Perhaps there should be a word fingermade for assembled from
purchased manufactured parts…
A gallery out here in SoCal calls beadwork “assemblage”. Sounds good
to me!
Vicki K, fryin’ in the heat
For Americans, the FTC guidelines are being revised this year.
Interesting. I assume that this has been/will be a long (perhaps
never-ending) process. I’m interested in the projected date that the
revised FTC guidelines will be issued. Does anyone know?
Jamie King,
Hi all,
I’ve been following this thread, occasionally. As has been noted, it
does shamble forth periodically.
Past discussions clarified that carving the wax was the handmade part. The casting of the wax was/is not considered handmade. [snip]
Two groups. Those that understand and try to explain to those that don't, and those that don't understand and seem to act as a support group to help each other remain ignorant.
Juxtapose this, our FTC laws compared to how European trained goldsm iths would refer to their work. Inherent in the training is the correct concepts of which processes are considered handmade, and E uropean goldsmiths would not have this discussion.
And how would a European trained goldsmith refer to their work? I’m
sort of curious, because for the life of me, I can’t figure out what
all the fuss is (always) about on this issue. It’s always seemed
sort of like the old “angels tapdancing on a head-pin” argument.
Keeping in mind I just got back from London, and coughing up sums of
money to the Goldsmith’s Company to keep my marks registered.
(Tangentially, they have a really good show going at the moment,
on gold through the ages. Well worth going if you’re in the area.
Perhaps waiting until after the olympics might be in order though.)
So casting… the pouring of the metal isn’t the handmade part,
because it goes into the mold. OK, where does the mold come from?
(Or, more precisely, where does the wax that makes the mold come
from?) Pick a technique, any technique. You can argue any of them
into the ground if you really want to. (".but where does the rolling
mill come from? " Etc.) I can make a pretty good case that my hand
control of the wax (that begat the mold, that begat the metal part.)
gives me just as much hand control over the final form of the metal
as does a rolling mill. Ultimately, the mold face controls the cast
metal, just as the roller face (probably made by automatic processes
controlled by somebody else) controls the rolled metal. Which one is
more “hand” controlled if we’re going to be honest about this? (And
unless you’ve made your own hammers, from scratch, we can have this
same argument about hammers too. Begin to see a trend?)
There may well be two sides to this argument, but I’m not sure
they’re where everyone might think. Side one: those who realize that
the lawyers who wrote the standards may well have had no clue about
how jewelry’s made, and less of a care. So, yes, their standard is
legally binding in the US. Clearly, being enshrined in US law is a
guarantee of applicability, and fitness for purpose. So arguing about
it is roughly akin to debating the minutiae of Star Trek plot
points. This is what the law in the US requires. That’s no guarantee
it makes any sense, or has any real meaning beyond staying on the
right side of the courts in the US.
Side two would be those who wonder what all the fuss is about. Yes,
the legal standard is nonsensical. Make what you make, and don’t
worry about it. If you can honestly say you made whatever it was,
however you made it, just avoid the loaded terms, and carry on.
The “best” jewelry is made using whatever techniques the design
requires, whatever they may be.
Regards
Brian
This has been a most interesting topic, but it seems we all use
tools. At what point does the tool cross the line? Isn’t CAD just a
very sophisticated tool? So everything in a piece must be made from
raw materials by the artist if it’s handmade. Does that mean if you
use stones you have to produce your own diamonds or cabs? If so, do
you have to start with arock? Or can you start with rough? If I can
use a cabochon made by someone else, can I use a bead? Is there a
difference between casting one of a kind and mass producing? What
about cuttlefish bone casting? Isn’t the bone just a simple tool? How
I wish it were clear, but the more I think about it the more it’s
turning grey on me.
Dick Stromberg
But I honestly don't think that makes it any more - or less (for those who hate metal clay) "hand made" jewelry than that by someone who carves a wax and casts it.
Casting is not hand made either, it has nothing to do with hate or
like it is a very specific language in the guides:
Note to paragraph (a): As used herein, "raw materials" include bulk sheet, strip, wire, and similar items that have not been cut, shaped, or formed into jewelry parts, semi-finished parts, or blanks."
Hand made is wrought fabricated jewelry So I guess that means -
legally speaking - using bezel wire that is NOT cut into gallery
wire can be considered “hand made,” but using galley wire for a
small portion of the piece will make it not “hand made,” right?
The "best" jewelry is made using whatever techniques the design requires, whatever they may be.
Thanks Brian for such a well considered and articulated view of the
thread. Casting seems to be only considered as the endpoint or final
product. Lost wax casting can, in fact, be the beginning or midpoint.
A cast object can then be forged, fused, filed, added to by soldering
(brazing), welding, electroforming, spray welding-- what have you–
and so become in essence a raw material analogous to sheet, wire,
rod, plate, tube, etc.
If I roll sheet or wire from an ingot, I am starting by casting.
