Still, there is a discomfort in this expanding notion of craft, and not only because the use of increasingly advanced digital technology muddies its definition. Big brands also risk diminishing the concept until it becomes thoroughly meaningless. “From product to product and industry to industry, artisanal quality seems to generate the same set of descriptions—small-batch, local, sustainable, vintage, heritage, farm-to-table, nose-to-tail, crop-to-cup—even though the point of consuming craft products is to enjoy something unique. The signifiers of craft have become so diluted that now even McDonald’s proudly advertises its “signature crafted recipes.” [13]

Then there’s the fact that this neo-revitalisation of craft tends to be problematically homogenous in demographic. Noting its tendency towards whiteness, Jackson writes that, ironically, “for a movement so vocally concerned with where things come from, the proprietors of craft culture often seem strangely uninterested in learning or conveying the stories of the people who first mastered those crafts.” [14]

Ultimately, the future of craftsmanship—with its emphasis on skilled makers, personalisation, and hyper-awareness of origin—looks bright. “This is the real future of manufacturing: an atomised but highly networked society of makers servicing an evolving market where consumers no longer want mass-manufactured goods but products that are bespoke and have that golden element all marketeers now crave – provenance. We are becoming a society of curators where consumers want a relationship with a product and its makers, not simply a transaction.” [15]