If you are an artist or crafter, or if you like handmade goods, you probably see the words “handmade” and “handcrafted” a lot. But did you know that there is actually a legal definition of what handmade/handcrafted is?
In jewelry terms, a piece is only legally considered handcrafted if all of the components are made by hand. This means that, unfortunately for many designers, necklaces made from strung beads aren’t legally handcrafted — unless, of course, you make the beads and the clasp yourself.
When I describe my work, I try to clarify what is handmade and what isn’t. I often make my own earwires and clasps, but not always. I almost never make the beads I use, and I wouldn’t even know where to start with cutting stones. I do make all my wire pendant frames – luckily for me, wire *is* considered a raw material, so anything I make from wire fits nicely under the legal description of handcrafted. So does sheet metal – but not the tins I use as bezels for my resin pendants. That’s a bummer, because I often make the metal and mixed media objects that I put inside the bezels!
I’m planning two jewelry making tutorials in the next few weeks that will illustrate the difference between handcrafted and “assembled by hand” (the term I use for jewelry I make usinng pre-made components). I will describe how to make a piece of jewelry using objects you can buy at craft and/or jewelry supply stores, and then I will describe how to make something that looks very similar that is entirely handcrafted.
Even if you don’t make jewelry yourself, I think you’ll appreciate seeing how much more work goes into a piece that is entirely handcrafted versus a similar assembled piece. (Of course, many assembled pieces also require loads of time and skill, but that’s a subject for a different post because I could go on for a while.) I hope that you will also be able to understand why I (and many other jewelry makers I know) use a combination of handcrafting and assembling techniques in creating jewelry. While it is often the case that the extra time and effort to handcraft a component adds a lot to a piece of jewelry, sometimes assembling beads and other manufactured components is not only adequate, but results in an equally attractive and high-quality piece of jewelry. Watch this blog, or subscribe to the feed, to see my upcoming tutorials!
