cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/49472387

I really can’t think about any reason that this products category even exists.

I imagine people who buy hand-made products as office workers who choose to ride a human instead of ordering taxi to work, just because why not.

It’s like, For people who buy handmade products:

  • A Product that is made of good material and made by machine in a factory and sold at reasonable price: 😡😡😡
  • A product that is 10x the price of normal product and is made by a human using less advanced machines: 😍😍😍
  • Ladislawgrowlo@lemy.lolEnglish
    2·
    1 day ago

    I tend to agree. Automation exists so people can have more free-time. And going back to hand-crafting might exploit some workers in worse working conditions (sweatshops). Handcrafting might also endanger workers, contact with chemicals, sharp objects, heat and other dangers.

  • idiomaddict@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    3 days ago

    Hard disagree for most products. Why do I need perfection in a scarf? I wouldn’t buy handmade syringes, but I’d prefer to have any given persons handmade cookies over any kind of grocery store cookies, because they’re better.

    Plus, there’s ostensibly more control over whether you’re supporting slavery if you get handmade. I wish I could afford to only buy handmade clothing, but it is too expensive, so I tend to supplement with second hand stuff.

  • Krudler@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    6 days ago

    You’re like a kid that is eating nothing but canned spaghetti his whole life and then thinks Michelin-starred restaurants are stupid in adulthood.

    • betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.worldEnglish
      26·
      6 days ago

      Aren’t they, though? Canned spaghetti isn’t my jam but neither is dropping multiple weeks of grocery money on a single meal. Not saying the food isn’t good, I’m sure it’s wonderful, but then you go home and after a while, it ends up in the same place (more or less) as the $2 burger from lunch.

      • Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafeEnglish
        2·
        6 days ago

        Lol, says the person who’s never had such an experience.

        If it all ends up the same place, then you may as well just eat canned spaghetti.

        I’m sure we could tear apart anything you do with the same logic.

        • betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.worldEnglish
          32·
          6 days ago

          Note that my objection is based on the excessive price. The alternative doesn’t have to be canned spaghetti or the previously-mentioned burger (though it certainly could be), grocery stores are packed full of things to choose from.

          Also never said that I hadn’t been to one but I didn’t find it to be some grand eye-opening experience where everything clicked into place and made the hype make sense.

          I won’t present my account statements here or anything but I think you’d have a hard time finding anything with such a lopsided cost-to-value ratio in there.

  • Arcanepotato@crazypeople.onlineEnglish
    7·
    6 days ago

    I buy “crafts” on occasion because I value how unique they are. I am a (very) amateur potter and I like to buy pots made by other people because I appreciate the work that goes into each piece. Imperfections, tool marks, they all add interest.

    A handmade (by the giver) gift can signify how important someone is to you. On top of the materials, the creator puts time and effort into making the thing.

    Plus, there are things that still cannot be made as well using machines. For example, my brother is a carpenter who does large projects, but constructed a fancy gift box for jewelry for his partner and it was exquisite. I do some knitting and crochet and there are patterns and techniques that machines can replicate yet (or it’s not commercially viable to build machines that can). Embroidery and lace is another example.