What do you think about "handmade"?

I love handmade and it just aggravates me when someone goes "look at all the handmade/homemade things" like it's a bad thing. I just don't understand why they feel that way. Handmade indicates the love, the talent and the superior workmanship that goes into an item that a craftsman has held in their hands as they made it. A handmade item literally is made by the blood, sweat and tears of the craftsman. Each item is one of a kind and is something personal for the owner. It's not made by a machine in a factory or by a sweatshop worker overseas. It's American made for Americans. It's for your newborn baby made by his/her grandmother, aunt, cousin or family friend. It's that decorative item in your home that someone made for you because they knew what you liked and cared enough to put in the time to make it themselves. It's a christening gown or wedding dress that's handed down from generation to generation.

I came across the article below today and it tells me that I'm not the only one that feels the way I do.

The "handmade" movement is picking up steam in the US as people get more and more fed up with corporate giants like Wal Mart that move into towns and destroy local economies and local cultures just to bring in lower priced and lower quality goods. Consumers are recognizing that buying cheap goods imported from sweatshops in Third World countries isn't an ethical or cost effective way to shop. There are lots of reasons why customers are choosing to buy handmade, but the best reasons to buy handmade are these:

1. Buying handmade supports traditional arts. Throughout history artisans and crafters have developed methods and techniques to make items that are useful for everyday living beautiful and unique. Buying handmade supports the continuance of those arts. Without a market for handmade goods some artistic techniques that have been around for thousands of years might die out.

2. Buying handmade means buying one of a kind. In today's culture that has a relentless focus on uniformity buying handmade items helps you stand out from the pack and express your unique personality with one of a kind pieces of art and clothing. If you are comfortable with who you are and like being different from everyone else then buying handmade one of a kind items is definitely for you.

3. Buying handmade means buying higher quality. If you buy handmade items from a highly skilled artisan or high end crafter the item that you buy will almost always be of much higher quality than something you can get at the local discount store that was mass produced. Handmade items are made with high end materials and carefully crafted so that they will last and stay beautiful for a long time.

4. Buying handmade supports small businesses. Since most artisans and crafters use unique or not mass produced materials that are made by another artisan or crafter when you buy handmade products you're not only giving money to the artist but also to all the other artists that create the supplies to make that product. Paying more for a handmade item is really an investment because you are helping to support several artists.

5. Buying handmade makes a statement. Making a conscious choice to buy handmade products instead of mass produced ones says that things like quality, craftsmanship, and supporting small businesses instead of big retail businesses matters to you. When you buy handmade you are using your dollars to tell stores like Wal Mart that not every consumer can be seduced by the lowest price.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sonya_S

I'd love to hear what you think. Am I wrong, totally off track? Or do you agree with me and understand why my favorite Christmas present was my new sewing machine.