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Return of the Artisan: How America Went from Industrial to Handmade
Discover the evolution of the artisanal movement from the fringes of the 1970s to the spike of domesticity—home-cooking, gardening, and DIY crafting—caused by COVID-19 and what it means for the future of work and American culture.
In the 1950s, America was a world of immaculate grocery stores, brightly packaged consumer goods, relentless big brand advertising, homes that were much too clean, and diets so rich in salt, sugar, fat, and preservatives you nearly have a heart attack just thinking of them. And while this approach made a great fortune for large consumer packaged goods companies it has been detrimental to American’s overall health and wellbeing.
Then, towards the end of the 20th century, Alice Waters and other pioneers figured out how to market natural, handmade, small-batch products to the American consumer again—and the rest is history. Now, we are in the third wave of a revolution. Thanks to COVID-19, millions of Americans went from being consumers of artisanal goods to being producers. People in the mainstream are baking bread, keeping bees, growing vegetables, and even raising chickens. Gardens are flourishing, workshops are growing, and sewing machines are whirring. Thousands have left the cities for the countryside, and if their companies don’t require it, they might never return.
Return of the Artisan is a collection of stories and interviews with artisanal businesses across America including family farms and collectives. This book explores their business models, their motivations, and explores how you can join them by turning your own hobby or passion into your work. Whether you want to make this a profession or simply enjoy providing artisanal goods to your family and friends, this book is a must-have for navigating the ups and downs of the latest artisanal revolution.
In the 1950s, America was a world of immaculate grocery stores, brightly packaged consumer goods, relentless big brand advertising, homes that were much too clean, and diets so rich in salt, sugar, fat, and preservatives you nearly have a heart attack just thinking of them. And while this approach made a great fortune for large consumer packaged goods companies it has been detrimental to American’s overall health and wellbeing.
Then, towards the end of the 20th century, Alice Waters and other pioneers figured out how to market natural, handmade, small-batch products to the American consumer again—and the rest is history. Now, we are in the third wave of a revolution. Thanks to COVID-19, millions of Americans went from being consumers of artisanal goods to being producers. People in the mainstream are baking bread, keeping bees, growing vegetables, and even raising chickens. Gardens are flourishing, workshops are growing, and sewing machines are whirring. Thousands have left the cities for the countryside, and if their companies don’t require it, they might never return.
Return of the Artisan is a collection of stories and interviews with artisanal businesses across America including family farms and collectives. This book explores their business models, their motivations, and explores how you can join them by turning your own hobby or passion into your work. Whether you want to make this a profession or simply enjoy providing artisanal goods to your family and friends, this book is a must-have for navigating the ups and downs of the latest artisanal revolution.
- GenresNonfictionEconomics
224 pages, Hardcover
Published July 12, 2022
10 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Grant McCracken
19 books49 followersI'm an anthropologist, born in Canada, now living in, and studying, the US. I divide my life into two halves. One is the writing half. The other is for clients: Netflix, the Ford Foundation, the White House, among others. My new book, out in late December from Simon and Schuster is called The New Honor Code.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 28, 2022
Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.
Written by an earnest and enthusiastic Canadian author, Return of the Artisan: How America Went from Industrial to Handmade charts Americans' slow-moving embrace of small businesses, entrepreneurship, and homemade products. Beginning in the 1960s and receiving a huge boost during the COVID-19 pandemic, Grant McCracken's short, wide-spreading examination of the artisan revolution is more of a cultural analysis than an economic one, and focuses on the many different avenues artisanry has taken--Etsy, family farms, restaurants, craft sales, side gigs--along with the contributing factors that have allowed it to flourish--health consciousness, technology, economic crises, the fading relevance of "coolness" and brand recognition. Modern artisanry is as wide-reaching as it is contradictory, with an emphasis on both the creative and liberal, as well as the conservative and traditional.
The subtitle perhaps places a bit too much emphasis on just how much artisanry has challenged industrialization, and McCracken does grudgingly admit that most artisans still struggle to make ends meet on one job alone. The wide scope of the book can be a bit scatter-brained at times, and by championing the cultural over the practical, McCracken does leave some questions unanswered, such as how regular people can support artisans if their prices are so exorbitant, and whether an artisan market can ever hope to compete with a corporate one. Nevertheless, Return of the Artisan shines a light on all the ways creativity has blossomed in our society, and it provides an optimistic contrast to the negativity served by most commentators today.
Written by an earnest and enthusiastic Canadian author, Return of the Artisan: How America Went from Industrial to Handmade charts Americans' slow-moving embrace of small businesses, entrepreneurship, and homemade products. Beginning in the 1960s and receiving a huge boost during the COVID-19 pandemic, Grant McCracken's short, wide-spreading examination of the artisan revolution is more of a cultural analysis than an economic one, and focuses on the many different avenues artisanry has taken--Etsy, family farms, restaurants, craft sales, side gigs--along with the contributing factors that have allowed it to flourish--health consciousness, technology, economic crises, the fading relevance of "coolness" and brand recognition. Modern artisanry is as wide-reaching as it is contradictory, with an emphasis on both the creative and liberal, as well as the conservative and traditional.
The subtitle perhaps places a bit too much emphasis on just how much artisanry has challenged industrialization, and McCracken does grudgingly admit that most artisans still struggle to make ends meet on one job alone. The wide scope of the book can be a bit scatter-brained at times, and by championing the cultural over the practical, McCracken does leave some questions unanswered, such as how regular people can support artisans if their prices are so exorbitant, and whether an artisan market can ever hope to compete with a corporate one. Nevertheless, Return of the Artisan shines a light on all the ways creativity has blossomed in our society, and it provides an optimistic contrast to the negativity served by most commentators today.
December 16, 2022
I struggled with the rating of this book. It's well-written, but I had such a hard time getting through it. As someone who is living through the rebirth of artisan products and loves the movement, I was excited to get a broader perspective through this book. And the book delivered.
The problem for me is that the author is coming from an academic background and traces the idea of the movement. It's very high level, which is fine, but it only comes down to earth with concrete examples near the end of the book.
I committed to finishing it, but I would have a hard time recommending it to others. Unless tracing ideas & movements at a macro scale is your thing. If it is, you'll likely enjoy this book.
The problem for me is that the author is coming from an academic background and traces the idea of the movement. It's very high level, which is fine, but it only comes down to earth with concrete examples near the end of the book.
I committed to finishing it, but I would have a hard time recommending it to others. Unless tracing ideas & movements at a macro scale is your thing. If it is, you'll likely enjoy this book.
June 9, 2024
I wanted this to be much better. It is profound at times, and yet redundant, preachy here and there, a consultant pitching their vision with a bunch of slides and stories.
But also at times rather inspiring. Round up if you wish, as the point of this book was better than the book itself.
And stick around for the appendix.
But also at times rather inspiring. Round up if you wish, as the point of this book was better than the book itself.
And stick around for the appendix.
November 12, 2022
Book starts out well on describing rise of artisans and handmade culture. However, later parts of the book dives into philosophy of artisan culture and how we can preserve it in future, and it goes away from reality and gets into inane musings of the author.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews