Kati craft

We have talked a lot about craft as applies to clothes over the past year. There are people who work in small ways, forming direct relationships with their customers, keeping their heads down, doing the work, making enough.

This, of course, is one form of craft in the west in 2024. People keep claiming that craft is dead, or craft is everywhere, or craft is democratized, or craft is obsoleted by AI. None are true, of course. Craft will never die. Oh, it may die around you, but rest assured that the rest of the planet is still practicing some form of craft, and they will do so until the end of the human experiment. “Craft,” also, can apply to many creative forms, from food to stationary to technology to industrial design.

Craft is thoroughly alive in housewares. People are still dutifully hand-making brooms just like they were made 300 years ago, and they work great. Lots of furniture is still being made by hand, largely using techniques that were established centuries ago, too.

And then there is ceramics. You could conceivably set an entire table with simple, handmade, crafted objects that are bought from independent artisans. Plenty of people are still making plates, bowls, and cups by hand, and I don’t expect this to fade away anytime soon.