The rise of the Artisan

Rob Keeble

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GTA Ontario Canada
What is your view of the source of the increase we see in "artisan" work ?

Part of me thinks its always been there but not had a means to get the word out, another part of me thinks its a function of the fact that with not that many dollars one can setup shop and turn out some unique product if one has the desire and passion.

I do think the more we faced with the virtual world at work the more we want to get our hands on something tactile. That is how i feel. Its real when you use your hands to make something regardless of how well you manage to pull it off.

We should have a thread where we link to as many artisans sites as possible to give them a bit of exposure to others, may serve as inspiration to others yet that are flapping wings in anticipation of going solo.

I have wondered how much something like Youtube has contributed to getting many going given the removal of the knowledge barrier.

So check out this guy i came across when looking at info myself for improving a sandblasting cabinet.

This guy is making Pipes, yeah i know for some smoking is a no no and i am not advocating for it, I do admire the workmanship and artistry this guy has put into the making of them.

He has a whole channel of videos he has uploaded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVbK4vGSTuw

Check out images of his pipes here

https://www.flickr.com/photos/47641036@N04/4364954965/in/photostream/

Some of them he sandblasts the side of the pipe to show off the grain lines.

Oh and stealth gloat i picked up a small benchtop sandblasting cabinet ( here we seem to call it abrasive cabinet) locally on a sale

http://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/powerfist-bench-model-abrasive-blasting-cabinet/A-p8014659e

I have in mind to try cutting a pattern on my vinyl cutter and using it as a stick down template to see how it transfers to wood. Should be a fun experiment. :) Wife wonders if it will ever end. :rofl: Told her i was nuts when she married me. ;)
 
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Interesting statement he makes about not setting out to be an artisan, he discovered he was an artisan. Certainly our ever-shrinking world thanks to global networking contributes to you and I being exposed to people we would have lived our whole lives being ignorant of 20 years ago. I remember an old TV show call 'Amazing People'. It showed all sorts of otherwise 'normal' folks doing unusual things. Although the target of this show was more in the 'Believe it or Not' category to some degree, the principle is the same. YouTube, blogs and Internet News Shows expose us to many, many times the number of experiences we would otherwise have. The artisans have always been among us; we just see more of them in a shorter time now which I for one, think is great!
 
There is always biased for those of us that ply our trade for money. We have a new Craft Mall here. Looking at many of the items that look cool...the thought is always "I wouldn't pay that for that"! Then what people pay for pens and mills seems like I'm taking one up the backside with a handful of sand. Moral of the story...perhaps most craftsmen are cheap either way...but we can be.
 
Technology has afforded many to get more exposure and sales. I follow close to 150 similar artisans on my instagram feed. Most of them are one man or woman shops that do it for a hobby, but probably 75 or so of them do it full time. I've watched a few make the transition from hobby to full time over the last few years. Couple of my favorites are...

Lamont Luther - check out their story...truly inspiring great story!

Ariele Alakso - Can't believe how much she gets for her spoons and boards. :eek: Amazing work and happy for her, she has marketed herself very well.

Blackcreek M & T - a very talented turner/woodworker with a past in the big city. Moved to the Hudson valley and started over.
 
The Blackcreek folks sure are getting (or at least asking) a lot of money for their very simple utility bowls. :eek:
 
Those are pretty good pipes. Make me want to get one of mine out of storage and smoke it. A lot of people are retiring from unrewarding jobs and reinventing themselves as gardeners, writers, woodworkers, bakers, fly fishermen... the list goes on and on. Only a few could make a living at it, but all of them get some satisfaction they didn't get sitting in offices making rich owners richer.
 
I think there are a lot of great artisans out there, there are also a lot of great craftsman. I'd probably put myself in the craftsman category as I just don't feel like I come up with a lot of original ideas or ounce of artist in me, but have no problem duplicating another's work. I admire those that have the vision, drive, and courage to step off the gravy train and do their own thing.
 
I think there are a lot of great artisans out there, there are also a lot of great craftsman.

