What Potential Value(s) Can Be Found in Producing Locally Made Design in the Applied Arts and Crafts Field

Abstract

The paper is an explorative research regarding the potential values brought on by local crafts and design production within the Nordic-European region. Thus, this research will explore different characteristics, grasp the importance of local production for design and crafts in Denmark, and if outsourcing crafts and design expertise could potentially affect the design firms’ outcomes. In my research, I will apprehend the implied effects of the craftsman’s tacit knowledge and expertise contribution, into design production process and its close dynamics with the designer. My research includes primary data collected by observations, interviews and netnography. Moreover, I will Danish and Finnish design, from a historical point of view, and how outsourcing companies currently affect this outlook. Lastly, the research will entice some business and strategic implications, deriving from the literature and data collected grouped around themes such as experience economy, country-of-origin and proximity. Implications deriving from the data analysis suggest — labels of origin ‘Made in Denmark’ inspired from Finland’s label policy success and an elaboration on the potential of experience economy within the crafts sector with toolkits for craftsmen.