Made by hand

Not that I see myself lending a hand in the hand-made movement, but I really appreciate those who can and do. I just love hearing the stories of people who feel so satisfied by working a craft, especially when they describe their personal journeys to discovering it. One of my favorite examples is this video, about a writer-turned-knife-maker in Brooklyn. (The Bureau of Common Good, the production company that made this video, is creating a series of Made by Hand videos, including a gin distiller and a beekeeper). It's amazing how much sheer work this requires, but it's also amazing how intrinsically driven people who make things are. Made by Hand's about page states that it "was created out of the belief that the things we collect, consume, use, and share are part of who we are as individuals." Maybe that idea has something to do with why hand making things make people happy.

Made by Hand / No 2 The Knife Maker from Made by Hand on Vimeo.

I also came across this site, fuckyeahmadeinusa.tumblr.com, which does a great job collecting videos like the former-- profiles of local American companies that make things by hand and take the kind of great care and detail in their work that many of us find so foreign today. I ended up scrolling through and looking for Massachusetts companies and watching those clips. It was a great way to explore my local area in a different light than I had seen it before. It seems to me that people should be better informed about which companies are local to them, so they know who to support in the marketplace. I also started thinking about how "Made in USA" is something I never really saw much as a kid, compared to China, Philippines, Mexico, etc. So I came to believe that stuff just isn't made in the U.S., and accepted it as fact. But hearing and reading stories of how people not only derive a livelihood out of this type of work, but also can express passion and pride through their life's work, it makes me realize how sorely these ways toward fulfillment in people's lives are missed in this country.

I spent some time looking at the North Bennett Street School website (partially curious about how one would go about learning how to make things). It's a renowned craftsmanship school in the North End of Boston, started in 1885, teaching crafts such as furniture and cabinet-making, jewelry design and repair, preservation carpentry, piano technology, violin design and repair, etc. I found this video on their site, which I find very a propo:



History is amazing. It really is just a huge pendulum swinging back and forth, even though we all tell ourselves it is just constant unflinching progress with no looking or doubling back. I had heard the term "sloyd" before: when reading up on the history of Thompson Island of Boston Harbor, where I used to work for an experiential education non-profit. A boys school existed on the island for more than 100 years, and sloyd was a major part of the curriculum in the late 1800s. I saw photographs of boys at their workbenches learning their trade skills (the school changed its name from the Farm School to the Farm and Trade School at about that time). But I never knew the philosophy behind it-- about teaching a craft not just for developing job skills, but also for the education of the whole person, believing manual skills education is instrumental in the development of children's conceptual skills.

This is exactly what we're all on the hunt for in education today. How do we teach to a whole person? We're missing out on learning virtually any manual skills today. They're all regarded as "below" us for some reason, even sometimes below the label of education. I wished I had known the full meaning sloyd while I worked at Thompson Island, to further push my mission to have students "learn by doing" in our teen summer job program. Regardless, I'm intrigued to learn more about late 1800s education philosophies now, perhaps to incorporate into my current body of knowledge and beliefs about education.

As for myself, I am so sadly lacking in any shape or form of manual skills that I wonder if there is any hope for me to practice what I preach. But, I did just join a knitting group; my friend Erica so graciously offered to teach several of us in this definitely useful skill. (She wore a gorgeous infinity scarf to our house last weekend and when she told me she made it I got that quizzical look that I get when I marvel at how people can actually make their own stuff). So we shall see. Maybe I'll join the revolution after all.

Update: No sooner did I post this than did Channel 5's local news magazine Chronicle air a "Made in New England" episode last night. I had no idea that an East Boston company is the exclusive manufacturer of U.S. Navy peacoats! They sell them for consumers too, and they look pretty cute. Makes me think about where and why I should buy products that are made locally, instead of always hitting up the Target. P.S.- I LOVE Chronicle. (I'm officially old).