Why Buy Handmade?

In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about supporting the local economy, and that is at base what this blog is all about – supporting our local Long Island businesses that in turn, support us, our schools and our towns.

Within the local economy which includes many small businesses is the Long Island “micro-economy” – very small businesses that may not even have a physical storefront.

A large number of these businesses are owner operated, sale or service driven at-home businesses that depend on internet sales and local fairs as a storefront. These may include service providers such as photographers or small caterers, or individuals designing and producing handmade jewelry, home accessories, bath and body products and more. These individuals may be stay at home moms looking to make extra money  or skilled craftsmen offering their own goods on the side, but the common thread is that these people have taken the initiative and created their own micro-businesses doing something they love.

These very small businesses are not always for supplemental income. In a difficult economy, with misleading unemployment statistics, many people who either have lost jobs or run out of unemployment benefits have opened a micro-business as a means to stay afloat. In these cases, their success may make the difference between paying their bills and losing their homes – and less foreclosures and vacant homes mean overall property values are affected less.

What does all this mean to a consumer? Why is a locally produced handmade item worth more than an inexpensive mass-produced import? Odds are good that locally produced handmade items are either personally created or directly overseen by the designer, ensuring a higher level of quality. What small company wants it’s name on something cheap or poorly made? When your name is your business, you want it done right. 

Mass produced items created overseas and shipped to the U.S. for sale are often fabricated for pennies on the dollar. Does a multi-national company producing millions of the same item care if the one item you purchase is faulty? Most likely, the loss of revenue or reputation they will suffer if you complain is so minute that it barely worth notice, whereas a handmade item is a reflection of the maker – and speaking as a designer, we want that reflection to be a good one.

For the reasons noted above, it can be difficult for handmade businesses to thrive. Unfortunately, many craft fairs include “crafts” that are mass produced by a corporation, and thus not really crafts at all. But because of the resources these corporations have, the items are sold for much less than the locally produced handmade items, making it extremely difficult for local micro-businesses to compete.

As an example, a custom made pair of earrings that cost $4.50 in materials and took half an hour to make cannot sell for the same as wholesale imports. So the $22 handcrafted earrings made from quality materials loses to the $7 mass produced items that were purchased in bulk.

In short, buying locally produced handmade items supports local artists and designers, and by extension, the local economy overall. Buying local supports your friends, neighbors, relatives, and anyone in small business. This principal can be applied to not just crafts, but other industries as well – for instance, buying local produce supports Long Island farms. Without that support, who knows how much longer the dwindling number of Long Island farms will be able to keep up with competition?

Now, enter HandmadeLongIsland.com. Handmade Long Island is a cooperative website seeking to support the Long Island handmade movement. For participating businesses, it maximizes visibility by sharing marketing and creates a community of like-minded business owners. For consumers, it offers a listing of Long Island businesses that are serious about what they do, and offering what they love.

Next time you pass a farmer’s market (and there are quite a few on summer weekends, LongIslandGrowersMarket.com can help you find one), consider stopping to see what has been grown right here on Long Island. At a holiday craft fair, consider the value of the handmade ornaments and jewelry over the mass produced offerings. By shopping Long Island, we support Long Island.

Visit www.handmadelongisland.com/longislandlocal for more information on everything Long Island!