Abstract Handcrafted practices of young designers, capable of acting as draftsman, craftsman-producers and selling agents of their own creations, are triggering the revaluation and the transfor- mation of hand-crafted activity in Europe. The overview of the situation, which has reached the highest point in the occasion of the design week in Milan, also appears in other Mediterra- nean countries and in some Latin American countries, but with different distinctive features. However, it delineates a new rela- tionship between design and handicraft, so that is convenient in an ambivalent way. This specific kind of “hand-crafted practi- ce” , defined “self-production” , sometimes “new-handicraft” , again “technological handicraft” or “electronic handicraft” , differs from the traditional practice for its progressed or “advanced” dimen- sion, that is enable to interpret crafts, techniques and expres- sion changes, harking back to the union between technical skill and design, manual aptitude and creative process. Key words: self-production, handicraft, young designers, tech- nology, rapid manufacturing, open source. Resumo Práticas artesanais de jovens designers, capazes de agir como desenhistas, artesãos, produtores e agentes de venda de suas próprias criações, estão desencadeando a reavaliação e trans- formação da atividade artesanal na Europa. O panorama da situação, que atingiu o ponto mais alto na ocasião da semana de design de Milão, também aparece em outros países do Mediterrâneo e em alguns países da América Latina, embora com diferentes características distintivas. No entanto, isso traça uma nova relação entre design e artesanato em um modo ambivalente. Este tipo específico de “prática artesanal” , defi- nida como “produção própria” , “novo-artesanato” , “artesana- to tecnológico” ou “artesanato eletrônico” , difere da prática tradicional pelo seu progresso ou de sua dimensão “avançada” , que permite interpretar o artesanato, as técnicas e as mu- danças de expressão, remontando à união entre habilidade técnica e design, aptidão manual e processo criativo. Palavras-chave: produção própria, artesanato, jovens designers, tecnologia, manufatura rápida, código aberto. Strategic Design Research Journal, 4(1): 5-13 January-April 2011 ©2011 by Unisinos - doi: 10.4013/sdrj.2011.41.02 Design and self-production. The advanced dimension of handcraft Design e produção própria. A dimensão avançada do artesanato Marinella Ferrara marinella.ferrara@polimi.it Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento INDACO, Advance Design. Via Durando 38/A – 20158, Milan, Italy. In 2000 I wrote an essay entitled “Production, self- promotion, self-production,” published in 2001 in the book Scenarios of Young Designers (Ferrara, 2001). The text highlighted the emerging phenomenon of self-produc- tion/self-promotion, a practice that unites young creative people in a form of self-productive activity which, for rea- sons related to the contemporary departure from previ- ous forms of self-production, like the one present in Italy in the 1970s and that characterized the design of Memphis which was driven by a strong ideology. This new form of self-production mostly by young designers began to assert itself in the nineties in London, specifically at the Chelsea neighborhood, where the Arts & Crafts Council 1 funded many “craft” projects, rewarding the enterprise of young British designers with a strong inclina- tion towards experimentation, probably derived from the teaching method of Germanic Anglo Saxon style. Designers, previously unknown, such as Ron Arad, Tom Dixon and Sebastian Bergne began their ascent in the design world, offering new products characterized by 1 Today, the Crafts continue to fund projects in England to promote the phenomenon of self-production practiced by young designers. In London it is common practice to build prototypes of their projects. Often, in addition to the studio, the designers have a laboratory-workshop, which sometimes becomes a showroom. Tent London is the event dedicated to designers that self-produce. brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by Unisinos (Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos): SEER Unisinos