Modern Day Artisans, a dying breed?

[stayclassy]

There’s an interesting series on HBTV called Modern Day Artisans and it basically covers stories of people who are craftsman. The sad reality though is that craftsmen are a dying breed and this is mainly because of industrialisation. I hope you enjoy the video’s as much as I did!
Can anyone else think of skill sets that are becoming extinct? Does anyone work in an industry or a shop that does things the “old way” and perhaps could share their experience? My two picks from the series are video #156: Australian-born shoemaker Sebastian Tarek http://vimeo.com/34488941
and #155 Max Lamb - bespoke furniture designer

http://vimeo.com/34488914

[kaidotech]

.

[sacrifice]

not sure is srs

[firelizard3]

That actually does sound neat.

Related, Made By Hand, on Vimeo:

http://vimeo.com/31455885

http://vimeo.com/28408829

[stayclassy]

Thanks for sharing those video's! They were great. It makes me want to start a distillery! Anything that involves heavy manual labour is dying, from furniture building to coach building. I believe those who choose to follow this career path and become good at what they do, will benefit from their art profession.This guy speaks from the heart and I have to say he is dead RIGHT!!! I’m not old and I’m not a teenager but when I look at the MAJORITY younger guys, if it’s not done for them then they are not too interested

http://vimeo.com/20789680

[Kielan]

No bullshit this is awesome.

Ian your response is exactly why this stuff is dying out. Appreciation of hand made quality products is dying, fast. It's sad because it's people like these guys who push out original content all the time, who push new ideas, and inevitably make new trends. Without people like this, there would be no one for you to copy from, and originality will die out, and everything will look the same.

Don't believe me? Go look in the showroom.

[sacrifice]

I actually made that comment this afternoon without even realizing what was posted thinking it was spam, a flaw of mine I guess. There is without a doubt a lack of pure craftsmanship and "back to your roots" creation of products today. Honest hard work is really fading fast in our world today. Most hit programs on discovery channel are great example of these jobs that are far and few between today. For example Gold Rush, American Loggers, and definitely Dirty Jobs. People are fascinated by these shows.

Here is an outstanding testimony presented by Mike Rowe.

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/dirtyjobs/mike-rowe-senate-testimony.html

[Matth3w]

So awesome. Thanks for posting this dude.

Being a motorcycle enthusiast and bike builder, here is one of my favorite videos...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdNEJAFfFLA&feature=player_embedded"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdNEJAFfFLA&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

[stayclassy]

So awesome. Thanks for posting this dude.

Being a motorcycle enthusiast and bike builder, here is one of my favorite videos...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdNEJ...layer_embedded

No worries,
That's an awesome video with a guy who speaks from his heart and no BS
For those that are interested, here is another video on "modern day artisans"
Duffy Jewelery

http://vimeo.com/34488894

[Dudermagee]

Who the fuck cares, burn everything.

[stayclassy]

Who the fuck cares, burn everything.

Irony, Bergs. Not sure if you’re serious but this sort of mentality is the same as the attitude in todays workforce (Nobody wants to get their hands dirty, work hard, sweat, and wants to earn cash the easy way. I see this alot, in various workforces, no one wants to pull their weight, alot of people vary reluctant to do actual work.) Which brings me to the question; will we be a world of unskilled office monkey consumers? A lot of “trades” and “skills” are not being taught to the next generation for one reason or another. We are becoming reliant on computers and machines to do our jobs, sure it’s much more efficient, but is the quality the same? What happens when computers and machines shit themselves? I think a lot of these trades can be considered a lot like a language. If it isn’t taught to the next generation or only partially taught and then that person who knows a little is responsible for readministering the information then the quality will be lost forever.
I too am an office monkey but have technical and trade skills (self-taught and taught by my dad who is a very talented tradesman). I'd spend all my school holidays in the shed with my old man building something or helping my neighbour who's an electrician when he'd chuck me in the Ute and take him to jobs with him as a helper. I have witnessed the ignorance and pure laziness of people in the workforce today and it’s hard to put up with it. I was raised with ethics and it's unfortunate to see that so many people are OK with poor work? It's one of the reasons why my interest in raw skills has been prompted, I mean don't get me wrong I like easy money, but I also get a lot of satisfaction from HARD work (including dirty, sweaty work). It's very rewarding when you see the hard work in front of your eyes and can compare it to the before phase. I've sometimes toyed with the idea of a career change into a professional trade but being an older guy with no paper certifications in a trade, it’s hard to get a go or go on $10ph apprentice wages when you have a bills and responsibilities that a 16y.o doesn't. It could also be a case of the "grass is greener" mentality..? I might think life would be more enjoyable if I were to pursue a professional craft but in reality, the lack of reward$, appreciation/respect and constant bargaining of quality work from customers with the mentality that you have just displayed might sing a different song..

[Dudermagee]

[Curt_pnw]

I thought of these when I saw this thread. The videos follow classical Japanese metal artist Ford Hallam as he recreates a lost masterpiece by the 19th century Mito tsuba artist, Hagia Katsuhira. He recreates a part of a sword from scratch making the alloy to start the piece. Instead of just casting the piece, this guy makes it just as it would have been made hundreds of years ago.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGMj7o6AwnM"]Utsushi - in search of Katsuhira's tiger. Part 1 - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM0VnL30rDc"]Utsushi - in search of Katsuhira's tiger. Part 2 - YouTube[/ame]

[stayclassy]

I thought of these when I saw this thread. The videos follow classical Japanese metal artist Ford Hallam as he recreates a lost masterpiece by the 19th century Mito tsuba artist, Hagia Katsuhira. He recreates a part of a sword from scratch making the alloy to start the piece. Instead of just casting the piece, this guy makes it just as it would have been made hundreds of years ago.

Utsushi - in search of Katsuhira's tiger. Part 1 - YouTube
Utsushi - in search of Katsuhira's tiger. Part 2 - YouTube

Thanks for sharing, they were very interesting videos to watch!
Cheers