Handcrafted vs. Assembled
Posted by Leah on Mar 13, 2007
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!
