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45-457: A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles , moldable and rigid materials, paper, plant fibers, clay, etc. One of the oldest handicraft is Dhokra ; this is a sort of metal casting that has been used in India for over 5,000 years and

90-405: A blue-collar work ethic, are accessible to the general public, and are constructed from materials with histories that exceed the boundaries of Western "fine art" tradition, such as ceramics , glass , textiles , metal and wood . These products are produced within a specific community of practice , and while they mostly differ from the products produced within the communities of art and design,

135-499: A certain division of labour between industry and craft. The nature of craft skill and the process of its development are continually debated by philosophers, anthropologists , and cognitive scientists . Some scholars note that craft skill is marked by particular ways of experiencing tools and materials, whether by allowing tools to recede from focal awareness, perceiving tools and materials in terms of their practical interrelationships, or seeing aspects of work that are invisible to

180-541: A few words of common tourist languages. There are also specialty markets such as: According to the Vietnam Handicrafts Export Association (VIETCRAFT), Vietnam's handicrafts export turnover in 2023 reached US$ 2.2 billion, up 10.5% over 2022. The United States is Vietnam's largest export market, accounting for 35% of total export turnover. Vietnam's handicrafts industry currently has about 600 villages, with over 10 million direct workers. Wickerwork

225-564: A handcrafted item is the paramount criterion; those made by mass production or machines are not handicraft goods. Seen as developing the skills and creative interests of students, generally and sometimes towards a particular craft or trade, handicrafts are often integrated into educational systems, both informally and formally. Most crafts require the development of skill and the application of patience but can be learned by virtually anyone. Like folk art , handicraft output often has cultural and/or religious significance, and increasingly may have

270-474: A part-time basis by those also working in agriculture, and often formed part of village life. When an apprentice finished their apprenticeship, they became a journeyman searching for a place to set up their own shop and make a living. After setting up their own shop, they could then call themselves a master of their craft . This stepwise approach to mastery of a craft, which includes the attainment of some education and skill, has survived in some countries to

315-534: A political message as well, as in craftivism . Many crafts become very popular for brief periods of time (a few months, or a few years), spreading rapidly among the crafting population as everyone emulates the first examples, then their popularity wanes until a later resurgence. The Arts and Crafts movement originated as a late-19th-century design reform and social movement principally in Europe, North America and Australia, and continues today. Its proponents are motivated by

360-645: A short period of time. Handicraft production is a small–scale production of products using manual labor. It was especially common in the Middle Ages , during the era of the Industrial Revolution it was mainly supplanted by mass production , however, it still exists for the production of goods such as luxury goods . The "handmade effect" is a phenomenon where consumers exhibit a preference for products that are crafted by human labor rather than produced through automated or robotic processes . This preference

405-537: A shortage of skilled manual workers, leading to lucrative niche markets in the trades. [REDACTED] Media related to Crafts at Wikimedia Commons Manual labor Manual labour (in Commonwealth English , manual labor in American English ) or manual work is physical work done by humans, in contrast to labour by machines and working animals . It is most literally work done with

450-418: Is a partial but significant correlation between manual labour and unskilled or semiskilled workers. Based on economic and social conflict of interest , people may often distort that partial correlation into an exaggeration that equates manual labour with lack of skill; with lack of any potential to apply skill (to a task) or to develop skill (in a worker); and with low social class . Throughout human existence

495-413: Is a strong correlation between manual labour and unskilled or semiskilled workers, despite the fact that nearly any work can potentially have skill and intelligence applied to it (for example, the artisanal skill of craft production , or the logic of applied science ). It has always been the case for humans that many workers begin their working lives lacking any special level of skill or experience. (In

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540-511: Is a traditional handicraft industry, based on the use of two basic materials, bamboo and rattan . Vietnam currently has 893 villages specializing in wickerwork, accounting for 24% of the total number of villages, including 647 bamboo and rattan villages and 246 straw and water hyacinth villages. Craft Historically, the more specialized crafts with high-value products tended to concentrate in urban centers and their practitioners formed guilds . The skill required by their professions and

