What does hand made mean to you?

[Irene]

I wonder what does hand made mean to you?  How much of your jewelry can be made from ready-bought items and still be "hand made". If at all.  I am still quite new to this jewelry making, and have only made something for my self and for family for Christmas.  So I have not sold anything yet. But if I ever make jewelry good enough to be sold, I would like to know if they can be named "hand made" or not.  I make my own lampwork beads, and the clasps and pins and such I think I will for the most part make my self. But I don't make the chains and often not the jumprings and such things.  I would like to combine my own beads with Swarovski beads and Miyuki beads and the like. And with Tibetan beads a.s.f.   Would it still be considered hand made? What do you think?

[anditsinthefish]

I am the same, I make most of mine but not the chains or the claps and sometimes not the jump rings either. I would consider mine handmade defiantly! There are people who buy all the components and I would still class it as handmade. Some is just more skilled than others. If you feel your work is handmade (I do) then sell I would sell it as handmade

[mel]

Very interesting question, I was at a fair where at least 80% of each item sold had to be 'hand made' but there was no definition of what hand made is. My personal view is that if you are putting together your own lampwork beads, plus other bought in components, then it's fine to say that it is hand-made, especially if you make your own clasps and such like. I do have a very big bee in my bonnet about jewellery makers that make jewellery entirely out of bought in components and call it hand made BUT here I will contradict myself, as there are some jewellery makers that really design their pieces, use quality materials and their stuff can be called hand made in my view-but that is really subjective. What I really hate though, is component jewellery which uses the cheapest of cheap, nothing original, negligible design and negligible skill- but still gets classed as hand made and therefore sits side by side with proper crafts at craft fairs next to folk who have spent years learning their skills. Maybe I'm a bit of a snob here? I hope I don't offend anyone with this  Apologies if so!

[Glyn Burton]

It is a contentious area personally if more than 80% is made by you then it's fair to call it hand made. I could make every silver fastener or piece of silver tube I use but it would increase dramatically the cost of my pieces so I have no problem using ready made findings.
I agrees with Mel it really irritates me when people assemble nasty cheap beads ands components and claim it as their own, I quite enjoy winding them up by calling them "stringers" rather than makers.
I think if you are making work for sale and want to include items made by others then that is your choice but you must be honest with the customer and make it clear who has made what. Plagiarism is dishonest and despicable.

[Dragonfire Glass]

Surely plagiarism is copying not misrepresentation as to if it's handmade or not?
Handmade is anything put together by hand, OOAK something unique.
I 'string' my beads usually and buy my findings, but make my beads but I still add in seed beads or Swarovski crystals yet you couldn't find anything I made in a shop, or even another one like it in my stock.
So I class my jewellery as unique and handmade.

[Princess Peggy (Priscilla McGirr)]

If you have made the main components whether they be beads, felt, wood or any other material, and you have used auxilliary components in order to make a piece of jewellery to your own design, then that is Hand Made in my opinion.  If you have bought in all the components and just strung them together I would call that Hand Assembled.  Although as Mel has said, it does depend on the element of design involved....after all. you can make jewellery out of anything...feathers, buttons, milk bottle tops!

[Glyn Burton]

I was using plagiarism in the sense of passing others work as your own. I have no problem with anybody using anything in their work as long as everybody is clear about what it is. I am sure that your work is is unique and that you and your customers are absolutely clear about what it is but I would still argue for the 80% rule before claiming anything to be hand made.

[Carefulkate]

Not sure where I read it but somewhere put hand assembled for stuff people bought all components then assembled them and hand crafted for things they made themselves I think people just need to be able to explain how they have produced things xx

[Shirley]

Can.....of.......worms.......

[jammie]

got to just say, 'just putting together and stringing' is a bit of a slight against those who make total works of art out of all bought materials, think some people have a tendency to get a bit up their own you knows about this whole 'hand made hand crafted or stringing' labels on what people do. Lots of people make hand made jewellery, some of is crap made out of crap but its still hand made or handcrafted. Same with cards, or anything else people craft,  its not going to be especially good just because it is handcrafted and some people making their own components and beads and thinking heh yep i have made everything myself, still doesn't mean its going to be good or better than someone buying everything and putting it together. .

[helbels]

Personally I would just say something like "Jewellery featuring my own handmade glass beads", and then you aren't misleading anyone!!

[DementedMagpie]

Can.....of.......worms.......

Oh dear gods yes. For a start, there's the description of a manufacturing* process vs. a marketing technique.

(*Yes, I do know that's sort of repeating it)

[Irene]

I certainly didnt want to open any cans of worms here.  And I can see it's a complicated issue.
I was thinking as a way of "description of a manufacturing" rather than a marketing technique.

I visited a small fair before Christmas and at a stall two ladies were selling jewelry, mostly pendants on chains and earrings. I asked if it was their own work, and they said Yes! They had made all the designs them selves they said, and they then had it all produced in China....  Now they didn't claim it was hand made or anything, it just got me thinking of what to call my pieces of jewelry.  I guess helbels is offering a good advice, I just have to translate it to Norwegian

[silkworm]

Sadly this can become a can of worms!

I agree a bit with Jammie on not liking stringing being used as a derogatory term - I started out as a stringer - and did not sell till I felt I had built up enough skill at doing this competently and with a reasonable sense of style. I then got fed up at both the sheer number of people selling jewellery and at the people buying a chain, putting a bought charm on it and selling it as hand made (though not as fed up as I got at the bought in brigade at 'craft' fairs but that is another can of worms!) What added insult to injury was that they often sold at little more than the cost of the components.

As I could not compete on price I made sure my stuff included an element of skill - handmade catches, wirework and now my own beads - and good quality components and I got much better at talking about what I do. I still sell some strung stuff, usually semi-precious beads with hooks etc made by me. I feel that they are more deserving of the hand made label than the bought charm on a bought chain but can see that silversmiths or people who make all the beads and components would perceive them as possible not hand made.

I am not aware of a legal definition of handmade - if jewellery is made by hand, rather than machine produced, in china and sold cheaply here by someone who has bought it in should it be called hand made? If a crafter in this country makes a bag to her own design but machine sews it is that hand made?

It would be interesting to see how non-crafters felt it should be defined, perhaps we are too involved to see it impartially.

[Kaz]

My God after reading this thread I'm glad I've got a life is all I can say
Hmmm let's see, buyer beware - beware of what exactly....you've bought something that someone has classed as handmade and then the handmade police are going to drag you in and question you about the provenence of said item? Pfffftttt!!!
Kazx