Creative crafts are cultural goods due to their creative and symbolic nature. They are influenced by a heuristic approach, focusing on skilled handwork and sense-making practices. Cultural goods are evaluated differently, and their values are influenced by various factors. This article explores the factors influencing the valuation of creative crafts products using goldsmith sector illustrations. Moreover, this study applies a cultural economic perspective that considers price and value (Hutter & Throsby, 2008 ). Cultural economists have increasingly been interested in valuation methods that detangle the notions of value and price (Hutter & Throsby, 2008; Klamer, 2017).
To understand the grounds of these valuation methods this article uses two specific viewpoints and a reflection on the theory of values applied to creatively crafted goods. First, when looking at crafts, it indicates that a higher degree of realization of commoning can be realized by expanding the group of participants to the practice to include consumers–buyers. They must be part of the shared practice to appreciate craft and, thus, be willing to pay for it. Second, and in relation to the previous point, it underlines that embodied knowledge influences the context of creative crafted goods and their making.
Finally, the notion of (re)produsage that Euler (2018, p. 13) uses indicates that the culmination of commoning supports the inclusion of consumers and buyers. Applying to craft the elements of commoning ([re]produsage, needs-satisfaction, peers and self-organization, voluntariness, inclusiveness, and mediation), which, according to Euler (2018), guarantees a sense of togetherness. Togetherness encourages people to organize, use, maintain, and produce various resources, supporting the diffusion of a craft culture essential to allow the craft sector to survive and thrive.
References
Euler, J. (2018). Conceptualizing the Commons: Moving beyond the Goods-based Definition by Introducing the Social Practices of Commoning as Vital Determinant. Ecological Economics, 143, 10–16.
Hutter, M., & Throsby, D. (2008). Beyond price. Value in Culture, Economics, and the Arts (M. Hutter & D. Throsby, Eds.). Cambridge University Press.
Klamer, A. (2017). Doing the Right Thing. Ubiquity Press.
