As the name suggests, coffee table books are books to, well, display on a coffee table. Loved by interior decorators and stylists, these image-led books have gained a reputation for being decorative objects used to speak to the perceived taste and refinement of their owner.

However, on closer inspection, coffee table books serve a deeper purpose beyond being mere decorative objects filled with page after page of high-quality photography.

Well-produced coffee table books serve to visually document significant moments in [cultural] history. They do this by reflecting the cultural mood and influences of specific periods in time. They also serve to celebrate renowned cultural personalities and brands. And in the case of cookbooks and how-to guides, their main aim is to inspire readers to try out new things and visit places and spaces they may never get to in person.

At first glance, coffee table books can come across as superficial. Books peddling style over substance, but the underlying purpose of this type of book is so much more. Coffee table books can take us on a visual journey into the creative, social, and cultural narratives of different cultures from around the world. They give us a glimpse into the moods that define places different from our own. I will say, though, it does depend on who is telling the story. And, whether the storyteller has the right to tell the story and if they can objectively tell the story.

As a side note, cultural diversity is lacking in coffee table book publishing, which impacts the types of stories we get to see and hear. Depending on who is curating the story, a coffee table book can counteract and challenge negative stereotypes about people, places, and cultures. The point of a coffee table book is that these books can invite us to view things from a different perspective. In doing so, they start important conversations to bridge the gaps in understanding.

The coffee table book’s origins have a fascinating history, which I uncover in my post What is a coffee table book, and why is it called that?

– Tapiwa Matsinde

[Image credits: The image shown belongs to Cup of Couple, sourced via Pexels. If downloaded and used elsewhere, please credit accordingly.]

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Some of the key challenges that prevent artisan communities from reaching their full potential include:

Access to market

Without customers, artisans can’t make sales, and market access, be it local or international, is one of the main challenges craft communities face. Navigating the commercial side of the craft business can be tricky. It is not always as simple as turning up at a shop and asking them to sell your products. Contacts with buyers and the ability to negotiate contracts are often out of reach for artisans, especially those in remote, rural areas.

While digital technology has brought the world in closer contact, despite the reach and perceived widespread availability and use of internet-enabled devices, 2.6 billion people worldwide still do not have internet access (World Economic Forum). This equates to roughly one-third of the global population. And, while we may debate the pros and cons of digital technology, we can’t deny the opportunities and freedoms it unlocks for online business, awareness, and market access. Support and guidance are much needed to help artisan communities identify the markets that are suitable for their crafts.

Competitive pricing

Pricing is another challenge that prevents craft communities from reaching their full potential. Many artisans in developing nations rely on local customers and tourists for sales. Locally produced crafts have a reputation for being cheap and readily available, and when crafts are seen as lowly, humble products, customers bargain, driving down prices. This affects the artisan’s profit margin’s leaving them very little to live on and invest back into improving the marketability of their crafts.

Selling wholesale to retailers can help boost a craft community’s income, but without the knowledge or confidence to navigate the process and ensure they get a fair deal, the artisans then face being taken advantage of. If artisans want to widen their reach by selling their creations to international audiences, their pricing needs to match the expectations of a global market.

Product development and innovation

Pricing crafts for retail and international markets requires that the products the artisans produce meet the high-quality standards expected by the contemporary crafts market. While the artisans may have exceptional craft skills, the creations still have to fit in with the modern life of the end consumer, and design development skills may be lacking.

Craft communities don’t always have access to trends and the ever-changing tastes of consumers that dictate what gets bought and what doesn’t at any given period. Products get tailored to suit the tastes of different customers, and taking artisan crafts to wider, diverse audiences requires adaptability. Artisans don’t typically have access to these insights, and their creations, while beautifully made, then become stuck in an aesthetic time-warp, making them unsuitable for markets beyond their immediate communities.

Collaborative design interventions are one way of introducing new ideas into a craft community, but this must be done sensitively and with the creative and technical input of the artisans rather than forced upon them.

Getting product to market

Once crafts have been made, they need to get to market. Depending on the destination, this is by air, sea, or land. Shipping goods can be costly, and also time-consuming if the artisans have to deliver them themselves. If sending crafts internationally, the need for export licences and insurance are all factors that may be out of the reach of artisans, barriers that stand in the way of them reaching their full potential.

Funding

Investing in the development and sustainable success of a craft community requires some form of funding. This could be from the artisans’ own funds or, in the case of communities, more likely to come from external sources such as retailers, donors, grants and micro-loans. This can put pressure on the artisans to deliver, and in the case of loans, at the mercy of unscrupulous lenders. On the other hand, loans and grants from reputable sources may be denied where there is no credit history.

In times of economic uncertainty, funding becomes scarce, and for an artisan community that has relied on funding to achieve its potential, the sudden unavailability can jeopardise its growth. This calls for training to help craft communities learn the necessary skills to manage and invest their income wisely to free them from a reliance on long-term funding support.

Training

Craft skills development and business skills are essential to help artisan communities reach their full potential. Selling, marketing and communicating the purpose and stories behind their crafts are much-needed skills for connecting with customers and buyers. Having access to training is to improve on existing knowledge and to empower those who get held back due to things like illiteracy, which causes others to look down on or take advantage of them. Even for those who are literate, areas such as financial education, bookkeeping, product pricing, packaging and promotion go a long way towards enhancing their prospects and well-being and that of their community.

When artisan craft communities flourish, they not only contribute to the wider craft industry, they also empower those within the community, who in turn contribute to the prosperity of their nations. And, the right support ensures this can happen. If you are interested in collaborating with artisan communities to create products for your artisan retail business and want to know more about the challenges, have a look at my consultancy services.

