Are we aware of the values of craft? In this edited volume, cultural economists, researchers and professionals provide an interdisciplinary discussion of the relevance and contribution of the craft sector to the economy, as well as to society at large. Mignosa and Kotipalli bring together contributors to compare the craft sector across countries, analysing the role of institutions, educational bodies, organisations and market structure in its evolution and perception. The Western approach to craft and its subordinate position to the arts is contrasted with the prestige of craftmanship in Eastern countries, while the differing ways that craft has attracted the attention of policy agencies, museums, designers and private institutions across regions is also analysed. This volume is vital reading to those interested in the economic features of craft and craftsmanship around the world, as well as for those interested in the importance of policy in bringing about effective sustainable development.

Craft and the Creative Economy examines the place of craft and making in the contemporary cultural economy, with a distinctive focus on the ways in which this creative sector is growing exponentially as a result of online shopfronts and home-based micro-enterprise, 'mumpreneurialism' and downshifting, and renewed demand for the handmade.

Craft Economies provides a wide-ranging exploration of contemporary craft production, situating practices of amateur and professional making within a wider creative economy. Contributors address a diverse range of practices, sites and forms of making in a wide range of regional and national contexts, from floristry to ceramics and from crochet to coding. The volume considers the role of digital practices of making and the impact of the maker's movement as part of larger trends around customisation, on-demand production, and the possibilities of 3D printing and digital manufacturing.

Craft practice has experienced a sharp rise in popularity since the late 2000s, partly through the ‘aura of the analogue’ and the desire for authentic, handmade products in an increasingly fast paced, digitalised world (Luckman, 2015) but also because of digital platforms such as Etsy and social media enabling ‘anyone’ to become a craft entrepreneur. This book brings together historical, policy and individual narratives to inform a broad understanding of craft entrepreneurship. Drawing on case studies from around the world, Craft Entrepreneurship considers questions of identity, community, and the digital in craft entrepreneurship. In doing so, it finds craft activities to be positioned between or across the arts, heritage, notions of a bohemian lifestyle and the challenges of micro-entrepreneurship. By engaging with the contradictions and fragility of sustaining a craft practice, the chapters in this book contribute to different perspectives for entrepreneurship studies. The contributions to this volume illustrate the craft entrepreneurs’ identity, motivation and sense of creative purpose through their craft, as these collide with the tensions brought about through entrepreneurship.

Craft Communities addresses the social groups, old and new, which have developed around craft production and consumption, exploring the social and cultural impact of contemporary practices of making. Addressing a wide range of crafting practice, from yarnbombs to Shetlands shawls, brassware to paper crafting, in a variety of regional and national contexts, the contributors consider how craft practices operate collectively in the home, communities, businesses, workshops, schools, social enterprises, and online. It further identifies how social media has emerged as a key driver of the 'Third Wave' of craft. From Etsy to Instagram, Twitter to Pinterest, online communities of the handmade are changing the way people buy and sell, make and meet.

Traditional crafts have been an essential part of Indian history, culture and life. This handbook looks at craft as both a cultural artefact that reflects people’s worldviews, indigenous practices and traditions, as well as a source of income generation and development that is inclusive. India’s rapid development has meant a breakdown of traditional economies, and including craft production-to-consumption systems. Meanwhile, there is a call to action from different factions to protect, revive and reinvent craft, because the inherent sustainability of the systems that underpin it are essential for the sustainability of India and her people. Against this backdrop, this book examines the current landscape of craft in India—its production and marketing in different parts of India, the incorporation of innovation and technology, the push for sustainability and equitability in the handicraft ecosystem and promising government policies that have proved beneficial for craftspeople. It also discusses various challenges that artisans, micro-entrepreneurs, and marketers face working in the space. With contributions from leading experts in the field of design, activism, policy, education, cultural heritage and entrepreneurship, this volume provides a comprehensive and in-depth picture of the history, economics and future of craft and its relationship with sustainability. An authoritative resource on Indian craft, this handbook will be useful for scholars and researchers of sustainable development, development studies, architecture, design, heritage studies, cultural studies, political economy and public policy.

This is a handbook for the cultural entrepreneur, offering some of the best examples on practice, franchises, research, innovation and business opportunities in the cultural sector. The key theme is the contribution and possibilities of the cultural economy as a business, with a strong supporting subtext on innovative practice. The book illustrates the theme by providing multiple practice-based and empirical examples from an international panel of experts. Each contribution provides an accessible and easily accessed bank of knowledge on which existing practice can be grown and new projects undertaken. It provides an eclectic mix of possibilities that reinforce and underscore the full innovative and complex potential of the cultural economy. Topics include a review of the global and regional economic benefits of the cultural economy, evidence-based analysis of the culture industries, and an outline of the top ten cultural opportunities for business. This collection transcends the space between theory and practice to combine culture and innovation and understand their importance to a wider economy. This is essential reading for researchers and practitioners interested in entrepreneurship, non-profit management, art and visual culture, and public finance.

This book contains seven chapters written by leading experts in the areas and discusses means to revive some of the cultures that are on the verge of closing/shutting down. This second of the three book series highlights the intricate relationship in the handloom industry between its culture and the various areas of sustainability. While there have been major disruptions in this age old industry, this book presents the craftsmanship/artisanship and its value addition to keep the industry moving ahead.

This book brings together cutting-edge research from leading international scholars to explore the geographies of making and craft. It traces the geographies of making practices from the body, to the workshop and studio, to the wider socio-cultural, economic, political, institutional and historical contexts. In doing so it considers how these geographies of making are in and of themselves part of the making of geographies. As such, contributions examine how making bodies and their intersections with matter come to shape subjects, create communities, evolve knowledge and make worlds. This book offers a forum to consider future directions for the field of geographies of making, craft and creativity. It will be of great interest to creative and cultural geographers, as well as those studying the arts, culture and sociology.

DIY craft today is a movement. It's about women who make stuff with their own hands. And, there's a worth in something that you make in comparison to something that you buy, and that's in everything. It's in food. It's in clothing. It's in your home. It's in your work. In this book, you will discover: Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Literature Review: Conceptual and Theoretical Frameworks Chapter 3: Method and Methodology Chapter 4: A Handmade Life: Craft's Habitus, Etsy and the Constraints of a Corporatized Model Chapter 5: Craft's Feminized Labours: Women, Making and Connecting Chapter 6: Conclusion: Threading Together of my Intellectual Handiwork Scroll up and click the "Buy now with 1-Click" button to get your copy now!