I love it when people play the semantics game. I was reading one of many forums I enjoy, and someone stated that people really shouldn't be upset the sellers of mass-produced lampwork beads market them as handmade. *They are made by hand after all--just in a factory by underpaid workers is all* (OK, the sarcasm here is my addition).
Yes, there are a lot of things that are made by human hands. But anyone with half an ounce of sense realizes that when someone is shopping for handmade goods, they want those hands to be attached to an artist. If you want to dissect the meaning of handmade down to its barest bones, so be it. But the reality is, "handmade" has come to mean so much more.
The good news for artists is that handmade is becoming hot. Whether it is the movement to buy local to help the economy, the high number of problems we have had with imported goods, or the need to buy something that isn't pure technology in today's hi-tech world, items that are handmade are now of value. Why? It used to be that men and women knew how to make most of the items they used in their lives. Handmade items have become rare. And items made in a factory aren't rare.
So there.
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