Seminar 1 March 7th-Reading

The revival of handicraft Topic of the reading; Machinery versus handicraft Thesis; People don’t know what good craft is. People choose which goods they want to buy, but are only given the option of what people sell. You can only buy what you’re given to buy. Therefore people these days don’t really know what good craft is. In the past when people created objects they were involved from the start to finish. These days’ people are specialised in what they do. Instead of one person doing the whole job, from design to manufacture to selling, there could be 20 different people involved in the creation of one object- all doing the bit they are most specialised in.

“Machine-industry produces ugliness”

Through the last 100 years we have moved through three different types of production. From medieval where hand tools were used by just one person doing the whole job, to division of labour, which although had numerous people involved, was still handcrafted, to an assembly line where numerous people and machines are involved. And where, according to William Morris, people have become ignorant of quality.