A few weeks ago, I toured the Faust Harrison piano factory, where they rebuild heirloom Steinways. Beyond the fact that I love getting a deeper view into how anything gets created, it was interesting to learn how the business started. While it has grown a great deal, it is a family owned business that started when a concert pianist wanted a Steinway she could afford, and found that restoring an old one was the best way forward. Perhaps because they started the business out of their own home, or perhaps because the business was begun by artists, something that really struck me as I toured their process how the level of craftsmanship and attention to detail did not only reflect artistry, but science.
For instance, they invest in hand wound bass strings rather than the more commonly used machine wound strings, because the hand wound strings produce a distinctive sound. The physics of the sound vibrations is affected by the way the strings are wound (Admittedly I have to take some of these distinctions on faith since I don’t have the best musical ear).
The ways in which craftsmanship is truly a combination of art and science was illustrated from a contrasting viewpoint in an article in Smithsonianabout Lost Spirits Distillery. They are using chemistry to essentially backwards engineer lost whiskey flavors, and using techniques that make traditional aging irrelevant. But artistry is not lost — both in the attention and improvisational approach taken with the experimentation and exploration of flavors, and in the presentation of their finished products.
The story of how the rise of industrialization and the ability to mass produce goods at relatively low cost led to a corresponding decline in bespoke, artisan created goods is reasonably well known, as is the more recent narrative of how new technologies are enabling “mass customization.” But craftsmanship and customization are not the same thing — just in time manufacturing to a customer’s specifications is not the same as bringing care, creativity, and thoughtfulness to the end product.
Craft brings a human element to creation — it implies skill, but also thoughtfulness in creation and execution. It is about awareness of the humans who will use a product, as well as the humans involved in product creations. As Lost Spirits is showing, craft can be enabled by technology, and as creators we should be considering how we bring craft into technology driven products. I don’t claim to have the full answer but mindful of the human element of craft, here are some places to start:
Take care in the work that you do. Craft can come in many forms, but at its core there is thoughtfulness around the end product. Most of us do not have full control over the final item that goes out the door, but we do have control over our own contributions
Be mindful of the people at the other end of the product. Who will be using it? Who else will be affected by the use of this product? Go beyond whether you are addressing needs or making something usable. Are you helping or hurting? Are you bringing joy or frustration?
Maintain awareness of the production side: from end to end. This includes the business interests behind the product, as well as all the people and processes involved in making the product. What constituencies are involved, and are their needs and values being addressed?