There was a time when handicrafts was a term of abuse. Anyone who knitted, made pottery or crocheted in their leisure time was regarded as seriously uncool. As a copper-wool-raffia auntie or – gender appropriately – as handicraft Henry. In other words, not a description anyone really wanted to be associated with. On the other hand, anyone who nowadays works with their hands and presents a table, macramé wall hanging or Raku bowl in their home that they have made themselves, is held in high esteem. The fact that recognition is given to something one has made oneself – also often via social media – is however only one of the reasons why handicrafts have been elevated to cult status: Some people use this as a way of criticising the abundance of mass-produced goods. But others see handicrafts as a way of counter-balancing their otherwise overly intellectual jobs – in which they can usually no longer make any association to the end-product of their work. However, others would like to sound out whether they actually have any design skills and perhaps even develop a business from them. Why not? In the final analysis the Internet has drastically reduced the distance from the producer to the consumer, so that nowadays it has become possible to sell locally produced small series online without a great deal of expense. For example via one’s own web shop on Etsy or Dawanda. Platforms, which bring all kinds of designers together and now have turnover running into billions.

When it’s about bringing things together, then Marisa Burn is an expert. The former design student, who was born in Aargau, understood at an early stage that people want more than simply consuming blindly. They also want to know what lies behind a product, who has created it and what materials were used to make it. As one of the early bloggers, in 2007 she already brought the things together in her HopeHope online magazine that satisfied her aesthetic requirements and provided interesting background information on the relevant products. However, only describing beautiful things began to make no sense to Marisa Burn over time. She wanted to make things herself. She wanted to design things, which have a soul, provide enjoyment and celebrate the moment. She calls them anchor products. Products, such as the «Holy Mountain» surface cleaner, which is supposed to make cleaning into a mindful experience. «This because we actually all have to clean, so why shouldn’t this unpopular task also be something enjoyable?», says Marisa Burn.

It was obvious that she would also go her own way as far as sales strategy is concerned. Anyone who thinks they will come across her pictures, earrings, herbal tea mixtures, clothing and cleaning products in an anonymous sales corner of a department store, will search in vain. Marisa Burn sells most products through her own channels, via the e-shop or at her Burninglights-Market, which is held on a regular basis as well as her Burninglights-Tour – that she now runs together with Kathrin Eckhardt. This is because both artisans have a lot in common and are in complete agreement on one point: «How a product is sold, has a lot to do with the person who is behind it», says Marisa Burn. The fact that the sales women appreciate direct contact with the makers, is evident at the Burninglights events.

The trend of the maker movement has also been presenting its technical, digital and extremely scientific side over the last few years. In the form of innovators, visionaries, technology nerds and inventors. And also in the end they primarily want one thing from us: To use their knowledge to make the world a slightly better place. So-called FabLabs are part of these public breeding grounds for technical inventions, and one of them is located in Bern. «When we started opening our doors six years ago – mainly to make our 3D-printer available to the general public – it was chiefly people from the ranks of the model builders who came by to create planes or landscapes for model railways as they imagined them», says Ramun Hofman, co-founder of FabLabs in Bern. «In the meantime there are all kinds of innovators and craftsmen who come along to launch small product series.» They include spectacle makers, textile designers or also tailors. It was a great pleasure for the FabLab operator to watch how people’s fear of their own creations was gradually overcome as soon as they were familiar with using equipment such as the laser cutter and  3D-printers. «People approach the task really bravely – puzzle over product solutions, experiment with materials and shapes», says Ramun Hofman and adds: «Since our audience has also recognised that in principle one can reproduce every spare part of a defective product – whether it’s a piece of furniture or a technical device –, the repair scene is also expanding continually.»

Millions of people have set off on this path worldwide. As artisans, they are part of the so-called «Maker Movement» and take great risks to establish their own small companies and become involved with the production and sale of the products they have made themselves. Democratic access to knowledge and technology has simplified lots of things and awakened the desire in large numbers of people to take back more control over their lives; as workers and as consumers. It is assumed that this change will ultimately also affect the manufacturers of mass-produced goods. All kinds of makers – from the food sector to handicraft and technology – will continue to drive each other forwards to create new, innovative products and services. This is because: The maker-movement has really only just begun.