirloom would be to cut off the love and care of the family who owned it before.

Craft is anti capitalist because it is typically done in the pursuit of fulfillment rather than money. Craft in the 21st century is a luxury because it is not the most efficient way to spend time and money. It is used to escape the working world and relax. Its stark opposition to capitalism—its messiness and inherent humanity—is part of what gives craft value. Craft is part of the creative economy: how small business, Etsy and the internet disrupt capitalist production, consumption, and traditional male patterns of work and labour (Luckman, 2015). Craft is anti capitalist because it is routed in feminism and traditional women’s work done inside the home. Globalisation and the internet have meant that women can continue to care for children, be homemakers and also earn their own money and create with intention. There are now a huge group of people who operate outside the typical daily work schedule and can still earn their own money.

References

Luckman, S (2015) Craft and the creative economy. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Nimkulrat, N (2012) “Hands-on Intellect: Integrating Craft Practice into Design Research,” International Journal of Design, 6(3).

Frayling, C (2012) “The Professor of Digging” in On craftsmanship: Towards a New Bauhaus. Oberon Books Ltd, pp. 76–83.

Stonorov, T (2017) “Manifesto for Handwork: Quality, Material, and Ideas Mark as done,” in The design-build studio: Crafting meaningful work in architecture education. London: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, pp. 24–30.

Saito, Y (2022) “ Imperfectionist Aesthetics in Art and Everyday Life Mark as done,” in P Cheyne (ed.) Imperfectionist aesthetics in art and Everyday Life. London: Routledge, pp. 203–217.

Ingold, T (2009) “The textility of making,” in Cambridge journal of economics. Oxford University Press, pp91–102.