subject: The Chinese are yet to kill off the highly skilled craftsman yet [print this page] The Chinese are yet to kill off the highly skilled craftsman yet
The China export machine has caused the choices of furniture and other interior style aspects to become cluttered with crazily cheap imports to Australia. Australian customers have been putting up with the self assembly type purchases for a number of years but the low quality and consistancy has usually been an issue. During that time the Handmade furnishings business in Brisbane has contracted as master craftsmen with skills honed over generations fail to compete against the chinaman and his mass produced factories. Nevertheless those masters of their trade that have lasted the chinese onslaught have have turned out to be very thought of to create top quality furniture created by hand, created to outlive their owner and made to be a function of your home.Enjoying a handmade buffet in brisbane is a feeling of luxury.
It takes many years to perfect the kind of skill that can produce graceful curves and magnificent arches by hand, something a production line can replicate but by no means match. Only Highly skilled hands can produce that extra mojo that you simply find in some thing created with care and attention to detail that works using the natural character of wood to create a high class piece of furniture- that's why antique pieces continue to command a strong following - from individuals who enjoy visual pleasure with a feel of real timber.
Obviously economics demands the presence from the reproduction market serving customers in various cost ranges but I'm continually shocked that even in the extortionate costs at the high finish of the marketplace , businesses make gaudy copies of antique furnishings from veneered mdf and plywood using the lame excuse that 'chippendale would have used mdf if it had existed in his day'. I do not think so - certain inert wood gives stability in our age of central heating but it's the natural movement and vibe of genuine wood that we love and creates some thing unique that we want to palm down over generations.
Reproduction furniture is good from a distance even though at the less expensive end from the market it just does not look correct. But look closely at the way the finsh, the way drawers are jointed - is there hand dovetailing? Do the shelves use handcarved dog tooth racking? How are the carvings created and applied? How does it hold together as being a piece overall - does it have the important 'unity of being' that all fantastic furniture has?
