What is the definition of an Artisan?

Just to play devil's advocate, as an example of how these definitions can be a bit loose, here are some complications to each individual point:

1. What does it mean for the product to be made by hand? What if a production machine is designed, programmed, and automated by an artisan?
2. What if the type of soap, cream, or razor requires large batch purchases? I'd imagine that large batch production is different than small batch, individual made-to-order, and mass production methods.
3. What if some ingredients are exceptionally high quality and others are cheap? For example, some soaps that I've tried use a great base but use cheap and low quality fragrance oils.
4. What if some parts of the product are made in house but others are ordered? For example, an "artisan" might outsource a label, the packaging, or even the design/mixing of a fragrance.
5. Again, what if some parts of the finished product are original designs, but others are not?
6. Non-utilitarian assumptions require that the artisan have a particular motivation. How can we know or verify this in order to apply the label appropriately? Should we believe claims that are made in marketing materials?

To be clear mate, I'm not trying to refute or pick on your points in particular, but since you articulated some specific ones (and very well, I might add), it is helpful for me to use them as a device to contrast with my own point on the problems with using the "artisan" vs. "non-artisan" label.

1: If there's no chance for (slight) variation caused by human interaction in the creation of the product, it's not artisan.
2. Small batch would max out at the largest amount of product a single artisan can make without automating the process. I'd assume it'd vary per artisan. So let's say an artisan could make 50 soaps to a batch and Maggard's ordered 300. They'd have to make 6 batches to fulfill the order.
3. I'd call that a shartisan.
4. Do you consider the packaging, labels, etc. part of the product? I do in some ways, but I'm more interested in the product itself, not the package it comes in. I'd consider it a bonus if someone was hand making their jars, but I don't think it's a necessity to be an artisan.
5. Like? If you hand carved brush handles and glued in a Plisson knot, the handle would be artisan. The knot would not.
6. I'd say it's pretty easy to discern. Though I won't delve further into it given my position as a soap maker.

Since you brought it up, motivations play a very important part. I'd maintain that as soon as the artisan becomes more focused on money than the "art" they're creating, they are no longer an artisan.

A true artisan brush would be The Varlet in my opinion. Dude take it from a bundle of hair to a beautiful piece of art

A simple example. The Savon de Volcans is an artisanal soap, while the Razorock isn't.

 Photographers are credited for photos without having made the film, emulsions, paper or chemicals to develop them.

The resulting product is made by hand, not necessarily the ingredients that go into it.

OK, I'll buy into this argument. I get the photography reference. Good for  you. So you don't have to catch the buffies by hand. They are very difficult to get close too even to take a picture.

Non-utilitarian as in the product is focused on the experience. It's elaborate. It's not mean to be used in the most efficient manner. Its creation was less about cost/margins and more about art.

That comment is very interesting. I've read that one who paints (creates something from nothing) might be an artist but a sign painter is an artisan.

https://books.google.com/books?id=gTMjAQ...an&f=false  

The painter is an artist while the sign painter is an artisan. (from 1888)

Artisan should be fairly straight forward. Small-batch, hand-made products. That doesn't mean that all the ingredients need to be sole-sourced. You don;t have to shear a sheep and spin the wool into yarn to make a cable-knit sweater. You just have to take the yarn and make the sweater. You don't have to kill the cow and render the fat to make a tallow based soap, you just need to make the soap. You can source your ingredients from anyone you choose, it's the creation of the final product that matters.

"Artisan" does not mean quality, it means hand-made by an artist. It means someone put their own heart and soul into the creation of the product. It doesn't mean the product is good, necessarily, it means someone made it specifically with direct intentions. It can still be crap quality and be artisan-made.

Martin de Candre may have started out as an artisan soap maker, but the soap is no longer an artisan soap...it is a manufactured soap, created in large batches. It is no longer an artist mixing ingredients to create a soap, it is a recipe, measured and poured by digitally controlled machinery in large batches to be sold commercially.

