Without a doubt our modern industrial world has added to the productive and uniformity of our lives. One would argue that we have lost the most important ability to grasp the worth of making something with our own hands and that we have lost our association with mother earth.
In the latter half of the 1800's the industrial age was in a level of efficiency. Within just a few years of the end of the American Cival war. Before the start of the Industrial age, almost all merchandise was assembled by hand, by skilled workers who enjoyed making goods available to others.
Then came the rise in industrialization, every item that was once made by a craftsman took on a degree of manufacturing. So much was this, that nearly all goods sold around the world today, would not have a single human being touch the product prior to it being distributed.
In a world of compressed wood products and staples, it is hard to achieve the beauty of handmade wood furniture. In our world of assembly line glass products, it is hard to gain an appreciation for hand blown glass products. In our modern age of vinyl products, it is hard to experience handmade purses. With the development of plastics, we lost handmade luggage and outdoor furniture.
Or world is changing rapidly, and not always for the better.
Remember the 1970's it wasnt that along ago that we could go to a full-service gas staion, they were everyhere. Not now self service, has taken it's place so much so that you probably would be hard presssed to find a full-service station anyhere.
The good old fashioned handmade toy, that had been handcrafted by a skilled craftsman, have been replaced with cheaply made plastic and metal toys. Manufactures assembly lines are full of these products.
All things that were beautiful and handmade, have all been replaced by goods that manufactures make on uncaring machines. Our Modern world has undergone a transformation, we are now trained to buy efficient and inexpensive products that we just throw away and replace when broken.
In this new era, it sometimes seems as if the only things we have left to cherish is each other. Of course, we will always cherish each other, but our grandmothers had handmade quilts and beautifully manufactured furniture. Our grandpas had boots or shoes that were made by hand and taken to the leather shop when it was time to replace the soles on their shoes. Our grandparents even had mechanical watches that were valuable enough to carry to the watchmaker, when the watch stopped working.
But where are those days now. There gone.
In times before WWII, Christmas was full of gifts that were hand crafted by the hands of the giver. But then after WWII had finished technology began to show its face into our lives. Christmas then started to become about buying rather than giving.
When was the last time you recieved something hand crafted. When was the last time your friend baked you some hand baked cookies? or your children made you something special for Christmas.
While I do know that few people in the industrialized nations make anything by hand anymore - an exception being the Rolls Royce and Ferrari automobiles - there are many people who live in South America, Africa, and Eastern Asia who still appreciate the value of making products by hand.
Now with the internet avaiable 24/7, we find ourselves in a unique position. Most people have not experienced recieving handcrafted goods in a very long time. As global retail giants continue to shop for cheap, mass produced goods, customers can now search the internet for handmade, handcrafted products online.
There are many Internet retailers who go in search of products made by hand, by real people in the real world.
In my world handmade is a beautiful concept. It is fantastic to be able to search on the internet to find products that have been made with the love and commitment of a real person in real time.
I love the fact that I can go online to buy handmade, but the thing that is most interesting is that one can frequently get handmade products from other areas of the world for far less money than an American, a European or Australian can get the same kind of machined products for from his or her local brick-and-mortar retail outlet.
If you like handmade products like me, then you should have a go at searching online. Not only can you acquire some really great products but you are bringing craftsmanship back into our modern world.
In the latter half of the 1800's the industrial age was in a level of efficiency. Within just a few years of the end of the American Cival war. Before the start of the Industrial age, almost all merchandise was assembled by hand, by skilled workers who enjoyed making goods available to others.
Then came the rise in industrialization, every item that was once made by a craftsman took on a degree of manufacturing. So much was this, that nearly all goods sold around the world today, would not have a single human being touch the product prior to it being distributed.
In a world of compressed wood products and staples, it is hard to achieve the beauty of handmade wood furniture. In our world of assembly line glass products, it is hard to gain an appreciation for hand blown glass products. In our modern age of vinyl products, it is hard to experience handmade purses. With the development of plastics, we lost handmade luggage and outdoor furniture.
Or world is changing rapidly, and not always for the better.
Remember the 1970's it wasnt that along ago that we could go to a full-service gas staion, they were everyhere. Not now self service, has taken it's place so much so that you probably would be hard presssed to find a full-service station anyhere.
The good old fashioned handmade toy, that had been handcrafted by a skilled craftsman, have been replaced with cheaply made plastic and metal toys. Manufactures assembly lines are full of these products.
All things that were beautiful and handmade, have all been replaced by goods that manufactures make on uncaring machines. Our Modern world has undergone a transformation, we are now trained to buy efficient and inexpensive products that we just throw away and replace when broken.
In this new era, it sometimes seems as if the only things we have left to cherish is each other. Of course, we will always cherish each other, but our grandmothers had handmade quilts and beautifully manufactured furniture. Our grandpas had boots or shoes that were made by hand and taken to the leather shop when it was time to replace the soles on their shoes. Our grandparents even had mechanical watches that were valuable enough to carry to the watchmaker, when the watch stopped working.
But where are those days now. There gone.
In times before WWII, Christmas was full of gifts that were hand crafted by the hands of the giver. But then after WWII had finished technology began to show its face into our lives. Christmas then started to become about buying rather than giving.
When was the last time you recieved something hand crafted. When was the last time your friend baked you some hand baked cookies? or your children made you something special for Christmas.
While I do know that few people in the industrialized nations make anything by hand anymore - an exception being the Rolls Royce and Ferrari automobiles - there are many people who live in South America, Africa, and Eastern Asia who still appreciate the value of making products by hand.
Now with the internet avaiable 24/7, we find ourselves in a unique position. Most people have not experienced recieving handcrafted goods in a very long time. As global retail giants continue to shop for cheap, mass produced goods, customers can now search the internet for handmade, handcrafted products online.
There are many Internet retailers who go in search of products made by hand, by real people in the real world.
In my world handmade is a beautiful concept. It is fantastic to be able to search on the internet to find products that have been made with the love and commitment of a real person in real time.
I love the fact that I can go online to buy handmade, but the thing that is most interesting is that one can frequently get handmade products from other areas of the world for far less money than an American, a European or Australian can get the same kind of machined products for from his or her local brick-and-mortar retail outlet.
If you like handmade products like me, then you should have a go at searching online. Not only can you acquire some really great products but you are bringing craftsmanship back into our modern world.
About the Author:
Nicole Maschwitz writes about handmade items and design. When you are in the market to shop for Great Gift Ideas, handmade jewellery, Fashion handbags, unique gifts or decorative homewares, please visit Gift Hut and browse their selection of handmade items from around the world at: http://www.gifthut.com.au
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