Visited an old hardware store in Portland and saw something that made me think

I was picking up some cabinet screws and noticed they had a whole wall of pre-made cabinet doors, like you'd buy at a big box store. I mean, they looked fine, but it got me remembering when my grandpa would make every single door by hand in his shop. He'd spend hours on the joinery for just one frame. Now you can get a whole kitchen's worth in an afternoon. I guess it's good for some jobs, but does anyone else miss seeing that kind of hand work in places?

3 comments

3 Comments

evan_burns951mo ago

Just saw a "handcrafted" sticker on a plastic-wrapped door at the big box store last week. My grandpa would have laughed until he cried at that one. They even charge extra for the word!

finleyw581mo ago

Funny how the "handcrafted" stuff is now the cheap option, when it used to be the expensive, skilled work.

holly71329d ago

My uncle was a real cabinetmaker for forty years. Seeing that word slapped on factory junk feels like an insult to his whole life's work. It just makes the real thing seem less special.