Simple things like scissors made to look like a bird’s beak, embroidered everything, scrolling details on metal spoons and clawed feet on furniture… tiny buttons, fancy thimbles! Why so many details for every little thing? Might be a silly question, sorry.
In: Technology
I think because manufacturing took so much time things were made to last and because they were meant to last people cared more what they looked like. For example if you got one of those fancy scissors you probably expected to use that for much of the rest of your life, and maybe even give it to your children later. Whereas now if you buy scissors you’e probably expecting it to break, dull or get lost in the next 5ish years, or if you ever find you don’t like it anymore you’ll get a different one.
On the other hand I think it’s also harder to make such intricate things compared to mass production. For example making an elegantly wood carved cupboard is way harder than making a couple of ikea cupboard parts, even with modern factories. In comparison the step between a simple handmade wood cupboard and an elegantly decorated one is less extreme. Selling and manufacturing beautiful furniture is probably a better business decision if you have to make everything by hand anyway compared to if you could sell cheap mass produced products instead.
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