"The way of doing design since the post-war has been overexploited, houses were filled with objects, some were masterpieces at supermarket prices, such as clothespins or the Braun juicer. I found a market saturated with objects where "There was no need to add more and more," explains Álvaro Catalán de Ocón, 2023 National Design Award winner. He opted for a parallel way of producing, which not only speaks of industrial design but also of a project that can materialize in many products. He did it incorporating craftsmanship in this process, which also has a social and environmental component. Hence their PET Lamps were born, made with plastic waste in Colombia, Ghana, Thailand, Chile, Ethiopia, Australia or Japan. And now also in Uganda, Rwanda or Sri Lanka.
Not long ago, design and craftsmanship were opposite and incompatible worlds. Manual production was seen almost as a souvenir or something that was bought at markets. But that has changed. “Craftwork has needed a kind of symbiosis between tradition, legacy and innovation to stay alive,” explains Antoni Anglès, fifth generation at the head of Cerabella, founded in 1862. “We choose to collaborate with designers, not make large productions but reach everything. the world, as my grandfather already did, who went to international fairs and had clients in the US.” For Anglès, Anglo-Saxons are clearer about the difference between crafts and crafts: “It's not about the quantity you produce, but about the quality.”
“When we started they told us to avoid the word craftsmanship… because this is not it, but our wooden lamps are made by hand, each one is different, what were we going to call them?” explains Mariví Clavo, who founded LZF in 1994. with his partner, Sandro Tothill. They produce contemporary lamps in Chiva (Valencia), in a factory that was an old warehouse, “I didn't want to go to an industrial estate at all,” she laughs. In 2011 they were awarded the National Crafts Award and in 2020 the National Design Award in the business category... something had changed in the appreciation of what was made with the heart and hands.
And globalization has a lot to do with that change, bringing everything and everything the same everywhere, especially in fashion. “The public realized that globalization is not sustainable, that you pay dearly for what you buy even if it is cheap. Ready-to-wear has been very destroyed at a medium-high level, because it is not exclusive. Artisan is the alternative for those looking for something different, although not everyone is predisposed to the expense, because the price of something unique is high,” explains Carlos Baques, fifth generation in charge of the Miquel Alemany weaving factory, one of the most prestigious. in the world and that supplies fabrics to haute couture brands such as Chanel.
“My embroideries on fabric woven in Sabadell on old looms are exclusive and at a European price, you cannot compare them with what comes from Asia. It's like comparing fast food with local food that the local producer brings home,” explains the also president of Costura de Autor, an association that recovers and promotes the virtuosity of fashion made in Spain.
Baques talks about the emotional value of what is handmade, that which colpisci il cuore, as they say in Italy, one of the countries that protect and value manual crafts and that since the 1950s have incorporated them into their powerful design industry. “In the end, these are garments that make you feel good, that are different and durable,” explains the textile businessman. Catalán de Ocón also emphasizes that craftsmanship in itself is a social work, because it keeps traditions alive, and in many countries it is a source of income for the family."
In Spain, crafts directly employ around 213,000 workers. Its economic contribution stood at 6,049 million euros in 2019, 0.54% of the national GDP and 4.9% of the GDP of the manufacturing industry. But, despite the enormous capacity to generate value in multiple areas (employment, population establishment, sustainability, tourism attraction, country image...), this figure is declining. “We must increase the number of companies. Before the pandemic, there were 64,000 companies dedicated to these trades compared to more than 120,000 in France, which does not have twice the population,” explains Xandra Falcó, president of Círculo Fortuny, an association of high-end companies in the cultural and artisanal fields. and creative that promotes the excellence of made in Spain, among other initiatives with the Círculo Fortuny Master Craftsman awards. “We must also raise awareness in the public sector and brands about the importance of bequeathing knowledge and techniques, since the only medicine to protect excellence is to transmit savoir faire. An example in this sense is the Tous School of Jewelry and Crafts.
Loewe, which can boast of having survived three centuries of history and craftsmanship, also promotes, through the international awards granted by its Foundation, the excellence of handmade work. Because the luxury sector has become a lifeline for many manufacturing companies, which see how their products are highly appreciated and paid for, especially outside our borders.
“In other countries they are far ahead of us in terms of valuing contemporary craftsmanship. In Scandinavia or Italy it has coexisted with interior design for a long time,” explains Elena Goded Rambaud. The director of Ábbatte also emphasizes that “the fact that it continues to be associated with a hippie or exclusively ethnic aesthetic does not favor valuing an artisan object as a contemporary object. In our case, our designs are never associated with treatments or colors or an image that is not contemporary. “High craftsmanship must show mastery in the making and not a lack of craft.”
But if design brings contemporaneity to craftsmanship, the enrichment is reciprocal: “Crafts teach humility, a unique know-how that requires time and dedication, the imprint of the values associated with waiting and haptic sensations. This attitude allows us to question mass industrial production and impulsive purchasing,” says Alejandra Gandía-Blasco.
Beyond public initiatives such as the Consorci de Comerç, Artesania, in the case of Cataluya, there are entities clearly focused on promoting the contemporary turn of arts and crafts, such as the Society of Contemporary Crafts (SACo), or platforms such as Único, a digital gallery with which Claudia Divo and Ramon Comelles put artists and craftsmen in contact with architects and interior designers. The requirements are that they be “genuine, artisanal works of aesthetic quality,” says Divo.
“In 2022, a report that we commissioned from KPMG highlighted as scourges for high craftsmanship the low visibility of artisans, the lack of master craftsmen and their generational change, the retention of talent, counterfeiting, intrusion and massification,” explains Xandra Falcó.
The analysis that Álvaro Catalán makes, from his experience, is that “in countries that need everything, they see you as an opportunity for growth, but in Spain sometimes I get the feeling that the artisans do not see it as an opportunity but that you take them away.” from your comfort zone; Prototyping works, but it's scary to make the jump to production. Setting up as an SME, the paperwork, the taxes, everything is very complex. Small scale is very difficult to manage in Spain. You must jump from the artisan workshop to a medium-sized company, that is the key that the designer or architect accepts as part of their work.” But he is optimistic: “The coming generations do not necessarily aspire to greatness in size, but to greatness from smallness. “You are beginning to see that it is a way of life, not a way to make a living.”
Baques also notes “a movement of young people who want to enter this world that enjoys exclusivity, short runs.” Because “many little things build something big”