585-402: Is an organized event to display and sell crafts. There are also craft stores where such goods are sold and craft communities, such as Craftster , where expertise is shared. A tradesperson is a skilled manual worker in a particular trade or craft, with a high degree of both practical and theoretical knowledge of their trade. In cultures where professional careers are highly prized, there can be

630-505: Is an oversimplification, highlighting it as a reason many socialist economic policies face challenges, particularly concerning the economic calculation problem. On the other hand, Paul Cockshott and Allin Cottrell advocate for considering all labor as simple labor, emphasizing the importance of accounting for training in more complex forms of labor. This complexity extends to determining what constitutes unskilled labor, as it raises questions about

675-406: Is driven, in large part, by the perception that handmade products symbolically "contain love ." The handmade effect is influenced by two key factors. Firstly, consumers express stronger intentions to purchase handmade products when buying gifts for loved ones, compared to more distant recipients. Secondly, they are willing to pay a higher price for handmade gifts when the purchase is motivated by

720-592: Is explained not only by economic and natural–geographical factors, but also by the support and encouragement of the handicraft industry from the state. There are almost as many variations on the theme of handicrafts as there are crafters with time on their hands, but they can be broken down into a number of categories: Handicrafts are often made for home use and decor. If sold, they are sold in direct sales , gift shops , public markets , and online shopping . In developing countries, handicrafts are sold to locals and as souvenirs to tourists. Sellers tend to speak at least

765-536: Is in fact as practical as it is aesthetic. Handicraft has its roots in the rural crafts —the material-goods necessities—of ancient civilizations, and many specific crafts have been practiced for centuries, while others are modern inventions or popularizations of crafts which were originally practiced in a limited geographic area. Many handcrafters use natural, even entirely indigenous, materials while others may prefer modern, non-traditional materials, and even upcycle industrial materials. The individual artisanship of

810-505: Is particularly pronounced for products with higher symbolic value, where expressing one's beliefs and personality holds greater significance. Consumers , especially in contexts emphasizing symbolic consumption, have a stronger motivation for uniqueness and associate human labor more closely with product uniqueness. In product categories where mechanical production is common, consumers are more attracted to products labeled as handmade. The positive handmade effect on product attractiveness

855-440: Is still used. In Iranian Baluchistan , women still make red ware hand-made pottery with dotted ornaments, much similar to the 4,000-year-old pottery tradition of Kalpurgan, an archaeological site near the village. Usually, the term is applied to traditional techniques of creating items (whether for personal use or as products) that are both practical and aesthetic. Handicraft industries are those that produce things with hands to meet

900-476: Is the " traditional " main sector of the crafts. It is a type of work where useful and decorative devices are made completely by hand or by using only simple tools . The term is usually applied to traditional means of making goods. The individual artisanship of the items is a paramount criterion, an such items often have cultural and/or religious significance. Items made by mass production or machines are not handicraft goods. The beginning of crafts in areas like

945-473: The Apollo 8 spacecraft's core memory consisted of wires that were woven around and through electromagnetic cores by hand. The core rope memory they created contained information used to successfully complete the mission. Crafts and craftspeople have become a subject of academic study. For example, Stephanie Bunn was an artist before she became an anthropologist, and she went on to develop an academic interest in

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990-546: The Ottoman Empire involved the governing bodies requiring members of the city who were skilled at creating goods to open shops in the center of town. These people slowly stopped acting as subsistence farmers (who created goods in their own homes to trade with neighbors) and began to represent what we think of as "craftspeople" today. Besides traditional goods, handicraft contributes to the field of computing by combining craft practices with technology. For example, in 1968,

1035-488: The guild system. Adolescents were apprenticed to a master craftsman and refined their skills over a period of years in exchange for low wages. By the time their training was complete, they were well equipped to set up in trade for themselves, earning their living with the skill that could be traded directly within the community, often for goods and services. The Industrial Revolution and the increasing mechanization of production processes gradually reduced or eliminated many of

