Craftsmanship

True craftsmanship understands that no one thing exists apart from another.

In the early years of the century, the Craftsman movement in architecture and design took those two disciplines to new heights of grace and symmetry.

Craftsman architects believed that a house existed not apart from but in conjunction with the total environment. So they aspired to perfection on both form and function. Working closely with wealth owners of the home to be, the craftsman architects was planner, interior designer, landscaper; he would often extend a subtle design theme from the structure of the house through the interior décor and into the yard and gardens to create an effect of harmony and balance in which even the minutest objects played and integral part. The mere placement of a lamp, for instance – its shape and the light and shadows it cast in a room- was important as the structural planning of the home itself.

As a result, when a craftsman home was sold and the new owner bought in new furnishings, the magnificence of the house seemed to mysteriously disappear, for without the splendid synthesis of object and space, structure and surroundings, it lost its soul.

Stepping back into today, it’s important to keep focused on connections. The world is a network where everything touches everything else and everyone touches everyone else. The connection can be physical, financial, emotional or spiritual, but it’s here.

We must learn to recognize how we are effecting lives around us. We must realize that the more we do our part to give to others, the more we give to our self, and the more we give to ourselves the more we can support others.

Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone adopted the Craftsmanship attitude toward life? How can you bring more harmony and connectedness into your life?