Industrial Craft in Australia

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvi

   PDF

2. Introduction: Re-evaluating Industrial Craft Through the Lives of Engineering Patternmakers

   • Jesse Adams Stein

   Pages 1-32

3. Navigating Class and Populist Politics in Contemporary Oral History Practice

   • Jesse Adams Stein

   Pages 33-62

4. The Patternmaker’s Toolbox: Making Things on the Side in Industrial Craft Apprenticeship

   • Jesse Adams Stein

   Pages 63-93

5. Industrial Craft as Design Knowledge: Hidden Intermediaries of Design and Production

   • Jesse Adams Stein

   Pages 95-120

6. ‘Just Finishing’: From Manual Patternmaking to CNC Machine Milling

   • Jesse Adams Stein

   Pages 121-157

7. Not Fitting the Pattern: Women in Industrial Craft

   • Jesse Adams Stein

   Pages 159-190

8. Patternmaker-Artists: Creative Pathways for Industrial Craftspeople in the Context of Australian Deindustrialisation

   • Jesse Adams Stein

   Pages 191-224

9. Conclusion: Industrial Craft and Alternative Futures for Australian Manufacturing

   • Jesse Adams Stein

   Pages 225-237

10. Back Matter

    Pages 239-252

    PDF

This book is the first of its kind to investigate the ongoing significance of industrial craft in deindustrialising places such as Australia. Providing an alternative to the nostalgic trope of the redundant factory ‘craftsman’, this book introduces the intriguing and little-known trade of engineering patternmaking, where objects are brought to life through the handmade ‘originals’ required for mass production.

Drawing on oral histories collected by the author, this book highlights the experiences of industrial craftspeople in Australian manufacturing, as they navigate precarious employment, retraining, gendered career pathways, creative expression and technological change. The book argues that digital fabrication technologies may modify or transform industrial craft, but should not obliterate it. Industrial craft is about more than the rudimentary production of everyday objects: it is about human creativity, material knowledge and meaningful work, and it will be key to human survival in the troubled times ahead.

• Design History
• Australian manufacturing
• Technological change
• Deindustrialization
• Neoliberalism
• Working class
• toolmaking
• modern craft studies
• artisans
• globalization
• gendered craft

“Stein offers distinctive insights into the political and creative economies of manufacturing technologies and the continued—though con­tested—role of industrial craftworkers within them. Though deeply rooted in the personal histories of Australian patternmakers, the book will be useful for scholars of craft, industrial labor, and manufacturing technologies across a range of global contexts and trades.” (Amanda Lanzillo, Technology and Culture, Vol. 64 (3), July, 2023)



“Jesse Adams Stein’s important book explores the little-known world of engi­neering patternmaking, situates it within the context of long-term industrial decay, challenges common assumptions about the causes of that decline, and makes sug­gestions about what might reverse it. … the book’s photographs suggest, many of the pat­terns shaped by these craftspeople are incredibly beautiful. … This tightly ar­gued, incredibly rich text should be read not just by labour scholars and activ­ists, but also by progressive politicians and citizens.” (John Tully, Labour-Le Travail, Vol. 90, 2022)

“Yes, there are still toolmakers. So writes Stein in her important new book – the first to provide a finely detailed account of the experiences and methods of industrial artisans. Drawing on extensive interviews, and benefitting from Stein’s deep technical understanding and writerly skill, this is a major addition to craft studies, and will serve as a model for scholars in other geographies to follow.”

—Glenn Adamson, author of The Invention of Craft (2013) and Craft: An American History (2021)

 

“This fascinating book opens our eyes to a world of highly skilled industrial work, grounded in traditional knowledge and creativity, that extends into the ‘postindustrial’ world of digital fabrication, 3D printing, maker-culture, and artistic practice. Deindustrialization is not just about loss. This book represents a remarkable original contribution to the global study of deindustrialization and oral history more generally.” 

—Steven High, Concordia University, Canada

 

“The global pandemic has reminded us, just in time, that no country can afford to ‘offshore’ manufacturing and lose the ability to make things. Stein’s extraordinary book takes readers inside the ‘black box’ of contemporary manufacturing. Through sensitive analysis of vivid oral histories, it shows us how highly-skilled crafts men and women, combining old skills and new technologies, are behind the manufactured objects that we all use every moment of our lives.”

—Alistair Thomson, Monash University, Australia

“Stein’s Industrial Craft in Australia is an incredibly important and timely book. In listening to the voices of a vital group of skilled workers she highlights how necessary their skills are for any country that wants to make things and how fragile the manufacturing base is. This is a book that should be required reading for any politician serious about the future of manufacturing industry and a national skills base.”
—Tim Strangleman, University of Kent, UK

• University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia

  Jesse Adams Stein

Jesse Adams Stein is an interdisciplinary design researcher and oral historian. She is a Senior Lecturer and ARC DECRA Fellow at the School of Design, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.

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