Handcrafted Gifts Vs. Machine-Made Gifts: Which Is Better?

Handcrafted gifts are becoming harder and harder to find in today’s world. Due to the rampant pressures of corporate life, businesses are looking at every way possible to drive down their expenditure while driving up their profit margins to keep their shareholders happy. Consequently, automation has become such a big part of every industry, as opposed to the handcrafted creation process, and thus we often see poorer quality and fewer fairtrade products. The people who buy and sell from these businesses end up getting the raw end of the deal. Consumers receive less quality while producers get paid poorly to maximise profits.

So Why Are Handicraft Gifts Special Anyway?

It’s easy to think that buying machine-made items isn’t such a bad thing. All items look the same, and we sometimes feel more comfortable buying something quite common. But, do you really want the same product as everyone else? And, despite this, there is one key ingredient lacking – humanity. When you go for a handcrafted item, a human will make every product uniquely and with skill. So when you buy a product that has been made by hand, you’re buying art. When you buy something made by a machine, you’re buying something that exists everywhere else in the world. With that in mind, there are so many benefits to handicraft gifts. Often they are green and sustainable, particularly as the global warming-inducing factories aren’t involved in the production process. They also provide jobs. With machines doing more and more, humans seem less and less relevant. By supporting the likes of handcrafted homeware, you’re more likely to be paying into the pockets of a producer rather than a corporation. There’s also the intrinsic value of something being made by hand, not just personal value, but monetary value too. Uniqueness is something we all appreciate and are willing to pay for. While machines can produce things at an incredible speed, an artisan is someone skilled in a particular field. They will have a style that makes their items unique when compared to the uniform lines of machines.

Where Can I Find These Unique Handcrafted Gifts?

Unfortunately, many people believe that unique handcrafted gifts are out of their reach for a number of reasons. One reason can be because they don’t feel they have the money, and another can be because they don’t see anywhere local providing such goods. Generally, it’s just supermarkets and high-street retailers in the local area, who have pushed out the independents, like the artisans. However, there is a method that trumps both those problems, and this is shopping online. Not only can you find deals online, or catch something in a sale, but also you can bring the products to you. No longer do you need to go for the bland, machine-made-in-bulk teapot from your local supermarket. Instead, you can get a hand painted, glazed lotus teapot with a rattan handle, handmade in the famous Bat Trang pottery village of Vietnam by different artisans. One option is cheap, will break easy and will probably have to be replaced very soon, whereas the other can last you a lifetime, offers quality and is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. Don’t believe us? Why not look for yourself at In A Strange Land. We have a fantastic selection of some of the finest handmade crafts from artisans who are working to genuinely improve the livelihoods of those around them in their local communities. For example, those handcrafted teapots we mentioned? They’re available on our website and are made by Reaching Out – a workshop and teahouse that employs waiting staff who are deaf. They fully believe that everyone can play a part in our societies.

For The Most Engaging And Beautiful Handcrafted Gifts, Visit In A Strange Land

It’s likely at this point that you want to find some handcrafted gifts. Thankfully, you’ve come to the right place. At In A Strange Land, we have three core tenets: Unique. Ethical. Crafted. All of our items are fair trade products. We’ve met extensively with all our producers to ensure that their workers are treated fairly and that their products are of a high-quality. To find out more about us, and the people we work with, visit http://in-a-strange-land.com/ for more information. You can even contact us via our online form if you’d like to hear more of the story behind our exciting range of handcrafted products.