– Tapiwa Matsinde

[Image credits: The image shown is sourced from Los Muertos Crew from Pexels. If downloaded and used elsewhere, please credit accordingly.]

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Embracing a philosophy of slow design requires a considerate approach to the production process by taking one’s time to plan and create an object. The concept is about honouring, not rushing the process. This is where hand-craftsmanship finds its place as being central to a slow design philosophy. Craftsmanship is the embodiment of slow design because handcrafting an object and doing it well takes skill mastery, effort and time. Hand-craftsmanship counteracts mass production. Instead of churning out and saturating retail markets with products, slow handcrafted design results in small batch, limited edition or one-of-a-kind products.

Slow design also facilitates the connections of time-honoured practices with innovation, having a positive impact and incorporating sustainable sourcing. Slow design considers:

People – who make, and buy the product

A slow design philosophy respects people, their skills, and the time it takes to handcraft an object. Production rooted in slow design can also bolster the maker’s physical and mental well-being as processes can provide a calming, rhythmic flow that speaks to the soul. People also refer to the customer, the person who is looking for more meaningful connections to the products they buy. Slow design can create a community around the products made as people come together to learn more about a craft and its processes.

Place – where the product is made

Slow design helps to preserve and revive interest in handcraft traditions and heritages. It encourages the passing down of skills from one generation to another, as the value of what is being created is once again revered and given recognition in modern life. The skill is no longer seen as old-fashioned but as something deemed worthy to keep alive. Slow design can also encourage transparency in supply chains. Transparency calls for the sharing of where products are made and recognising the true cost of artisanal creation. Transparency is a willingness to be held accountable for maintaining the standards and safety of the environment where a product is made and for those who work within it.

Planet – how the product is made and brought to market

Slow design prioritises timelessness over trends and mass production. The philosophy considers the impact design and production will have on the environment, flora and fauna, and the well-being of those that come into contact with it- maker and consumer. Slow design processes take the time to explore, select or develop the best natural or man-made materials to be used. The philosophy takes into account concerns such as immediate and long-term toxicity, product life-span and what happens when it is eventually discarded, and allows for the time to find safer and beneficial solutions.

Slow design calls for less is more consumerism by aiding greater appreciation of what is made by hand and valuing quality over quantity. While a slower handcraft-led design process will take longer to bring a product to market, the upside is that it can also mean deeper engagement by cultivating more meaningful connections between an artisan business and its customers.

What does slow design mean to you? I would love to know your thoughts. Do share in the comments.

[Image credits: The images shown are sourced from/belong to furkanfdemir via pexels. If downloaded and used elsewhere, please credit accordingly.]

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The dictionary definition of sustainable is 1. ‘able to be maintained at a certain rate or level’. 2. ‘able to be upheld or defended’. So based on that definition would it be correct to say that when we are talking about sustainable craft and design we are talking about maintaining and upholding a standard of craft and design that has a positive impact in the world including on people, places or culture?

To maintain something is to make a commitment to oversee, care for and nurture it. Maintenance calls for responsibility, and an awareness about why it needs to be done and why doing so matters. And this fits in with the ideas we have around sustainable design and what we mean when we use the term.

Sustainable doesn’t just have one specific focus, there are several factors that can be applied to the different aspects of craft and design. We’ve identified 5 of them as follows:

1. Livelihood

A sustainable livelihood is about the maker getting enough work to make a decent living so that they can continue to practise their craft. A decent living calls for access to markets, fair prices and wages, safe working conditions, and respect for what they do.

2. Material

Sustainable materials are those that are obtained and used with consideration to minimising destructive environmental impact and harmful effects on people’s health. Sustainable refers to how materials are sourced, a material’s properties, toxicity levels, and its ability to bio-degrade or be recycled, repurposed, reclaimed or renewed. Sustainable materials also extend to the type, use and disposal of product labelling and packaging.

3. Production

Sustainable production is all about the techniques and processes employed to create objects. Sustainable products are well made with longevity or responsible disposal in mind. Sustainable production is often linked to slow, considered processes where handmade is respected and valued in the face of a throw-away culture fuelled by mass consumerism. While sustainable production is seen to encourage bespoke or small batch-made products over mass production, it is the thought, care and consideration that goes into the process that is key to making something sustainable.

4. Preservation

Are craft skills being preserved or being allowed to die? If sustainability is about maintaining something, then preserving a craft, skill, technique, heritage or family legacy is a sustainable act. Design can help craft thrive and makers who are unfraid to evolve or experiment give craft a place in modern day life. This in turn helps preserve the craft so it can be passed on to future generations ensuring it lives on.

5. Value

Value is related to the sustainablility of an object, because the more we treasure something the less likely we are to discard it. Sustainability favours the value of an object. Not its price, but its relevance and meaning. How useful are the products that are created? Can the objects be repurposed, recycled or upcycled when they are no longer needed? Do the objects display the kind of quality and sentiment that turns them into treasured heirlooms to be passed down through generations or become collectible items?

As we can see ‘sustainable’ can mean different things to:

• the maker who may focus on one area, a combination, or all
• the buyer and their focus
• the context in which we are speaking about sustainable craft and design

Ultimately sustainable craft and design is about producing and sourcing thoughtfully made objects that positively impact our world and well-being. Sustainable craft and design is not a novelty, but a reality that artisan businesses have a responsibility to consider when it comes to the products they create and sell, and the people they work with.

What does sustainable design & craft mean to you? We’d love to know your thoughts in the comments.

– Tapiwa Matsinde

[Image credits: The image shown belongs to Vie Studio via Pexels. If downloaded and used elsewhere please credit accordingly.]

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