1080-406: The market . Mostly these were household products: dishes, furniture, jewelry, souvenirs, clothes, shoes. However, over time, other goods, such as weapons , began to go on sale. In pre–revolutionary Russia , handicraft production was quite widespread: about 30% of all manufactured products were produced by handicraft methods. Products were sold at fairs , and barter exchange was widespread. With

1125-424: The advantages of both man and machine. Although nearly any work can potentially have skill and intelligence applied to it, many jobs that mostly comprise manual labour—such as fruit and vegetable picking, manual materials handling (for example, shelf stocking), manual digging, or manual assembly of parts—often may be done successfully (if not masterfully) by unskilled or semiskilled workers. For these reasons, there

1170-634: The beginning of industrialisation and collectivization of the Soviet Union, the handicraft mode of production was declared "the highest degree of oppression of the working people" and ceased to exist in almost all spheres of the Soviet economy except on an informal basis. Some state economies, such as that of Vietnam , are largely based on handicraft production. For example, in the 1950s in North Vietnam , there were more than 100,000 handicraft enterprises. In

1215-477: The boundaries often overlap, resulting in hybrid objects. Additionally, as the interpretation and validation of art is frequently a matter of context, an audience may perceive handcrafted objects as art objects when these objects are viewed within an art context, such as in a museum or in a position of prominence in one's home. Simple "arts and crafts" projects are a common elementary and middle school activity in both mainstream and alternative education systems around

1260-401: The desire to convey love rather than simply acquiring the best-performing product. The handicraft method of production has been used by people since ancient times. Initially, people engaged in handicraft production aimed to satisfy the needs of their own economy, however, with the development of commodity–money relations , an increasing number of goods produced by them began to be supplied to

1305-516: The early 1970s, even before the end of the war , handicraft production provided about half of all the products of the local industry and almost a third of the total industrial production of the republic. By 1977, after the reunification of Vietnam, there were 700,000 handicraftsmen in South Vietnam . Handicraft production in Nepal withstands competition with industrial production and foreign goods, which

1350-513: The hands (the word manual coming from the Latin word for hand ) and, by figurative extension, it is work done with any of the muscles and bones of the human body . For most of human prehistory and history, manual labour and its close cousin, animal labour , have been the primary ways that physical work has been accomplished. Mechanisation and automation , which reduce the need for human and animal labour in production, have existed for centuries, but it

1395-498: The ideals of movement founders such as William Morris and John Ruskin , who proposed that in pre-industrial societies, such as the European Middle Ages , people had achieved fulfillment through the creative process of handicrafts. This was held up in contrast to what was perceived to be the alienating effects of industrial labor. These activities were called crafts because originally many of them were professions under

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1440-657: The late 19th century and was characterized by a style of decoration reminiscent of medieval times. The primary artist associated with the movement is William Morris , whose work was reinforced with writings from John Ruskin . The movement placed a high importance on the quality of craftsmanship, while emphasizing the importance for the arts to contribute to economic reform. Crafts practiced by independent artists working alone or in small groups are referred to as studio craft. Studio craft includes studio pottery , metalwork , weaving , woodturning , paper and other forms of woodworking , glassblowing , and glass art . A craft fair

1485-494: The latter has involved a spectrum of variants, from slavery (with stigmatisation of the slaves as 'subhuman'), to caste or caste-like systems, to subtler forms of inequality. There are diverse viewpoints regarding the definition of manual labor, and the progression from manual labor to more complex forms can be ambiguous. Authors such as Marx characterize it as simple labor, controversially proposing that all labor can be categorized as such. However, Ludwig von Mises argues that this

1530-583: The materials that surround us for economical, cultural and environmental purposes. Secondary schools and college and university art departments increasingly provide elective options for more handicraft-based arts, in addition to formal " fine arts ", a distinction that continues to fade throughout the years, especially with the rise of studio craft , i.e. the use of traditional handicrafts techniques by professional fine artists. Many community centers and schools run evening or day classes and workshops, for adults and children, offering to teach basic craft skills in

