The Art of Finding Lost Arts

[CorruptedUnicorn]

For some reason, the more I spend time on a screen (which is sadly much, given my current line of work), the more I've come to appreciate the "physical" world and especially, handmade stuff made by artisans. Nature, skill and love.

I'm back from a ren faire and i got two items: a comb made from deer antler (the kind deer shed naturally, no worries animal lovers!) and sheep wool socks. I had a long chat with both these two items' makers, about how their craft is getting lost, about how nowadays people prefer to pick items in terms of availability & price (if I need a comb/socks/anything NOW, I can just go to the nearest store and get one there, right?) than when it comes to their quality. And there's no particular concern about picking items that will last, because you can always buy another one later, right? That's not to talk about overlooked qualities in the materials they work with that plastic cannot simply replicate (I heard bone combs are actually better for your hair's health than plastic ones, for they don't give static electricity and they don't have seams that could actually cut it / wool socks perspire better, they're warm...).

And problem is, it's not easy to access this kind of products because the plastic ones sold by corporations are EVERYWHERE, to the point they kinda obscure smaller businesses as these two stalls, far from the central point of the faire?

I'm sorry for the rant here, but I guess what I'm trying to say is, I've come to appreciate artisanal tools and crafts like these, and I find it very sad these arts are on the brink of extinction because people don't know these alternatives exist and/or always go for the easy cheap thing. Especially as somebody who, as the wool lady said, is "on the edge of technology". I think the world is big enough to have both kinds of options, one doesn't have to push the other.

Wow, how long have I rambled about this without saying the word "capitalism"? Anyway, I'm writing this post because I'd love to learn about other small forms of craft and art that aren't widespread, the kind Pinterest and TikTok and Instagram ignore. I want to know what kind of items like this do you cherish, how they compare to their "retail" versions, and, if you know people with stores online and it's okay for the forum to post links to shops, well, bring them up here too, so we can support local merchants from all over the world.