Craftsmanship.

I chose this first posting on our blog to be about good craftsmanship, simply because it is the essence of and the one factor that can sustain the plaster trade.
I'm writing this as I'm seated in a warm and cozy farmhouse in Denmark, I am home to visit family and to teach the first American Clay workshop in Europe. Being here, it is not hard at all to find inspiration on this particular topic since craftsmanship here is very deeply rooted and extremely organized in the trades.
I have been through some dictionaries to find the root of the word. Here is the Oxford English Dictionaries crack at it:
Craft: An activity involving skill in making things by hand.
Craftsman: A worker skilled in a particular craft.
And here is how the Gyldendal's Red Danish Dictionary explains the Danish word Haandvaerk- which means craft related to the trades, and the work of the hand.
Haandvaerk: (From old Nordic: Handaverk, German: Handwerk, English: Handiwork)
Spending time everyday plastering and also teaching workshops has offered some time to ponder what the word and concept, craftsmanship, requires to be successfully applied. And also why it goes hand in hand with quality.
The soul of the craftsmanship lies in the personal ownership of a larger process...from thought and choice of tools and materials to the execution of the project. For me this means everything from meeting with customers and other contractors making sample boards, and tweaking finishes to meet and exceed expectations. The joy of pulling out my tools, to carrying out the chosen finishes with that very special attention it takes to make a truly unique and flawless finish.
I like what I do and I like to do it well. I have great respect for my trade and the materials I work with. These things alone are some great circumstances for being able to deliver a good result, but are still not enough to guarantee it. There is also the factor ,of whether the subcontractor scheduled before you did his/her job properly, and the subcontractor before that. That is not always the case, as a matter of fact the opposite is quite common, and there is only one person to pay for it. The costume price through bidding has gone up as a consequence of responsible quality craftsmanship having diminished. It is very clear to me that the overall cost of construction could be less If everybody involved took the time and pride required to do their job right, an did not try to see if they could get away with leaving some of their job of for the next subcontractor to fix before the start of their project.
Stories Like this is quite common when people hear what I do for work, "Wow, so your are a plasterer, that is a dying art. When i had our house plastered I could watch him for hours so swift and elegant, there cant be many of you left of you out there??? do you have a card? ".With stories like that , and coming from a long family tradition of working by hand, it is very clear to me that there is an extremely old instinctual fascination with watching the craftsmen do their thing. A deep appreciation leaving the craftsman with even more obligation to carrying on the tradition of this particular trade. And with this being said. If you are a craftsman reading this, I can only encourage you to encourage others and do your own very best for the good of everybody. Bearing in mind that contracts and layers should not decide what craftsmanship is or is not. And if you are not a craftsman, I will encourage you to take time to enjoy watching craftsmen work next time you get a chance.
Lars Hansen.