Andy
Re handmade - the problem with law is that it is words. Words that
are set down on paper in one moment of time. Sure, those words are
argued over at the time, amendments made, changes voted on. But now
they are concrete. When was the dfinition of handmade written and
when was it last updated. Yes, the purpose of the law that mandates
the properties of being handmade is laudable. It is to define how a
label can be honestly fixed to a piece. To exclude those things that
are made by machine. Perhaps to exclude those things that are mass
produced. It is a process that requires exclusion, every bit as much
as forming a guild requires exclusion. But between handmade and
machine made, between mass produced and one of a kind lie a myriad
of grey areas. Only a judge can rule what is handmade in 2012 and
what is not. And judges do “make” law - right up to the Supreme Court
level, they make law - jurisprudence. Statute and jurisprudence are
the two “codes” of law if you will. Perhaps a judge in 2012 might
rule differently than a judge in 1900. I don’t know. And no one does
until it happens. Good luck defining it in a modern age of virtual
reality and cloud computing.
Seems that those who do, know, those who don’t, don’t know.
Centrifugal casting by hand or machine is casting, not fabricating.
Thanks for the insult :-D
Sorry you took it that way. Just my perception of the difference of
how makers view this subject. Seems that those who create their work
considered as handmade by the FTC guidelines are not as concerned
about the terminology. It seems it also is the intention of the maker
who fashions from raw materials to control that part of the process
as an integral part of the concept and design of the work. That is
missing from the intention of a maker who buys parts and assembles.
As to the knife making, I believe cutting a shape and using a sander
to sand down and shape the piece is considered handmade. Powered
tools can be used to form and finish material that is formed and
shaped from raw materials.
If you forge or saw from sheet, which is considered raw material, it
follows the guideline. If you buy a knife blank, you are not
controlling the process used to form the blank from raw material.
Seems that some would like to buy a cast ring, solder some heads, set
the stones, polish it and size it and call it handmade. How far back
do you go in the process of making to separate what was done that
would exclude it from being called handmade.
I make pieces that incorporate pieces that I fabricated, molded and
cast, and use them with fabricated sheet and wire. I would never
consider calling it “handmade”. I make work from sheet and wire that
meets the guideline, and would not call it “handmade” either as it
does not serve any purpose for me to make the distinction. Just does
not matter, never has.
My intention is to use processes and materials to achieve a design
objective.
Which is more important, processes used or design objective???
If you were to use the FTC guideline wouldn’t that limit which
processes you used to achieve your design objective, and wouldn’t
that seem to defeat where you are going with your work? It would for
me!
Richard Hart G.G.
Denver, Co.
it seems to me there may be at least one type of exception to that generally true statement, though it likely doesn't then qualify items for the handmade label. I'm thinking of a case where the mold into which a piece is cast, is made by means where there was no actual original. There are several such methods. One can carve designs into Tufa, or cuttlefish, or stone, to make a mold, either open faced or closed, into which metal can be poured.
In principle I agree that that process would be under the manual
control of the maker. I thought of cuttlefish casting the last time
we went round this rabbit hole 
It makes an interesting point and
would certainly be worth bringing up if the FTC were to revisit the
Handmade section.
Here is the thing about the FTC, they are not charged with making
things easy or convenient for the maker or seller or to
differentiate between good and bad processes their mandate is to
protect the customer from unscrupulous makers and sellers. They are
to make sure that all representations and descriptions of an item of
jewelry conform to the mandates that congress has given them. So
every regulation must be viewed through that lens.
The following is my opinion:
Lets face it, casting is a mass production technique that is why 99%
of the people in the jewelry industry use it. It is way cheaper than
hand fabrication or die striking for typical jewelry scale
production. Unless the cleanup and finishing is bad there is no way
to differentiate between a one of a kind casting and a molded and
injected wax pattern. So no way to differentiate between a
“handmade” casting and a mass production item. All it takes at most
is a loupe to see a fabricated piece vs a casting. This is where the
consumer protection bit comes in, even if you disregard the
reproduction issue if you cannot differentiate between a mass
produced and “handcrafted” casting how can you protect the consumer
from the unscrupulous maker or vendor?
Regards,
Jim
James Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts
Sorry, James, but there's nothing in the guidelines, as quoted above, that precludes a casting being labeled as "handmade".
Look, I’m not a lawyer, I don’t work for the FTC, I can not argue
their logic or reasons. I am just putting forward what my reading of
the Guides and what I have learned from others in the trade. I am not
on a crusade to downplay casting as a craft, it is a highly skilled
craft. In fact it is how I first began to make jewelry and I use it
in my work where appropriate. I don’t label my work Handmade because
I occasionally use castings and some small number of commercial
findings. It is really basic, casting is reproduction of a model not
an original hand made item. The casting of the metal is not under
hand control of the maker but driven by the laws of fluid dynamics,
it is a machine/mechanical process.
If you want an opinion to validate your premiss write to the FTC and
ask for a ruling. Maybe you will get a response if so please share it
with us.
James Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts
Dear Charles, I agree about the inclusion on Jewelry etc. The comment
about not having to use a come on does not apply on the Internet
markets. You are buried under 2 million hits on a search engine.
Something needs to keep you on the first page of a search engine.