My feelings on this subject are raw and rather prickly.

As the term is currently in use, an artisan is a craftsman who's putting on airs. Full stop.

In my mind, it's akin to modern art vs classic art. Classic art, you look at it and anyone will know it's great art. Much of modern art needs to have a story attached to have any meaning. I mean Modern art with a capital M.

Examples here:
http://www.artsumo.com/blog/post/4/They_Paid_What_Top_10_Absurd_Paintings_that_Sold_for_Millions/

And read the description here:
http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/25855

Snippet:
Each of the five works in Robert Rauschenberg’s White Paintings (1951) consists of a different number of modular panels [snip] that have been painted completely white. In each case, Rauschenberg’s primary aim was to create a painting that looked untouched by human hands, as though it had simply arrived in the world fully formed and absolutely pure.
...
Ultimately, the power of the White Paintings lies in the shifts in attention they require from the viewer, asking us to slow down, watch closely over time, and inspect their mute painted surfaces for subtle shifts in color, light, and texture.


I mean, really??

An artisan will make a technical error on a piece... miscut a dovetail, be 1/32" on a joint, etc. The TRUE craftsman will remake the part. The artisan will up the price 50% and point to the error as an indication of "handmade authenticity".
 
Oh I might disagree. I think an artisan is someone who elevates craftsmanship into an art form. I think the term might have roots in what came out of the guild system of teaching the trades. You can train under a master craftsman for years and when one learns the skills necessary to start your own shop you become a master craftsman yourself. To attain the title of "artisan" might take years of working to perfect your trade. Then there are the folks who create something truly unique and lovely. Or maybe they reach a level of craftsmanship that is clearly above the norm expected. There are innovative folks who pioneer a new furniture style. like Greene and Greene. Now their work is what I might call artisan-ship. I knew a guy who took another guys innovation and constructed pieces of the same style , but with a level of skill and perfection that was clearly superior. I might call him an artisan in another's style. Artisanship is when one elevates skill to a level that is rare and nears perfection. Or has a certain "WOW" factor. I was a diemaker for years. I was a good and skilled craftsman. I knew one or two guys who were artisans. The dies they built were marvels of precision and finesse. They not only worked to near perfection with the first hit, but had a polished "sewing machine" kind of quality to their function.
 
This thread is interesting. I think the rise of the Artisian has a lot to do with to much money. I know in my case it is almost impossible to buy anything they really want or need. So you give money, or plastic money. Other than that you get something uleless but very nice and atrsy stuff fits the bill. Or you can get something usefull but somewhat extravagant. Say an end grain cutting board rather than a functional but ugly plastic one. On a small scale the same reason monied people bought mansions rather than houses.
 
I think you are right Gary. On the other hand, perception is sometimes everything. How you market yourself can determine price. The trick is in finding the potential buyers who have lots of money to waste. :D I have a friend who builds architectural pieces for wealthy clients. He gained his reputation buy being more of an artisan rather than a producer of furniture. He is one of the most innovative and skilled people I know. He makes truly unique things. Recently he made some bar stools for a client upholstered with elephant hide. Not what the average guy might do. His work has been featured in Architectural Digest. That propelled him into a different class than most of us can attain. I really appreciate his humility. He is a great friend and very generous. I have supplied him with unusual lumber because the wealthy clients wanted something the "Jone's" didn't have or couldn't get. I figure if they want to pay then I am willing to charge a premium.
 
I have had some thoughts about the whole artisan thing going in the noggin for quite a while. I think Rob's idea of an artisan thread topic might be a good thing for the forum.

What I have wished to see is the re-development of the artisan community concept. It is a complex problem. I think further discussion might help to get some fertile ideas going and maybe someday translate into something of real value.

Some thoughts; Community or urban renewal can happen based on the "artisan community". I would imagine this would take a huge and long term commitment by a number of folks that live in some proximity.

