The INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION was no less than a magical blessing for the entire world. It brought about the mechanization of production techniques. production increased manifolds, the process became smoother and easier, it was less time consuming and consumers were more than satisfied with the so-called “Machine-made products”.

Seems like life would have been entirely different without the Industrial Revolution. Different not only in a negative but a positive sense.

• Machines would not have had replaced humans and taken away their source of livelihood.
• More people would be employed today and fewer people would be sleeping empty stomach tonight.
• Products would have been more humanized and less mechanized, they would have a human touch, the sensation of a living being, love, and affection poured right from people’s heart, that would stay with you in the form of goods of your needs.

Handlooms being replaced by power looms, spinning-jenny has been a boon for the textile industry and progress of steam engines a transformational step in the railway sector. But doesn’t new technology come with the urgent need for skill up-gradation and on the job training on how to operate and work with these new friends of industrialists?

HANDICRAFT UNDER THREAT!

Machines were never invented to replace humans, but to assist them in meeting the demands of the growing economy.

Machine-made products have brought handcrafts on the verge of extinction. Handcrafts, that once used to be the norm have now become rare. You will probably need to travel to some remote areas to find handcrafted goods or wait for some exhibition primarily showcasing handcrafts.

People say hand-made goods are twice as expensive as the machine-made goods. We ask, when does a product become expensive? The answer is when it is not available everywhere and in bulk, in other words, when it is rare. And who caused hand-made goods to become rare? It is we the people who are lured into purchasing only machine-made goods.

How easily these machine-made products penetrated every aspect of our lives, taking us farther away from our human community and their affection. And how easily we fell into their trap.

How could we not trust the hands that have wrinkled stitching clothes into bags etc.? How could we not have faith in the wisdom of our handcrafters and their hand-made products? How could we have left our handcrafters to starve and make them give up their impeccable art only to enlarge the market for machine-made products?

If we have committed this grave mistake, it is time we rectify it. It is time we prevent them from drowning and help their boats sail through, help them enjoy the fruits of mechanization, and develop their skills further so that they get more and give back even more to us in the form of their unique art pieces.

NEED TO PRESERVE HANDICRAFT

“The beauty of an object is a measure of the work that went into its creation” – Adolf Loos

Machine-made products have become an intricate part of our lives. At this stage it is not possible for the world to entirely give up such products, nor is this required, otherwise what will be the use of decades and centuries of efforts to develop such technology, we will move backwards in time.

But can hand-made and machine-made products not co-exist? Does one necessarily have to suppress the other to move ahead? Certainly not!

Therefore, it is the sole responsibility of the present generation to preserve this art form. Ours is the last generation of handcrafters. If this incredible talent is not cultivated and passed on to succeeding generations, it will completely disappear from the face of the earth.

Hand-made products are the very essence of human existence. They are appealing in their way. Craftsmen and artisans know their material well and bring out the liveliness in their products in their own uniquely imperfect way. And the best is that they reflect the hands of their makers. Carefully crafted designs, detailed workings, a certain amount of artistry, appealing imperfection, are qualities associated with hand-made products that can never be found in machine-made goods.

THE STITCH COMPANY

We, at The Stitch Company, have taken a step in this direction, to protect the handcraft culture. A step towards the upliftment of our craftsmen and artisans, who have been pushed down to the bottom by the machine culture. We provide them with employment and training for stitching a variety of bags. We use our signature patterns, different from the cliché designs.

We are doing our part, now its time you do yours.  Visit our website to know more about our work and products. We guarantee you will be amazed to see the uniqueness and eccentricity of our products. Let’s take a step back in time and see what our craftsmen have to offer out of their treasure of handcrafted goods that had been closed for a long time!