Finding short answer to those complex questions I’ll compare both relying on already formulated assumptions and unfolding it in a manner of confrontation. The bases are McCracken’s “The Artisanal Movement” and “The Maker Movement Manifesto” from Mark Hatch. While McCracken is an anthropologist concerned with new ways to make culture and discover value, Mark Hatch was the CEO of TechShop, a makerspace that provides members with DIY tools and equipment.
It can be assumed that the publications pursue very different normative intents. While the anthropologist uses a scientific bottom up approach, observing what the preferences of the artisanal movement are, the CEO has an interest to coin the maker culture a certain direction that is beneficial to his and supporting of his social groups’ normative convictions of the movement. The differences of both texts’ normative foundation make distinguishing opposites even better.
The Artisanal Movement
For the artisanal movement McCracken’s interest lies in what it is that people value in the “artisanal”. Why people choose to buy and consume artisanal products. He’s asking: What are the things that are being preferred in the artisanal movement?
Also McCracken observes the values of a new transparency, new connoisseurship, and a preference for the simplified. We do want to know about the products not just in matters of the product itself but also about how it compares to similar products and its consumption while everything is being overarched by the preference for the simplified.
He identifies seven factors in the preference curve of individuals who choose to buy artisanal that have an impact. In the artisinal movement things are being prefered to be:
Human Scale
Contrasting the scale of a “consumer society” we are seeking a less abstract, less complex and more graspable constructs, which we’d also prefer to recognize in the products we buy.
Unbranded
Once recognized as trust building and quality assurance, brands nowadays seem no longer have a function to navigate markets. It seems that market information can be gained through other channels like transparency and for many branding has deteriorated to the act of marketing.
Personalized
We prefer things made in tiny batches. Not just made for us, but even more so we love to get a story of the product and interweave it with our personal stories.
Raw and Untransformed
We want relatively raw and untransformed, non-artificial products. Artificiality once seen as the origin of truth, objectivity, and beauty in contrast to substantiality and reality has once again made another turn in direction of individualism.
“Authentic”
As in personalized with a story behind the product and as in raw and untransformed. We want to know its personality, spirit, and character and we want it to stay true, sincere, and with no pretensions.
Local
We prefer products that have been marked by locality. But beyond the locally produced it seems we wouldn’t mind global consumption.
Hand Made
All this seems to find its epiphany in the hand made statement. We want things made by humans. Showing a delight in what machines can do manufacture has become contemptible.
The Maker Movement
The above was combined values and preferences of the investigated group. Hatch describes the values that foster the maker movement. They can be arranged in four thought points:
Making
We identify ourselves through making and creating. Physical things we make are embody portions of our souls.
Sharing and Learning
Sharing knowledge as well as the things we make gives a sense of belonging and community. Giving these little objects we made is giving a part of you — it is giving someone a small piece of yourself. Knowledge is also about seeking to learn pushing yourself to learn to be then able to share.
Play, Participate, Support
Be playful with what you are making, reach out to those around you who are discovering the joy of making and be responsible for making a better future.
Change
Change is making and it is a part of making. You have to embrace it.
Aadditionally to the values above which take a more detailed approach on the implementation of the maker movement I would like to assess the preferences that makers have. Makers have a preference for:
Learning and Curiosity
Often, exploring the world around themselves is reason enough for a maker to make things.
Local Value
When making, improving the vicinity and creating value locally is important to makers. Also, although tools of making have never been cheaper and easier to use, the local access to the right tools and its instructions has to be developed and maintained.
Resourcefulness
Trying to solve problems without costly solutions allows others who encounter similar challenges to find solutions regardless of their resources.
Finding Alternatives
Adding to resourcefulness is an impetus of finding alternative approaches to existing solutions and increasing local and individual fitness.
Satisfying Individuality
Again, individuality, the strive of becoming oneself and individualism is a preference makers themselves have as well as those who want the maker or artisan to express it.
Comparison
Hand made and machine made is not mutual exclusive. While it prevails in the artisinal movement and the maker movement is made possible and has at its core the use of especially computer controlled machines, hand made and its value is certainly very appreciated among the maker movement as it corresponds with the other, less tangible values like satisfying individuality and making use of what is available.
While learning and curiosity at the one hand as connoisseurship as a conversation starter, it is integral part when you are making. You have to dive into the techniques — just knowing about how it is made is not enough.
Preferences may conflict and cannot necessarily be stacked. This is true for the preferences of the individual as it is between the movements. While my curiosity results in some over engineered solution, another very simple solution might just find one use-case making collaboration or building-upon impossible.
Conclusio
The maker movement and the artisanal movements are very close in its values and have many intersection sets. Both are not the answer to something but the question that comes up once a product itself is not sufficient. One might even say that it promotes a renunciation of dear principles of pure objectivity and form follows function.
It is a question of consumption as well as it is a question of making. It is to find out what those individual preference curves look like and how they can be formed into markets that empower the consumer even more, or to become a prosumer (production by consumers) and maker.
