The Artifact Blog
For Love of Craft & Leisure
Since ARTIFACT began in 2010, craft and leisure are two aspects that encompass our purpose and passion.
Craft
In the studio, we don our aprons and create handcrafted goods rooted in utilitarian design. It still amazes and humbles me that in this digital world, craft and product design became my vocations in life.
Leisure
Outside the studio, we pursue leisure for balance, well-being, and personal growth. The beauty of leisure is it can be whatever you want or need it to be. For me, leisure is purposeful and challenging, more than passive consumption of free time.
Seasonality
There is seasonality to my leisure. When daylight permits, I am outside, hiking and fly fishing local streams, ponds, and lakes. I love to observe the flora and fauna that requires slowing down to notice. In months when the sun sets early, evenings are spent reading in my favorite chair, playing guitar, sketching ideas, and tying flies.
Ritual
Ritual can play a part in craft and leisure. It can be the regimen of my daily row before walking my daughter to school, or the act of putting on an apron in preparation of awakening the creative mind. It can also be the refinement of an activity, like how I hunt down hardcover copies of books because I prefer this reading format over all others. If you think about it, we all have rituals that dovetail and enhance our leisure time.
The Journey
What do you do in your down time? Do these activities bring you joy and a sense of purpose? Fair warning, leisure can be a journey. Walking may lead to birding. The pursuit of unique birds may lead to hiking. Hiking may blossom to foraging, or even camping! Be open to exploration in your pursuit of leisure, as you never know where tendrils of interest will grow and take root.
Product design at ARTIFACT parallels our pursuit of craft and leisure for soon to be 15 years. It keeps our days fresh and interesting in the studio. We’re always excited to share each new product as it comes to fruition and hear how you use it in your pursuit of craft and leisure!