I think the waters are being muddied by criteria that is being vastly over-analyzed. If artisans were required to create their own ingredients in order to truly be classified as artisan, there would be no artisans. That's an extremist concept that is kind of ridiculous, given today's capabilities. You can't realistically expect a soap-maker to have a farm full of sheep and cows for their tallow, a garden full of millions of flowers for essential oils, and a kitchen-made laboratory for creating various saponified whatever-you-call-its just to make a soap. That's ludicrous, and would price even the most ghastly "artisan soap" WAY out of the price range of the average user.

Artisan: hand-made, small batch products.

Anything else is just pure marketing...

I think the waters are being muddied by criteria that is being vastly over-analyzed. If artisans were required to create their own ingredients in order to truly be classified as artisan, there would be no artisans.

Artisan: hand-made, small batch products.

Anything else is just pure marketing...

Analysis paralysis...

Paleo-artisan. Complete vertical integration, caveman style.

I just like good stuff and agree with your and other's high level definition.

Crap, I guess I need to go figure out where I can buy some sheep or just stop using lanolin.

I think the waters are being muddied by criteria that is being vastly over-analyzed. If artisans were required to create their own ingredients in order to truly be classified as artisan, there would be no artisans.

Artisan: hand-made, small batch products.

Anything else is just pure marketing...

Analysis paralysis...

Paleo-artisan. Complete vertical integration, caveman style.

I just like good stuff and agree with your and other's high level definition.

What if they make it with their feet? Ok, I'm kidding but for sure there are degrees of artisanship - take someone like Brian Krampert for instance, he is a wizard with the scent and the aftershave but he doesn't make his own soap but rather contracts with a very good soap maker. I'm fine with that and I'd call him an artisan. What if two artisans teamed up - Chatillon Lux and Barrister & Mann (Chatillon Mann? Barrister & Lux?) combining the awesome G-base soap with one of CL's incredible scents, or combine one of CL's aftershaves with one of B&M's awesome scents? FrankenArtisan? Or even just pairing a soap and an aftershave from different artisans. You know, I might be cool for a future DFS exclusive product to have some of the artisans collaborate. I'm mixing threads here but I think in addition to a collaborative DFS exclusive product we could also contribute some of the proceeds to a worthy cause - tack an extra couple of bucks on the price of the product and direct that to the cause.

Many of these definitions would exclude all shave artisans or include all of them. I don't think you are an artisan just because you make something by hand, that is too broad.

Small batches? Nothing outsourced? Money driven? No machines used?

Show me an Artisan soap maker, razor maker or brush maker that doesn't have money at the top of their motivators and I'll show you an artisan who probably won't be around in a year.

Many of these definitions would exclude all shave artisans or include all of them.  I don't think you are an artisan just because you make something by hand, that is too broad.

Small batches?  Nothing outsourced?  Money driven? No machines used?  

Show me an Artisan soap maker, razor maker or brush maker that doesn't have money at the top of their motivators and I'll show you an artisan who probably won't be around in a year.

Hello.

"Artisan" does not mean quality

 

And that is back to where I started. In the food industry it used to mean that. If you bought an artisan pizza, then it probably followed the rules of of the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana, meaning the dough was made of 00 flour, yeast, water, and salt only with marinara and basil/oregano only and buffalo mozzarella made in a 900 degree wood oven. Period. This is a far cry from chain pizza places calling their stuff "artisan".

I do think that the public sees "artisan" and there is some magic marketing associated with it meaning "better" than commercial and that is just no longer true - and now I get it - shartisan - cool. Just look at the threads in forums or the videos on YouTube'

"My 5 favorite artisan soaps" - ???? That implies something as much as threads that say "Name your top 5 artisan soaps"

Artisan: hand-made, small batch products.

I can buy into this definition - KISS.

And you do not have to grow the lavender Although  you do get points for making your own plastic containers.