Modern folks are used to living with disposable, mass-produced things that are easily obtained and easily replaced. However, in the old days, things were painstakingly made and passed down from one generation to the next. Vintage crafts echo those far-off days, and later generation can learn the skills or collect authentic examples of handiwork.
Crafts are things done by hand or objects made by hand. The majority of traditional skills were born of necessity. However, the innate artistry that exists in all peoples led crafters to embellish almost everything they made. For this reason, antique handmade items are both beautiful and collectible.
For example, consider the intricate stitches used by the skilled knitters who made the famous fishermen's sweaters of the European isles. These artisans took wool from their own sheep, spun it into wool (leaving the lanolin in for extra weather protection), and made thick, heavy foul-weather gear for the men on the boats. However, they weren't satisfied with fashioning plain, serviceable garments; they created beautiful stitches that knitters still use today.
People needed tables and chairs for their houses, linens for their beds, clothes and shoes to wear, and tools for both indoors and out. The only way for many to get items of this nature was to make them. However, that alone does not explain the turned legs and spindles of chairs, the pretty borders on sheets and pillowcases, the trim and flounces on the dresses, or the perfect symmetry and graceful curves of many an old farm implement.
We all know that useful things can be beautiful. Think of baskets, hunting decoys, pottery jugs and dishes, cut-glass drinking goblets, hooked rugs, woven blankets, and stained-glass windows. Soap was perfumed, flowers were dried to preserve their colors and scents, candles were tapered and curved, chair cushions and pillows were decorated with colorful tops.
It's exciting that the traditional skills have not been entirely lost. Careful owners, museums, and collectors preserve the objects themselves. Vintage clothing, old books, household implements, farming tools, and decorative objects exist that are a hundred years old or more.
People still practice most, if not all, of the early handicrafts. Today you can take a class at a shop or a community college and learn to hook a rug, cane a chair seat, restore an oil painting, or crochet an afghan. Visitors to Colonial Williamsburg can see glass blowing, silver casting, candle making, and iron forging. Arts and crafts festivals showcase the wares of potters, woodcarvers, quilters, weavers, jewelry makers, and even book binders.
Vintage crafting is part of the heritage of every culture. These things should not be lost forever. Those who collect or who practice things of yesteryear are doing us all a service. Objects made of wood, reed, metal, stone, clay, glass, or textiles recall how things used to be and remind us that we can do for ourselves if need be.
Crafts are things done by hand or objects made by hand. The majority of traditional skills were born of necessity. However, the innate artistry that exists in all peoples led crafters to embellish almost everything they made. For this reason, antique handmade items are both beautiful and collectible.
For example, consider the intricate stitches used by the skilled knitters who made the famous fishermen's sweaters of the European isles. These artisans took wool from their own sheep, spun it into wool (leaving the lanolin in for extra weather protection), and made thick, heavy foul-weather gear for the men on the boats. However, they weren't satisfied with fashioning plain, serviceable garments; they created beautiful stitches that knitters still use today.
People needed tables and chairs for their houses, linens for their beds, clothes and shoes to wear, and tools for both indoors and out. The only way for many to get items of this nature was to make them. However, that alone does not explain the turned legs and spindles of chairs, the pretty borders on sheets and pillowcases, the trim and flounces on the dresses, or the perfect symmetry and graceful curves of many an old farm implement.
We all know that useful things can be beautiful. Think of baskets, hunting decoys, pottery jugs and dishes, cut-glass drinking goblets, hooked rugs, woven blankets, and stained-glass windows. Soap was perfumed, flowers were dried to preserve their colors and scents, candles were tapered and curved, chair cushions and pillows were decorated with colorful tops.
It's exciting that the traditional skills have not been entirely lost. Careful owners, museums, and collectors preserve the objects themselves. Vintage clothing, old books, household implements, farming tools, and decorative objects exist that are a hundred years old or more.
People still practice most, if not all, of the early handicrafts. Today you can take a class at a shop or a community college and learn to hook a rug, cane a chair seat, restore an oil painting, or crochet an afghan. Visitors to Colonial Williamsburg can see glass blowing, silver casting, candle making, and iron forging. Arts and crafts festivals showcase the wares of potters, woodcarvers, quilters, weavers, jewelry makers, and even book binders.
Vintage crafting is part of the heritage of every culture. These things should not be lost forever. Those who collect or who practice things of yesteryear are doing us all a service. Objects made of wood, reed, metal, stone, clay, glass, or textiles recall how things used to be and remind us that we can do for ourselves if need be.
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