MODERN DESIGN MACHINES
Hand-crafting can be amazing, but some designers are making their mark with machine-made precision.
In the 2010s, fast retail seemed unstoppable. On street corners around the world, H&M and Forever 21 proliferated like tribbles, seducing shoppers with their bargain wares and constant inventory churn.
Now, the business model’s glory days are over. From fashion to furniture, consumers have a renewed thirst for quality over quantity. Cheap and trendy are out; buzzwords like “sustainable” and “artisan” are in. But what, exactly, does high quality mean in the 2020s? While many consumers would cite handcrafting along with local sourcing and manufacturing as starting points, the reality isn’t nearly so simple.
Nascent small businesses may be able to meet those ideals, but at a certain point the economics of scale kick in. If a company wants to grow, it must change the way it sources and manufactures. Old-school thinking may see this as “selling out” or compromising standards, but that’s no longer the case.
Thanks to new technologies, modern machine-crafting can outperform handcrafting. “Quality doesn’t mean sending a guy to a workbench,” says Niels Bendtsen, founder of Vancouver-based design and manufacturing group Bensen. “It’s about how you run your machines and how you get the best results out of them.”
Bendtsen designs on Canada’s west coast, but his firm’s furniture is produced overseas. “We used to have a factory in Vancouver, but unfortunately the city became way too expensive, so I moved my factory to Italy,” he says. His company produces, at a minimum, hundreds of each item they sell — a quantity that wouldn’t be possible by hand. “The cold forming machinery we use ensures everything is super precise. It’s much, much better than what could be achieved by an individual.”
But, these days, turning to tech isn’t just practical, it’s often desirable — even helping to push the boundaries of creativity.
“While the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century diminished the role of the craftsperson in the manufacturing process, the digital revolution has had a less devastating effect,” writes cultural trends commentator Lucy Johnston in her book, Digital Handmade. “Today’s digital technologies have given rise to entirely new working methods, skill sets, and consumer products that don’t eliminate, but enrich traditional hand techniques.”
A classic example of design being enhanced, rather than compromised, by machine manufacturing is Hans Wegners’ “valet chair.” First conceived in 1953, the whimsical threelegged chair serves multiple functions as a seat, coat hanger, and storage box for cufflinks, keys and watches. It famously became a favourite of Danish King Frederick IX, who ordered
10 of them.
While the valet chair was entirely handmade for years, a 3D CNC machine is now used for more complex parts of the wood-carving process. “This resulted in more accurate reproductions than even Wegner himself could create,” says Bendtsen.
Bendtsen isn’t the only Canadian creator using machines to take his artform to the next level. Toronto-based fashion designer Sid Neigum, known for his sculptural designs reminiscent of origami, has been on the forefront of the digital handcrafting revolution. From using Adobe programs to lasercut fabric to incorporating 3D printing into otherwise handsewn garments, Neigum’s innovative methods are gaining international buzz, with Vogue giving his pre-fall 2021 collection a glowing review.
Even the world of fine art, notoriously snobbish about what it considers “worthy,” is embracing digital tech. Quebec-based Louise Lemieux Bérubé was a finalist for the Saidye Bronfman Award of Excellence, Canada’s top distinction in the field of fine crafts, by incorporating computerassisted embroidery and scanned photographs into hand-woven textiles.
Ideally, digital technology is used to create new products that couldn’t exist in the world of analogue alone — not just from a creative perspective, but ecologically and economically, too. When it comes to sustainability, 3D printing offers a huge advantage over other manufacturing methods because it only consumes the exact amount of material required. Some 3D printers even recycle plastic waste into new objects.
In a hot economy where prices seem to spiral higher by the day, modern machines also allow companies like Bendtsen’s to offer consumers high-quality goods at a reasonable price. “It’s the only way to stay competitive in today’s world,” he says. “Otherwise costs would become completely out of whack with reality.”
Many people still see technology as the enemy of craftsmanship, but the new actuality is much more nuanced.
When used in thoughtful and innovative ways, machines can be valuable allies to makers and consumers alike. “We’re always trying to do something new, but also something that’s better,” says Bendtsen.
While there will always be a place for handmaking, it no longer has a monopoly on high quality work.