“I always knew” … “I finally found” … “I wasn’t happy”… These distinct and repeated biographical narratives drive people to build a business whose primary responsibility is to be a vessel for the pleasure and meaning of work.

When entrepreneurs talk about making tables, cheese, guitars, and pants they say “I love every bit of it.” … “It’s an absolutely fantastic experience.” … “The best thing about the work is not delivering the shiny final product, but actually doing the work.” …. “When I come home inspired at the end of a day, my kids can look at work not as something to dread, but see that work can be inspiring and gives you joy and energy.”

Interviews with entrepreneurs in 6 countries reveal that something is missing in the contemporary discourse on labor, something has gotten lost between exploitation and burnout:

While obscene over- and under-compensation is surely an urgent issue, it is a distinct and profound fact that not only circus artists and jazz musicians but also dairy farmers and war journalists subsidize their vocation with second jobs because the work is more important than the money. This book is based on 10 years of interviews with artisans in 6 countries.

As they have delivered work from labor and industrial logics, artisans have likewise redeemed materials from their status and calculus as “inputs”. Instead of villainizing consumption, the entrepreneurs suggest we can instead define a heroic form of consumption, one which is about quests and stewardship, repair and restoration, and collaboration with craftsmen.