That means posting daily, and using key words. I am new to Etsy et al
markets, but they are huge! Jamie gave some advice here months ago
about key words and tricks of the trade, I have had very good luck
following her advice. On my first 6 weeks on Etsy, I had more than a
1,000 people look at my shop. That was 900 + more than searched out
my Ebay in 2 years. If I had my choice, I would have a shop, I would
be cutting, making cabs and fainting, at my leisure. That is not the
case, I am struggling to make a living so that I do not have to be on
welfare rolls. I live in a country that my government does not say
"Congratulations, you have survived 65 years as a viable citizen".
Instead they say " guess what, you get medicare whether you want it
or not, and by the way we will deduct $99.90 out of your check, live
off of $688 a month". Sad when our society gives people who put into
the Social Security system welfare status, and turns around and gives
$100,000 a year to keep convicted murderer’s comfortable on death row
for 20-30 years. It is a case of making lemonade when you really want
to be a jeweler. My market in Willow Alaska is a Friday market where
no one makes any money unless you are a food vender. Moving to a
larger town is not an option. Blessings, i always enjoy reading your
comments on most subjects. respectfully pat
I think that at the time these rules where written "hand-wrought"
was more like what the FTC authors were trying to define.
The FTC rules say, “It is unfair or deceptive to represent, directly
or by implication, that any industry product is hand-made or
hand-wrought unless…” and then go on to describe specifically what
one would reasonable accept as “hand-wrought”. We don’t really use
that term so much these days, but when I was in school, we had a
stamp in the studio for “hand-wrought”. In hollowware, this would
distinguish spun or machine stamped forms from those that were
raised, forged or chased. Hammer work basically. “Wrought” is an
archaic word for “worked”, but in 20th century use in metalwork it
meant shaped in a solid form as opposed to cast or machined. The
three sentences in the FTC rules we are discussing are unfortunately
written as if hand-wrought and hand-made are always the same. It
does not specifically mention the term “hand-crafted” which people
are more likely to use these days.
But the reason we are bothering with this definition at all is
because “hand-made” or “hand-crafted” have become short-hand terms
that say that an individual or small studio is creating the work
rather than a larger factory. It is used, and not especially
accurately, to say designer-craftsman, jewelry-artist, creative small
business. Bickering over this definition is a lot like hair-splitting
who is eligible for craft fairs, arts festivals and craft guilds. It
is an upsetting topic for some people because the FTC says they
cannot be a member of the club and it means a lot to them. At a
certain level there are some who want professionals to maintain a
sort of amateur status.
These three sentences in the FTC rules really are inadequate. And
since nobody we know of has EVER been busted for running afoul of
these FTC rules, we don’t know if they would hold up in court. I
think American craftsmen have more freedom in reality than we do on
paper.
Stephen Walker
I can’t believes all this, honnestly!
What’s next? A handicapt person without hands can’t make handmade
jewelry? Should it be called “feetmade” jewelry. Whould this be
virtualy unlegal for this person? Maybe we should devide it into 95%
handmade or 81,5%. Looking into the future, cyborg could make jewelry
and then…cyborgmade? It will never be 100% correct, deal with it.
Have fun and enjoy
Pedro
All castings no matter what technique is used to make the casting are a reproduction of the original.
How about cuttlefish casting, where there is no original, just
material carved away?
okay people, is everybody using this ‘hand-made’ and 'hand-wrought’
argument like the popular time-wasting defining of ‘the meaning of
ART’ to prevent having to buckle down to actually 'wroughting’
anything by hand - foot - left elbow? get off the keyboard and onto
the work bench, people -
good luck -
ive
Mr. Binnion–If I understand you, you are saying that an a casting
is not hand made because the unique wax model that I built by hand is
burned from the investment and that the cast metal object is not an
original even though there will never be more than one casting. I
realize that this will probably enter the legal description of hand
made, but I think this action is bankrupt or at least penurious.
Whatever the ruling, It will not affect my work because I never use
the term, handmade, to describe what I have wrought or cast. I still
hate to see such regulation imposed. Most Libertarian Democrats do.
I wish we had a political party to attend as have most people. I am
probably the only one or so it seems.
Gerald Vaughan
Ps–Perhaps it would serve the intent of such a ruling to restrict
the use of handmade as a description for casting of multiples and
for casting from commercial wax models.
The "best" jewelry is made using whatever techniques the design requires, whatever they may be.
Amen!
what they care about is that it was made by YOU, not on a factory machine line spewing out thousands of identical pieces of whatever.
I agree that this is what most people potential jewelry buyers care
about. And it’s what they usually consider “hand made.”
El
Everything I make is mindmade.
It all starts in my mind.
All castings no matter what technique is used to make the casting
are a reproduction of the original. It may be a destructive or
nondestructive reproduction but it is definitely a reproduction.
Thank you, that make sense. :-)
However, this is so not true. Remember the Jeweler in “Schindler’s
List”. He cast a gold ring into a steatite mold. You can hand carve
a pair of casting plaster blanks, bind them together and cast an
object without first making a physical representation.
TL Goodwin
thepacifikimage
Hi all, can we put this to bed it has been discussed before.
George