In the 1950s manufacturing was about 30% of the Australian workforce. Today, it is roughly 7.5%. But wait, this is not as bad as it might seem. Holdens might not be mass made around the corner any more, but there is a new manufacturing movement which has been growing in Australia and the DA blog is happy to report we have found ourselves accidentally a part of it

This movement has been called Artisanal Manufacturing, Randy Komisar says it best in his article about the state of manufacturing in America. Artisanal manufacturers are smaller companies that have the ability to work closely with clients, so goods are tailored precisely to client’s needs prioritising customer value over cheap prices, quality over quantity, etc. The outcome being that basically everyone is happier. These manufacturer’s businesses are more agile and are able to take advantage of new technologies quicker, but also see their skilled workers as people opposed to labor. He says these businesses are “carving out a meaningful place in the market, offering broader access to a level of quality that can’t be achieved by traditional mass-scale businesses.” We try our hardest, Randy.

Artisanal Manufacturing has its roots in the Maker Movement springing up across Australia, the USA and other service-based economies, where people are looking for more meaningful connection to the goods they surround themselves with, reviving maker skills we often don’t see any more. And we are all for this, in fact that is why Design Awards started, to create beautiful objects with real meaning. Seeing the growth of this new movement is exciting to see the manufacturing industry adapt and also very empowering for our own cause.

Read more here.