Days of Future Past: The tradition–novelty paradox and the endurance of heritage crafts

What is it about?

Tradition and creativity can appear to be enemies, with novelty and change destroying tradition. Yet for many creative industries, particularly craft work, tradition and novelty can be synergistic and must be embraced together. I develop three strategies craftspeople can use to embrace both tradition and novelty, ensuring the endurace of craft despite the increasing pace of modern change: first, preserving, using tradition as a source of uniqueness and authenticity; second, segmenting, pursuing tradition and novelty separately, such as through separate product lines; and finally, synthesizing, zooming out to generate new ideas and then contextualizing them within a tradition. I illustrate my framework using examples from the craft of guitar making.

Featured Image

Photo by Todd Quackenbush on Unsplash

Photo by Todd Quackenbush on Unsplash

Why is it important?

My framework provides new insights into the classic tension between creativity and tradition which is common across many creative and craft industries. I demonstrate how a paradox mindset, embracing both novelty and tradition, rather than either/or thinking, can help craft organizations and occupations endure over the long term.