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| Fait à la Main, French for "made by hand," celebrates
the craftsmen of Louisiana. This website is a directory of juried Louisiana craftsmen provided as a source for shop owners, gallery owners, interior designers, architects, and collectors of handmade crafts. This website edition of Fait à la Main is, in part, an economic development program that strives to stimulate several markets for Louisiana craftsmen. The program includes many different types of craftsmen targeting various markets. Some of the craftsmen have extensive experience wholesaling to shops and galleries. Others do not wholesale at present, but have the desire to do so. Some produce fine contemporary crafts appropriate for the most discriminating markets, while others target the local Louisiana tourist market. Still others target museum shops or collectors of rare traditional crafts. We encourage you to explore this website and identify craftsmen who suit your needs. To the Consumer: We encourage individuals unfamiliar with handcrafted work to develop an understanding and appreciation of handcrafts. Unlike mass produced items, handcrafted items are lovingly produced by individuals who have invested their time and creativity. No two handcrafted items are exactly alike. It is the individuality of each piece, and the unique attention to high standards of craftsmanship of its creator, that makes the piece so special. In spite of the rewards from their work, craftsmen inherently face dilemmas. These micro-business people are torn between the desire to create and the need to manage a business. If they spend too much time producing, they have no outlets and no sales. If they spend too much time selling, they have nothing to sell. They are NOT small factories. Most are not able to regularly produce the large quantities needed by department stores. Fine handcrafted work will never become a mass-marketable commodity. The market for handcrafted work will always be among individuals who appreciate the unique, extraordinary, and visionary aspects of fine craftsmanship. Types of Craftsmen: Three types of craftsmen participate in the Louisiana Crafts Marketing Program. The distinction among them is based on the context in which the craftsmen learned their crafts and the relationship of the crafts to their communities. The particular medium or product is not usually a significant distinguishing factor. Contemporary craftsmen have been self-taught or formally trained in classrooms or workshops. They make personal artistic statements with their crafts. Self-taught, contemporary craftsmen have been influenced by books and magazines from popular culture rather than by folk culture. Folk craftsmen maintain traditional crafts learned within their own community. Their skills are passed down orally or by example rather than learned in the context of a classroom or workshop. Although some folk craftsmen may be self-taught and express a high degree of individuality in their work, the works of folk craftsmen reflect the culture and aesthetics of their folk group or communities. Revivalist craftsmen produce traditional forms, but their training has come from outside the traditional community through books or workshops. How to use this website The website is not a mail order catalog. Persons interested in purchasing items described should contact the craftsmen directly to obtain more information. Fait à la Main is divided into three major sections: Crafts Available Wholesale, Contemporary and Revivalist Craftsmen, and Folk Craftsmen . Crafts Available Wholesale highlights those craftsmen who are actively seeking retail outlets for their work. A wide range of crafts is represented in this section. If you are interested in acquiring fine crafts for resale from responsive, professional craftspeople, please take the time to examine this section closely. This does not mean that craftsmen under other sections are less professional, but that the craftsmen listed in this section are ready, willing, and familiar with the needs of wholesale buyers. Contemporary and Revivalist Craftsmen are arranged according to materials used: Ceramics, Fiber, Glass, Metal, Wood, and Assorted and Mixed Media. The last section contains craftsmen whose work combines several materials or those who work in materials not listed above. Folk Craftsmen are divided into genres which help the reader understand the crafts significance in the craftsmen culture: Domestic Crafts, Ritual and Festive Crafts, Native American Crafts, Folk Instruments, Rural Occupational Crafts and Traditional Boats, and Wildfowl Carving. If you are looking for certain products or craftsmen with a particular skill, you may use the Keywords.
Website Credits Over the years, many people have contributed to this effort. In the contemporary and revivalist craftsmen's sections, Greg Wirth, Genny Nadler, Mary K. Morse, Susan Roach, and Ann Russo contributed to the text. In the folk craftsmen's section, Ray Brassieur, Mary van Rheenen, and Adrian Gauthier contributed to the boat-building section; Marc Savoy contributed to the folk instrument section, and the research data of folklorists and anthropologists, especially Nicholas Spitzer, Maida Owens, Susan Roach, Ray Brassieur, H.F. "Pete" Gregory, Don Hatley, and others for the other folk sections.
Louisiana Crafts
Marketing Program Division
of the Arts Office of
Cultural Development Department of Culture,
Recreation, and Tourism
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