By Deborah LeggateAugust 9th 2011

In the present age of lumpen mass consumerism an alternative market is growing popular with people who want something a bit different from the mainstream. These customers care about provenance – they want to know where a product has come from, what has gone into it and why it is how it is.They are also willing to pay more for something with a value they can measure against the work and materials that went into its production. Craft goods – those produced by skilled manual labour – are synonymous with this trade, and if they're made locally then all the better.

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