The craft industry encompasses products handmade by artisans or experts in a particular trade. Small companies dedicated to the artisanal trade. Small businesses engaged in the craft trade include everything from art galleries to handmade textiles and culinary products. Often, entrepreneurs in the craft industry operate independently and are not franchised.
The industry generally depends on locally sourced supplies and community support to maintain a customer base. Many of them have traditionally been artisanal, rural or pastoral products, but now they are also commonly manufactured on a larger scale with automatic mechanization in factories and other industrial areas. Beyond that, the products that artisans distribute can range from handmade clothing to home decor items or works of art. The craft movement may be more than just an offshoot of the hipster movement, but culture certainly helps.
The adjective artisanal is often used to describe manual processing in contrast to an industrial process, as in the phrase artisanal mining. Knowing what to do and actually doing it is the first step in doing it as an artisan, but it doesn't do much good if you can't make a sale. Artisans practice a trade and can, through experience and skill, achieve the expressive levels of an artist. Craftsmanship is traditionally specialized crafts made by hand, although hand-drawn graphics and digital arts have blurred the boundaries.
Retailers that specialize in supplying artisans with craft supplies also belong to the craft industry. As one craftsman told The News & Observer, some young workers believe that if they're going to take those professional risks, it's better that they do something they like. Canada's Department of Employment and Social Development lists dozens of unique craft careers, for example, from Aboriginal art carvers to crown makers.
