AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Angry giant forge etsy4/8/2023 ![]() Of course we can make a bazillion things for pennies in an factory but do any of us need to consume those products? When I watched this video and then looked carefully at Abby’s work my first thought was that working in the factory was a pretty sucky job even if you are making a living wage but crafting toys using the same process at home or in a well run creative space is a dream job. Her stuffies have a story behind them while the product of faceless unknown workers does not.Īfter watching the video my first thoughts were: how many of those factory produced toys will end up in the garbage unloved? How many people ever acknowledge the complex and detailed work those factory employees do every single day? How much pride and joy do the workers get from their jobs-are they paid a living wage? Does the end product have value if it doesn’t contribute to people or place while also making a profit?Īt the root of these questions is the ethics of consumption and the meaning of the objects we are filling our lives with. What differentiates Abby’s stuffed shark from the factory Neopets is story and community. If the fundamental steps to make a stuffie like the one shown in the video-from design, to pattern-making, to production are essentially the same for a single crafter what makes Abby’s work anymore ‘handmade’ then what is done in a factory? If handmade was solely about the methods of production, the answer is nothing, everything made by human hands is essentially handmade. ![]() After our #OMHG chat today where so many creatives echoed the thoughts I’d been percolating on everything became super clear and connected.įirst let’s take a look at the video Abby shared that made such an impression: These two things collided in my mind yesterday when I read Abby Glassenberg’s post on “What Does Handmade Mean“. I’ve been seeing a lot of discussion in the creative community on these questions and more sparked by the fall-out from Etsy changes to Seller Guidelines and the recent news that wholesale giant Cody Foster copied the work of Lisa Congdon followed by her call to action and viral rallying of the creative community. Did Etsy sell out? Is the DIY + handmade + maker movement over? What does handmade even mean anymore? How can makers protect the ethics of handmade as we scale?
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |