GA

Monday 16 January 2012

Hand made / hand crafted / poorly made?

It's a question I have been thinking about quite a bit lately - why should anyone buy handmade? Well firstly, I don't know that I like the word hand made - I think I prefer hand crafted or artisan - although artisan has connotations of 'rustic' which in turn has connotations of cobbled together and a bit crap! Hand made always makes me think of the clothes my mum used to make me wear when I was a kid! So maybe the first question is what is the correct term
Which term do you prefer? hand made? hand crafted? artisan? rustic?

5 comments:

Vickie said...

I don't know about the 'correct' term, but I have hand crafted on my business cards.
Actually, I quite like artisan too.

YorkAvenueStudio said...

Artisan used to mean a passed down trade skill generation to generation, but now it's used as a hot keyword for marketing.

Unknown said...

I tend to like hand crafted as well, and that seems to be the one I use most readily, I wish there was something a little more ... just a little more!

WillowTree said...

I have always struggled with this one. Same as the word designer. I associate the word artist with wall work and sculpture. Same with designer, I always think fabric and clothing.
Wiki on artisan:
An artisan (from Italian: artigiano) is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools. As an adjective (spelled "artisanal"), it has been used as a marketing buzz word to describe or imply an association with the crafting of hand made food products, such as bread, tofu, beverages and cheese."

I can live with this!

Unknown said...

I have to say I tend more and more towards the 'individually crafted by hand' tagline. The problem with buzz words is they lose their power don't they. What shall we do??? lol