What is the definition of an Artisan?

For a product to be artisan (in my eyes) it has to be:

• Made by hand (no mechanical production)
  
• Made in small quantities (no mass production)
  
• Made of high quality ingredients/supplies
  
• Made in house
  
• An original recipe/design
  
• Non-utilitarian (focused on the experience)
  

this could definitely be splitting hairs here, but if someone uses a stand mixer/blender to mix & blend ingredients when producing soaps, are they not an artisan? a blender and/or mixer is a mechanical piece of equipment, yes?

I don't let myself get bothered by the 'artisan' vs 'non-artisan' title...if a product is good and works for me, I'll buy it. if it's not for me, I'll sell it off and move on.

from the forum's perspective, when we first brought this forum back to life, we separated the businesses into two categories: vendors & artisans. personally, that distinction became harder to determine & justify, so we agreed to not waste any time with it and just merge the two together and rename them as merchants.

Agreed Andrew. The same sort of thing has been discussed on fragrance forums like Basenotes. Some argue that there should be a category separation between "niche" and "designer" fragrances, but the distinctions/definitions are so muddy that a forum division would be untenable.

I don't let myself get bothered by the 'artisan' vs 'non-artisan'  title...if a product is good and works for me, I'll buy it.  if it's not for me, I'll sell it off and move on.

from the forum's perspective, when we first brought this forum back to life, we separated the businesses into two categories: vendors & artisans.  personally, that distinction became harder to determine & justify, so we agreed to not waste any time with it and just merge the two together and rename them as merchants.

Agreed Andrew. The same sort of thing has been discussed on fragrance forums like Basenotes. Some argue that there should be a category separation between "niche" and "designer" fragrances, but the distinctions/definitions are so muddy that a forum division would be untenable.

if there's a pricing structure in place to allow businesses to promote their products, I could see someone spending their time & efforts to properly place businesses X,Y & Z into their proper 'categories', but then you need to properly define these specifications or there will be issues down the road.

me? I just can't be bothered with it. I'd rather charge 1 flat fee and be done with it, if we ever decided to introduce any fees for businesses.

I don't let myself get bothered by the 'artisan' vs 'non-artisan'  title...if a product is good and works for me, I'll buy it.  if it's not for me, I'll sell it off and move on.

from the forum's perspective, when we first brought this forum back to life, we separated the businesses into two categories: vendors & artisans.  personally, that distinction became harder to determine & justify, so we agreed to not waste any time with it and just merge the two together and rename them as merchants.

Agreed Andrew. The same sort of thing has been discussed on fragrance forums like Basenotes. Some argue that there should be a category separation between "niche" and "designer" fragrances, but the distinctions/definitions are so muddy that a forum division would be untenable.

if there's a pricing structure in place to allow businesses to promote their products, I could see someone spending their time & efforts to properly place businesses X,Y & Z into their proper 'categories', but then you need to properly define these specifications or there will be issues down the road.

me? I just can't be bothered with it. I'd rather charge 1 flat fee and be done with it, if we ever decided to introduce any fees for businesses.

I don't know about a vendor division process, but on the fragrance forums the distinction is simply used to subdivide and categorize discussion, as if we had subforums for discussion on "artisan" and "non-artisan" soaps (if that makes sense). It turned out not to make any sense because people were endlessly arguing over what constitutes a "niche" vs. "designer" scent.

Agreed Andrew. The same sort of thing has been discussed on fragrance forums like Basenotes. Some argue that there should be a category separation between "niche" and "designer" fragrances, but the distinctions/definitions are so muddy that a forum division would be untenable.

if there's a pricing structure in place to allow businesses to promote their products, I could see someone spending their time & efforts to properly place businesses X,Y & Z into their proper 'categories', but then you need to properly define these specifications or there will be issues down the road.  

me?  I just can't be bothered with it.  I'd rather charge 1 flat fee and be done with it, if we ever decided to introduce any fees for businesses.

I don't know about a vendor division process, but on the fragrance forums the distinction is simply used to subdivide and categorize discussion, as if we had subforums for discussion on "artisan" and "non-artisan" soaps (if that makes sense). It turned out not to make any sense because people were endlessly arguing over what constitutes a "niche" vs. "designer" scent.

that stuff just gets hard to manage, especially if you're running a popular website or forum.

from the forum's perspective, when we first brought this forum back to life, we separated the businesses into two categories: vendors & artisans.  personally, that distinction became harder to determine & justify, so we agreed to not waste any time with it and just merge the two together and rename them as merchants.

That was smart. They are all "merchants". Some might be "resellers" but that distinction as a subset of merchant is no necessary.

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Artist - create something from nothing using your intellect. For example, a soap maker who creates a new formula with a new fragrance - that is an artist in the art of soap making.

Artisan - a skilled craftsman in the art of soap making who follows the rules, follows the formula by rote.  They are "skilled" in the art of soap making. That does not mean they are good at it nor make a single dollar.

grim, according to your definition the "commercial" soaps are made by artisans, since they strictly follow the company recipe to produce an, as near as possible, identical soap year after year. Whereas, those that have been labeled as "artisans" are actually "soap artists", since they experiment with recipes to a considerable extent, creating new soap formulas and scents on an ongoing basis. Therefore, B&M, Stirling, CB, MW, CRS, and all their brethren are actually "soap artists."

I really like the shaving soap art movement that is taking place -- great art. Thanks guys.

 Therefore, B&M, Stirling, CB, MW, CRS, and all their brethren  are actually "soap artists."

I really like the shaving soap art movement that is taking place -- great art. Thanks guys.

Exactly, and that is not according to me but according to the author of the book I found from 1880. So yes, if a soap maker creates a NEW formula, not just copying a recipe but a new formula or creates a new scent, then yes, they are artists in the art of soap making.

However, the reverse is also true. If a soap maker follows someone else formula, then they are not an artist but an artisan, skilled in the "vulgar" arts (sic). I would think this holds true for the simple scents as well. In other words, if a sign maker uses red paint for a sign and blue paint for another sign, that does not make him an artist. Similar, if a soap maker adds some Lavender oil to an existing formula, that does not make them an artist either since ...

Been there, done that. Someone has gone before them and made Lavender scented shaving cream before.

OTH, if they come up with some new combinations or complex creations, as clearly some of them do, then YES, they are artists. That would be no different than anyone who sat down at an easel and started to paint what he saw or a chef creating a new recipe because of an inspiration that popped into his/her head. They are all artists in their craft.

I thought the progression of skills was rated from bottom to top as:

Gopher (My own addition)
Klutz
Labourer
Handyman
Jack (of all trades)
Craftsman
Artizan
Artist

I'm a watch collector, this is my personal definition:

Rolex- Non Artisan
Romain Jerome- Artisan

I also collect watches and I own a Rolex. Rolex makes every part of the watch in house. They have their own foundry to produce gold for their higher end pieces. The cases are hand-finished. The markers on the dial are applied by hand. Their in house-produced movements are not only COSC certified, but they go through additional Rolex testing for accuracy. The pieces are put together by skilled watchmakers, many of whom have been doing this for decades. It is documented that Romain do not produce all parts of the watch in house. They are also horribly overpriced for what many consider the most hideous-looking fashion pieces out there.

This is the problem with the artisan debate. Back to soap, I believe that even if it is mass-produced, if it is done with the highest quality materials by skilled craftsmen, it has more of an artisan quality than some dude making soap in his basement or garage, scenting it with fragrance oils out of the yankee candle catalog, or worse in my opinion, directly copying famous scents for their own personal profit. These people deserve no praise in my book.