The Data and Crafts Movement
“Knowing the journey of a maker adds to the value of their work.”
Here at Nafisi, we hold the conviction that the story behind a piece is its true value. We believe that a connection to the maker and materials needs to be a central focus. Why, then, do we as a society find it so difficult to share the challenges of the making process? Why do we hide so many stages of a product’s life cycle? For us, the hidden parts are the best parts- they are what forge the piece into a connection between maker and buyer.
Handmade bespoke bed designed and made by Nafisi Studio from recycled materials verified on blockchain technology by Provenance.org
The Data and Crafts Movement provides a conscious awareness of globalisation and the environment through data usage and analysis, namely by tracking the life cycles of products. It holds similar ideologies to the Arts & Crafts movement in that they are both closer to an ideological lifestyle choice, rather than a prescriptive aesthetic, reacting against consumerism and modern manufacturing processes. The Data and Crafts movement elaborates on these ideals, and takes them further by democratising access to information, and exploring how we can use the technology available to us to create more transparent practices.
A.I. chair by Philippe Starck for Kartell- Claimed by Autodesk to be “the first chair in production to use artificial intelligence in collaboration with human beings”. The A.I. chair was created by Starck using the company’s prototype software, and aims to create a structurally sound and stable chair using the least amount of material.
In this era of globalisation and interconnection, makers have many tools available to them in order to communicate with and market to customers, from more direct forms such as their own websites and social media, to purpose-built platforms such as Ebay and Etsy. Cutting out the middle-man in this way has been a positive step forward in creating more autonomy for makers, and both mass and batch manufacturing practices have been continually scaled up to compensate. This same expansion has not been implemented in the consideration of a product’s afterlife, as waste management continues to be a global issue. In order to get to grips with this, the Data and Crafts Movement proposes the use of data and software to manage product life cycles. It envisions a deep connection to the provenance of the materials we are using, through being able to track and analyse the journey of what we buy from cradle to grave.
‘Charlie’ chair by Ecobirdy- constructed from recycled plastic toys, with the aim of introducing the idea of circular economy to children.
Nafisi are enacting this by partnering with Provenance, a UK-based tech company powering the transparency movement through use of data, providing both a consultancy and a platform for businesses. In the age of greenwashing and misleading sustainability marketing, Provenance aims to dispel hype and enable consumers to regain trust in the sustainability efforts of business by verifying claims made about manufacturing methods and practices. Makers are able to list each and every stage of their manufacturing process, their suppliers, and all of the materials that they use. Each of these connections is then verified by Provenance, who then store evidence of this claim on a blockchain. Products are then implanted with an NFC chip, which a customer can then tap with their phone and see each stage of making, from sourcing to production.
During the making of the Nafisi studio bed, we used Provenance in order to create a digital record of the journey of each component. We used wood off-cuts from Wenben Smith, repurposing another maker’s waste wood. We also used black sawdust to fill in the timber grain, which was a byproduct from Obe manufacturing. Like a digital handshake, we sent the respective shop owners a Provenance claim to verify our purchases and prove our collaborations, which, when verified, will be available to see when scanning the actual bed.
This process could be scaled up for the global mass-manufacturing market; it is the aim of Provenance to implement these measures across all products, whether mass-produced or bespoke. Provenance believes that consumers deserve transparency about this often hidden journey, and providing insight into this adds value to the maker industry.
Venn Diagram illustrating the types of data that we have access to, which can be collected and used to further inform technological progression.
The Data and Crafts movement acknowledges the union (and unique opportunity) of old-school craft training and new-school data technology. It believes that in an age of prolific data tracking and open source access, makers have a responsibility to use this data for the preservation of humanity’s craft skills. We can do this by making Craft’s value more visible through storytelling as well as placing more emphasis on sustainability by exposing all the materials and processes that go into the art.
Designer Gareth Neil using CNC machinery as an “extension of the toolbox”
The movement also seeks to address the issues within the imbalance of globalisation. As a society, we have become so advanced at optimising click funnels and marketing media campaigns to manipulate the masses into buying but have not implemented the same scrupulous energy and passion towards efficiently using our waste and designing circular thinking into production.
The Bow Chair by Patrick Schumacher of Zaha Hadid Architects- Manufactured using 3D printing, the ‘Bow’ chair is constructed from PLA, a biodegradable material created from renewable sources.
The Data & Crafts Movement is beyond the mere use of digital tools to create works of art, aiming to unlock the story behind what has been made, and to communicate its ethical authenticity. The power of data and digital tools is arguably not just a medium but a weapon, safeguarding craftsmanship rather than replacing it. Through applying the same rigorous optimisation we have developed for online digital tracking, we can optimise our physical waste management in equal measure to reflect the times we live in.
“Never before have we had such a complete picture of where and how a crafted object came to be until today. The data and craft movement celebrates this opportunity to tell such a rich and vivid story of who made it and why.”
Examples of digital art platforms on the rise to put artists back in control of their artwork rights, selling direct to the collectors
We are also seeing a wave of digital artists selling their art online directly to collectors as new technology allows makers to buy and sell without needing a middle man and without any paper contracts. Online market places such as Makersplace, Rarible, SuperRare and Niftygateway all use non-fungible tokens or NFTs, (a smart contract standard), tokens which are hosted on Ethereum’s own blockchain. NFTs are unique digital items such as collectibles or artworks or game items. As an artist, by tokenizing your work you both ensure that it is unique and brand it as your work. The actual ownership is blockchain-managed. This wave of connecting to the maker directly using the proliferation of new tech and data we have available serves as further evidence that we can and we will achieve William Morris’s dream of every single person owning a piece of beautifully, soulfully crafted art in their homes as well as avoiding the degradation of artist’s by giving them a fair wage. But as Joanie Lemercier we have a long way to go to reduce the energy consumption of NFT marketplaces. So it begs the question is all that distribution of wealth worth it if we are ruining the planet at alarming rate. “A single artist burned the equivalent of 49 years of electricity consumption, with an edition of just 2 artworks = CO2 emitted: 103,129 Kg” .
As designers and makers, we have a responsibility to ask questions about the origins of the materials we consume. We owe it to our buyers to be forthcoming in the information we provide about what we make, and where we source it from. We must dig deeper into creating a more transparent making culture, by mapping out data to show the realities and the complexities of supply chain webs. In what way can we better capture the hidden stories behind each piece for the buyer? As consumers, we also have a responsibility. We should try to ensure that we are familiar with the provenance of the items that we consume, supporting transparency and the companies that integrate it with their code of ethics.
Take a moment. If the connection is not there, then maybe it’s not yours to buy.