1575-493: The nature of labor performed by students when training for specific professions. Ultimately, definitions of manual labor are shaped by economic and political interests, as all societies depend on some form of manual labor for their functioning. Economic competition often results in businesses trying to buy labour at the lowest possible cost (for example, through offshoring or by employing foreign workers ) or to obviate it entirely (through mechanisation and automation). There

1620-501: The need to be permanently involved in the exchange of goods often demanded a higher level of education , and craftspeople were usually in a more privileged position than the peasantry in societal hierarchy . The households of artisans were not as self-sufficient as those of people engaged in agricultural work, and therefore had to rely on the exchange of goods. Some crafts, especially in areas such as pottery , woodworking , and various stages of textile production, could be practiced on

1665-537: The needs of the people in their locality without using machines. Collective terms for handicrafts include artisanry , crafting , and handcrafting . The term arts and crafts is also applied, especially in the United States and mostly to hobbyists' and children's output rather than items crafted for daily use, but this distinction is not formal, and the term is easily confused with the Arts and Crafts design movement, which

1710-471: The past two centuries, education has become more important and more widely disseminated; but even today, not everyone can know everything, or have experience in a great number of occupations.) It has also always been the case that there was a large amount of manual labour to be done; and that much of it was simple enough to be successfully (if not masterfully) done by unskilled or semiskilled workers, which has meant that there have always been plenty of people with

1755-446: The potential to do it. These conditions have assured the correlation's strength and persistence. Throughout human prehistory and history, wherever social class systems have developed, the social status of manual labourers has, more often than not, been low, as most physical tasks were done by peasants , serfs , slaves , indentured servants , wage slaves , or domestic servants . For example, legal scholar L. Ali Khan analyses how

1800-539: The present day. But crafts have undergone deep structural changes since and during the era of the Industrial Revolution . The mass production of goods by large-scale industry has limited crafts to market segments in which industry's modes of functioning or its mass-produced goods do not satisfy the preferences of potential buyers. As an outcome of these changes, craftspeople today increasingly make use of semi-finished components or materials and adapt these to their customers' requirements or demands. Thus, they participate in

1845-577: The process of craft. She argues that what happens to an object before it becomes a "product" is an area worthy of study. The term crafts is used to describe artistic practices within the family of decorative arts that traditionally are defined by their relationship to functional or utilitarian products (such as sculptural forms in the vessel tradition) or by their use of such natural media as wood , clay , ceramics , glass , textiles , and metal . The Arts and Crafts Movement originated in Britain during

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1890-482: The roles professional craftspeople played, and today many handicrafts are increasingly seen, especially when no longer the mainstay of a formal vocational trade , as a form of hobby , folk art and sometimes fine art . The term handicrafts can also refer to the products themselves of such artisanal efforts, that require specialized knowledge, maybe highly technical in their execution, require specialized equipment and/or facilities to produce, involve manual labor or

1935-610: The untrained observer. Other scholars working on craft skill focus on observational learning and mimicry, exploring how learners visually parse the movements of experts. Certain researchers even de-emphasize the role of the individual craftsperson, noting the collective nature of craft understanding or emphasizing the role of materials as collaborators in the process of production. There are three aspects to human creativity: art, crafts, and science. Roughly, art relies upon intuitive sensing, vision, and expression; crafts upon sophisticated technique; and science upon knowledge. Handicraft

1980-724: The world. In some of the Scandinavian or Nordic countries, more advanced handicrafts form part of the formal, compulsory school curriculum, and are collectively referred to as slöjd in Swedish, and käsityö in Finnish. Students learn how to work mainly with metal, textile and wood, not for professional training purposes as in American vocational–technical schools , but with the aim to develop children's and teens' practical skills, such as everyday problem-solving ability, tool use, and understanding of

2025-415: Was only starting in the 18th and 19th centuries that they began to significantly expand and to change human culture. To be implemented, they require that sufficient technology exist and that its capital costs be justified by the amount of future wages that they will obviate . Semi-automation is an alternative to worker displacement that combines human labour, automation, and computerisation to leverage

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