International studio (59.1916)

National Society of Craftsmen

National society of crafts-
men: THE DOLLAR VALUE
BY CONSTANCE ARMFIELD
If there is one thing above all
others which the craft-worker is contributing to
the national well-being, it is the establishment of
something higher and truer than the dollar value.
The world is in different stages of wakefulness at
the moment, but it is steadily awaking to the
fact that the dollar
(or its equivalent) is
no true basis of
value. We recognise
a man of learning,
an inventor, a pro¬
fessor may render far
more valuable ser¬
vice to the com¬
munity than the
chorus girl elevated
suddenly to the
status of a star, al-
though the returns
in dollarswould indi¬
cate otherwise; and
we are coming to see
that the fact that a
building, a fabric, or
a suite of furniture
cost a large sum, is
no proof of their in-
trinsic worth. When
a fad is introduced,
the price runs high,
until the fad’s ephe¬
meral hour is run,
and it becomes a
drug in the market and is scrapped with ruth-
less celerity.
But there are some things that are not scrapped,
but increase in value as the years accumulate;
that are, moreover, tenderly kept and handed on
to coming generations as proof of the enduring
and truly valuable qualities in the age that pro-
duced them.
These things are the hand-made things; the
work into which the craft-worker has poured the
treasures of enthusiasm, love, patience, honesty
and ingenuity. They are the things produced
because the craft-worker enjoyed making them,
and endeavoured to bring out in them his or her

highest concept of beauty and good workmanship.
There is a certain museum in Massachusetts
where the handiwork of the early settlers in
America is collected. There we may see the
flower and fruitage of their hands; and admire
the simple household goods, the enterprise, in-
genuity, sincerity and love of work from which
America’s present world-wide industrial activities
sprung. The work at Deerfield was not made
for the market but for the beautifying and enrich-
ment of the home.
As a distinguished
architect expressed
it: Those pioneers
worked alone, with
the wilderness be-
hind them, and
through the needle,
chisel, and hammer
they expressed their
individuality with
curious intensity.
The work of their
hands was of all-
absorbing interest;
and through that
work, to a great ex-
tent, character was
laid and developed
on fine, sterling lines.
The craft-worker
must be perpetually
overcoming difficul-
ties; as his hand
grows in dexterity,
his vision widens
and he perceives
greater possibilities.
When the preliminary stages of technique are
gained, the craft-worker can then begin to express
himself; and as he works, his concept of beauty
in line, form and colour, unfolds. He is linked
to the world-traditions of his craft and, no matter
what nation he belongs to, must continue them;
if he breaks away, the necessities of his material
compel him to return. What he can do that is
different, and indeed what he cannot help doing,
is to express the thought of the age in the subtle
manner in which he uses his tools and designs his
patterns a little differently, even when he is full
of reverence and respect for former ways. So.
though the machinery of to-day may be pour-


DESIGNED BY PAUL ZIMMERMANN

CII