For instance, you see farmers markets becoming more popular with the desire of folks to "get back in touch with where food comes from". The value comes from the perception that the food is grown locally, organically, and is intrinsically more healthy. ( I wonder what inorganic food is:D)

So I have thought that it would be cool to have a furniture/ woodworkers wares, kind of market, not unlike a farmers market.

It would seem that an artisan kind of reputation would have to be cultivated. You wouldn't want to have a bunch of trinket selling stalls. There would need to be "live" work being performed so potential customers would learn to appreciate the craftsmanship and quality of the products.

This possibly could be accomplished in part by running videos of the work being done off site. (Rod's idea of a link to artisan sites gets my vote)

So to make this personal, Would it be possible to work on the idea of Family Woodworking local guilds? We have an ambassador after all, who has pioneered the trail somewhat. That and hosted family gatherings several times.

I think it may be an idea whose time has come. With a local guild kind of regular gathering, skills can be taught and shared with others. Maybe out of all this some good marketing strategies could be developed and some of our family members could benefit from sales.

Just a few thoughts for starters. Thanks to Rob for stirring the pot.
 
Rob when I started turning pot calls, I did it to see what the wood looked like and found a lot of guys making pot calls. Then I started making the strikers for the pot calls in a way that pleaed me and I could see good design in. They as re a bit over the top in design for the avg. turkey hunter but who cares I enjoy the process and each turn is totally different. I can see what he is saying. As an artist, you do what you like because you love the process and the finished product and move on to the next.
 
This isn't just happening in woodworking, but we see it in areas like brewing, restaurants, coffee, etc.. as well. I suspect that there are some common root causes across all of them.

A common thread seems to be desire for something "better" or different than whats currently available. A lot of the time it seems that someone starts making things for themselves because they want it themselves, share with a few friends, make a couple of sales and then an small industry is born. The root causes behind this is perhaps a bit more complicated.

There is some of the "small pleasures" effect we usually observe in a down market driving some of this (or at least acting a catalyst). When people can't afford (or don't feel that they can afford) "large pleasures" (like a trip to Hawaii, etc..) they're more apt to indulge in "small pleasures" ( a fancy cup of coffee, a nice turned bowl, etc..). Of course it often ends up that the small pleasures end up costing as much in the long term as the larger pleasure would have but there isn't the same psychological hit of one large outlay.

The ongoing death of a large part of the American large scale industry (or at least the parts of industry that employed large numbers of crafts people) left a lot of very (or at least potentially..) capable and skilled people looking for other avenues. Some of these folks have picked themselves up by their bootlaces and pulled themselved into a new business.

There seems to be a possibly reoccurring cycle of craft vs consolidated industry. The current trend feels similar to what we saw in the 60s-70s in some ways. Around that time is when (for instance) the american wine industry really started to take off as a craft industry - in the late 80's through the 00's it was consolidated fairly heavily and now we see a resurgence of smaller vinters entering the market (alongside their beer brewing peers :D). A similar trend could be noted with other crafts as well including woodworking, and I see a similar trend with knitting/spinning/weaving happening (at around the same cycle).

I suspect that the down market driving a lot of folks out of work or at least pushing down their confidence left people looking for other outlets than the basic consumerism that was hot for a couple of decades and then the current somewhat more up market with a lack of significant job growth in traditional channels has lead some folks towards looking at leveraging what they started there into businesses (somewhat of a hobby to craft bleedover - I know that that happened in the beer and distilling industry at least). Again I see some parallels to the late 60s through early 80s here.

I'm sure there are other causes as well, but that's just my thoughts on what might be driving it.
 
It's funny. When I hear 'artisan', I think of a skilled craftsman, perhaps a jeweler or potter, but when I hear 'artisanal' I immediately think of food. Have we been conditioned to think this way, or is it just me?
 
Pipes here are made traditionally from the root burl of a heather bush, unfortunately it has been so heavily harvested along the years that they had to consider it a protected species, as the have to dig out the whole bush from the ground and it takes a long time to grow, so unrooting it lets no chance to reproduction, however there are still some people who don't care about those things and keep collecting it.
 
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