A More Sustainable Life With Handcrafted Furnishing

Handcrafted pieces have been a staple of interior design thanks to their unique look and quality. But not only do they look good, but they are also more sustainable than other forms of manufacturing.

People are more mindful of the effect they have on our planet nowadays and looking for environmentally friendly alternatives to their standard furniture and furnishing. Being more mindful of the negative impact we have on the planet is also one of the reasons many manufacturers employ more sustainable crafting methods.

Sustainability In Interior Design

Sustainability can mean different things in different contexts but in interior design, it refers to the ecological aspects of the concept. Sustainability in business in general can be achieved by using fewer resources, creating less plastic waste, and preferring natural materials, people are reducing the negative effect they have on earth and trying to prolong the planet's lifespan.

That’s where handcrafting gets in the picture. Handcrafting methods usually use completely natural, raw resources like wood and wool that are entirely sustainable.

Masterfully handcrafted furnishing also gets in the way of modern toxic trends like disposable design culture. Concepts become a trend and are completely forgotten the next year and replaced with something completely new.

We are completely against that approach in Handan Loomwork. We completely embrace the concept of slow fashion and show tremendous care about how each product we sell is produced.

You can get timeless results with handcrafting that will never become old-fashioned due to the character they have. Gorgeous handcrafted pieces almost become more than a commodity but a defining characteristic of our living spaces, not occupying but enhancing the corners of our homes.

Discover more about our sustainable criterias based on people, planet, design and living.

Why Does Handcrafting Matter?

Using less plastic, wasting minimal natural resources and reducing your carbon footprint are noble causes. We all should do our part in becoming more mindful of the waste we produce individually. But that's not where the benefits of traditional crafting end. There are many things it offers that you can't find anywhere else.

Unique Style

The first thing people notice about handcrafted furnishings is that they look quite unique. Each item is crafted individually, so even if the intention was to create the same model, different items will have a different look to them.

Every inch of a handcrafted piece carries the reminiscence of human labor and craftsmanship. Each item has its own story of how the completely sustainable material was gathered and how it was made by a master of their craft.

Handcrafted furnishes give you that unique feeling of comfort and wholesomeness. The beauty is in the details.

Quality

You can't expect a mass-produced product to have the same quality as a handcrafted one. The care each product receives and the quality of material used to create the individual pieces is unheard of in mass-produced furnishing.

Not only in terms of longevity or sturdiness but in the design and texture of it. Weavers spend a lifetime perfecting their craft and get better with each piece they finish. The result is the ability to create a work of art every time they sit down in front of their loom.

Craftsmanship

Here at Handan Loomworks, we believe in keeping traditional crafts alive. Handcrafting is an art that is vulnerable to being forgotten because the methods each craftsman uses are usually not documented as they should and are sometimes kept as a trade secret. Certain methods of weaving and knitting have been lost to time so it is important to keep what’s left alive to keep a connection with our past.

Some methods of traditional crafting are passed down generations to keep the trade and the passion for the craft alive. The crafting methods we use on our products is the same methods Handan Özcan’s gradmother used for years. The generational passion that goes into the work is reflected in the end results.

See our masterfully crafted rug collections.

Health

Your furniture and furnishings are almost like a member of your house. There is no denying that. They are not just something that you sit on and hang on the wall. They set the whole mood of the house and determine your spirits.

Not only do they affect our mental state, but they also affect our health. These things we sit, sleep, and breath on, where are they even manufactured? What chemicals are used in their production? Are we breathing in those chemicals while we put our heads on our pillow? Is the production methods sustainable and safe for the employees?

Handcrafting clears all those questions. It is the most ethical way of manufacturing and providing people with furnishing you can imagine considering they have no negative impact on both our homes and the planet.

We should always seek ways of consuming more ethically. Not only should sustainability be a societal goal, it should guide our decision when making purchases on a personal level. Sustainable practices like handweaving and slow fashion are already making progress when it comes to creating environmentally friendly manufacturing methods and we would love to see other businesses adopt more sustainable productions methods.

Keywords: Handcrafted, traditional crafts, sustainable. sustainability, sustainability in business