As we spend more and more time in our homes it seems natural that we should create meaningful, pleasant spaces. But what items should we select to live in those spaces? Inexpensive, production line items? Or works items made deliberately by a craftsman — aesthetically designed and then shaped by the human hand?
I hold that having hand-made items created by a craftsperson you know results in a space filled with beautiful and functional pieces. Well-made items with hand-rubbed finishes age better than speedily constructed production-line pieces.
Perhaps William Morris, the 19th century designer and champion of hand-made work, put it best:
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
