Marketplace: International Craftsmen

I hear Marketplace with Kai Ryssdal almost everyday on my way home from work.  For the most part, my car radio is parked at either NPR (god, I'm such a liberal!(eyeroll)) or Austin's comedy station, 102.7.  Usually on my way home I super briefly get sucked into Mr. Ryssdal talking about the declining economy in either America or Europe, but occasionally he broadcasts a little snippet that really grabs my attention; such as the trend for sports stars to wear eyeglasses, or this one below about the relevance of the crafts in our current economy.

"Everyone, including the department stores, are looking to distinguish themselves." Marylin Kawakami is the former president of Ralph Lauren Womenswear [...]  "For the most part, fashion  here in the United States right now, has been homogenized.  You can find the same thing at H&M for $15 as you can see on the runways for $1500."  She says it's the authenticity of handmade crafts and the back story that distinguish these goods.  So that same trend of globalized mass-production that erodes traditional markets also makes these goods more valued by US retailers trying to make a stand-out."

~Jeff Tyler at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market

Conner Finn, craftsman