Craft

What is a craft? A craft is something made by hand skills, involving much training and often a touch of artistry.

Wicker basket. Basketry is a craft.
Rattan basket-making, Vietnam.
Basket-making using grass, South Africa.
Whicker (willow) basket-making as a hobby, UK.
Painting eggs as a craft.

Craft involves making something on a small scale, not in a factory. In general each item made is unique because it is made by hand and relies on skilled handwork.

Up to the end of the Middle Ages and the start of the Industrial Revolution, everything was made by hand, and so it was a craft. People had to learn the craft skills and then they jealously guarded them by becoming part of a trade guide, such as the silversmiths.

Handwork is time-consuming, and so expensive, unless people are paid very little. Most handwork today is by people living in poorer countries, and also by people in richer countries who do it for a pastime, or for customers who are prepared to pay more than they would for a factory-made item. So it is both an item made and used for the poor and the rich. Everyone in between tends to use factory goods.



Video: Basket weaving.
Video: eggPainting.

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