The Word Everyone Uses But Few Mean It for Real

Handmade is one of the words that get worn out from misuse.

Not all “handmade” is created equal and not all of them are made in the same way, entirely by hand.

Let’s try to draw the line.

What Handmade™ Really Is

When “handmade” becomes a marketing costume

Handmade™ is the version of the word used as a sales strategy, not a truth.

Handmade™ =

• mass-produced item

• made start-to-finish by machines

• briefly “assembled” or “adjusted” by a worker

• then labeled as “hand-finished,” “hand-touched,” “artisan,” “crafted,” or “handmade”

This is certainly misleading, and not quite what a buyer had in their mind when searching for something handmade. 

It does have the human element, but so little of it. 

(On the other hand, I buy leather and closure mechanisms, I don't raise the cows and I don't make the buttons myself. I buy the metal to cast my pendants, and I do buy the stones - I am not digging them out myself. Am I considered as 100% handmade? Or maybe 96%? I think we also need some common sense here, too.)

A worker tightening screws on 300 bracelets per hour is not the same as a maker spending 2 hours on one cuff.

Is someone with factory pre-cut tote bag pieces, stitching them together with a sewing machine considered handmade or "handmade"?

The line is not sharp clear.

The keywords big brands use to blur the lines

These phrases usually signal Handmade™, not actual handmade:

• “hand finished”

• “hand assembled”

• “artisan inspired”

• “crafted look”
  

• “designed in ___” (but made in a factory elsewhere)

Companies love these soft terms. They let them keep prices and costs low and margins high, with the emotional story of craft without the cost of actual craft.

What Real Handmade Is

The human process you can feel

Real handmade is slow and stubborn and beautifully inefficient.

A real maker:

• chooses the hide (not raising the animal, though :) )

• cuts the pieces by hand

• bevels the edges

• dyes by hand or hand paints

• stitches by hand

• burnishes, finishes, seals

• tests the fit

• and adjusts again because your wrist is 15.7 cm and not 16, so the size Small is small, but not quite right for you.

There’s intention in every step and because of that intention, the final piece carries something factory-made items never can: presence.

What real handmade will always have

• Slight variations

• A tiny quirk or two (Wabi-Sabi)

• A maker’s touch

• A soul

If your bracelet looks too perfect, too uniform, too identical to the product photo while it's not listed as "One of a Kind", "Already Made and Ready to Ship" but "Made to Order",you might have bought a factory item.

Here is an example:

One of a Kind/Already Made & Ready to Ship Greek Amber Leather Cuff

This is a photo of the actual product you're getting. It is listed in my shop as OOAK (One Of A Kind), meaning that it's not a sample, but an already made item, ready for immediate shipping. Once it's gone, it's gone. I don't have the same materials to make another one. 

But, here is another similar Amber Bracelet I made months ago, which was also listed as OOAK:

One the other hand, if you take a tour to my shop's reviews, you will see photos posted by my customers of the same "made to order" bracelets, and you will notice that all of them are the same bracelet, but don't look identical at all.

That's because I make each one of them from scratch.

The Five Levels of “Handmade”, From Real to Ridiculous

Not all “handmade” claims lie equally. Here’s the scale:

1. Truly Handmade (Real)

Just hands, start to finish: Cut by hand, stitched by hand, sculpted by hand, crafted slowly. I have been following some woodworkers online and they literally chop a trunk and make it a insanely beautiful set of bowls, or a small table or jewelry box - all by hand.

2. Hand-Assisted (Still Real, But Faster)

Maker uses machines as tools, not as workers.
For example: sanding machines, electric burnishers, small tweaks to help out.

3. Hand-Finished (Borderline)

Item is machine-made; maker only finishes edges, polishes, or adds hardware.

4. Hand-Assembled (Marketing Zone)

Pieces are sent pre-cut and pre-made.
Someone simply attaches the parts together. Most common craft of this kind is charm bracelets.

5. Handmade™ (Not Handmade At All)

Mass-produced product that once saw a human hand for 15 seconds. Let's say a fancy, factory-made fountain pen, the "maker" owns a laser engraver, they engrave your name on it, there you go, your "handmade", custom fountain pen.

And all of them legally fall under the same word.

Why True Handmade Costs More

Because it takes real time

Factories can produce thousands per hour.
A maker produces… well… as much as their two hands allow.

Time is the first ingredient in price. 

[Related: How to Price Your Handmade Goods Without Losing Your Mind]

Because materials aren’t generic

Independents select materials like chefs select ingredients, usually from the same supplier for their main materials (like leather, stones, closures), and be very selective and picky for the rest, buying in small, tiny batches.

Factories make deals for massive volumes and work with ridiculously discounted prices in bulk.

Because mistakes are real

When you make something by hand, a wrong cut means starting over.
Factories simply toss the part and grab the next one from a giant bin.

Because makers don’t outsource the hard parts

Design, crafting, photography, packaging, customer service: we do it all.

Handmade is a full ecosystem, not a step of assembly.

How to Tell Real Handmade From Handmade™

I have written about this before here, but here are some quick tips:

1. Look for process photos

If you never see hands, tools, or workspace, it's a red flag. The "Behind the Scenes" is our most solid proof of handcrafting.

2. Look for variability (read the reviews, don't just skim)

Even when I make the same bracelet 500 times, none of them will be identical to another.
Factory-made items look cloned.

3. Look for customization options

Since I make everything from scratch, why wouldn't I make your bracelet in black when you request it, even when I initially made my sample in brown? I just grab a different color piece of leather to work with. 

When you see a pendant necklace somewhere and you ask the maker to make it in gold instead of silver, they have no reason to refuse, they will just explain you the procedure, the extra cost, and extra time before they ship it out.

If they deny, I would be sceptic.

4. Look at the maker’s language

Real makers talk about and show real process, not buzzwords. They do have specific, real answers to your real, specific questions. They will sit down and talk with you, brainstorm, find ways to make it work for you.

5. Look for times

If shipping is “same day” for “handmade custom item”, hmm. Unless it's listed - as I mentioned earlier - as "One of a Kind", "Already Made", "Ready for Immediate Shipping", etc.

And even then, I cannot actually ship right away, it depends on when you placed your order: Was it on Sunday? Was it Friday night? It will have to wait a bit. Obviously, the "immediate shipping" is not literal, but it means that there is no further process involved - your item is ready. 

Real Craft takes time!

The Emotional Difference: Why People Still Seek Real Craft

Handmade carries a human heartbeat

People don’t buy an item. They buy:

• the maker’s story

• the meaning behind the symbol

• the connection

• the slower rhythm

• the sense of something made for them, not produced for people

We’re wired for this.

Humans have been exchanging handmade items for thousands of years.

Factories produce beautiful, disposable things.

Makers create meaningful, lasting things.

The difference matters.

Why Handmade™ Will Never Replace True Craft

Because Handmade™ sells products.

True handmade sells identity.

You can’t fake the feeling of something made with intention, patience, and soul. You can copy the item, but not the experience.

And customers know, even if they can’t always explain it. They feel it in the weight, the texture, the story, the fit.

Handmade™ is loud.

Real handmade is quiet and unforgettable.

The Word “Handmade” Deserves Better

And people deserve the truth.

Factories have their place of course, no one is shaming anyone here.

But it’s about clarity, honesty, and honoring the makers who carry traditions forward with two hands and a stubborn heart, especially in these well-known, massive marketplaces, some of them having lost almost entirely their human touch, flooded by similar, and often identical, soul-less factory-made items.

If someone wants real handmade, they can still find it.

If someone wants cheap, fast, mass-produced, that market exists too.

But they’re not the same.