Zen and the art of woodworking

In a world of industry, any need may be met by order or purchase of inexpensive, mass produced products. A simple bookcase is shipped across nations to its final destination with some assembly required by the end user. Furniture and other products that are mass produced are generally single user products to be utilized and discarded when out of fashion or when broken. There is another type of product that has a different life cycle. Artisan craftsmen create masterpieces of furniture and other objects. The end user manipulates the design or appearance to fit an individual need by refinishing or restoring surfaces. The price and level of quality is much higher on these artisan products. The product is utilized by many owners as it is passed down through families or sold with increasing value over time. Handcrafted products are repaired and restored when broken or heavily worn. In this comparison, the disposable, mass produced product along with the producer and end user will be compared with the meticulously crafted product of the carpenter and its end user. The objective of this project is to examine the difference in methodology and appreciation of two classes of the same product.