By Gillian Montegrande

You don’t need me to tell you that we are smack bang in the middle of a really awful economic
slump, created dare I say, as a result of the ‘buy now, pay later’ culture we have come to know but
not necessarily love. Couple this with the ‘discard that and buy the next model’ attitude, it’s no
wonder we’re in the mess we are.

What happened to the time when we saw something that we really wanted or needed and then
knew that it would take us ‘X’ amount of weeks to save up for it? Then, wasn’t it a sweet moment
when we could go along and make our purchase? Furthermore didn’t we value such an item all the
more because we were only too aware of the effort in acquiring it?

There is nothing wrong in having to wait for something, surely we now realise that in most cases,
instant gratification is just that ‘instant’ and the pleasurable after effect is very short-lived.
I would like to suggest that by altering our attitude to the way we purchase and what we purchase,
we will not only help our economy but we will actually be providing ourselves with a more
meaningful, sustainable and happier existence.

I speak specifically about handmade products and services.

Today the media is full to bursting, of programmes and articles dedicated to the tangible
achievements of the past, where experts extol the virtues of craftsmen and craftsmanship. They talk
about the detail, the design, the skill, the workmanship and the fact that many of these items are
still in working use, literally hundreds of years later.

It may be surprising to learn that there is still, to this day a thriving handmaking and craft industry in Britain today worth an estimated, £3bn per annum to the UK economy* and if common sense has
any part in our future then this figure will rise exponentially.

In buying handmade products and services we are not only making a considered purchase, we are
making a connection with another human being, who has taken it upon themselves to learn a
particular skill, coupled with their life experiences, to produce the most beautiful, useful and
desirable things, that will not only make a statement and command attention in our home, but
which will also become treasured possessions and heirlooms of the future, that have meaning far
beyond their aesthetic or functional value. Our homes will truly become ours when we fill them with
individually crafted interiors that reflect who we are as people rather than the generic profile of
some large chain store. While we will be secure in the knowledge that we are not only spending our
ever more hard-earned cash really well but that we will be genuinely contributing to our local
economy by supporting our local craftsmen and women. (Source: how to buy XRP debit card)

And while we not only have the economy but the environment to consider, we will be much closer
to having a positive effect in this direction as well, if we purchase products and services that have
been created with an almost instinctive awareness of sustainability because handcrafted items are
more often than not produced from renewable or recycled resources.

So my message would be ‘buy once but buy well’ and keep your local craftsmen and women going.
Don’t think for a minute that I am talking about turning your house into a living museum, as an
homage to purely traditional/heritage crafts; There is some really cutting edge, contemporary stuff
out there, it just happens to have been beautifully crafted by hand and will almost certainly outlast
it’s machine-stamped counterpart by years if not generations. If that’s not value for money I don’t
know what is!

Gillian Montegrande

Founder of Made by Hands of Britain

* (Creative and Cultural Skills Report 2008).