The Rebirth: Our Love of The World of The Artisan

Very few things feel as beautiful and sensual as our hands touching elegant materials. Silk, leather, and wood are elevated to be stitched, embroidered, or crafted. To experience these fabrications is divinity itself, but it takes expert hands to work with them to make something even more stunning than the sum of their parts. These skilled makers, especially those involved in crafting things by hand, are few and far between. The word artisan comes from mid-16th-century French via Italian, and then Latin, of artire ‘instruct in the arts’ expresses a little of the complexity behind it. Some crafts have been lost in time, but in the true sense of the values, true artisans are still working today. Find out more in The Rebirth: Our Love of the World of The Artisan.

Many of us understand that much in the world of handmade items and artisanal crafts changed with the Industrial Revolution. Mass production and factory-based manufacturing led to a decline in demand for handcrafted goods, as machine-made products became more readily available and often cheaper.

However, that’s not the full story; the social structure changed, and with a larger middle class, the demand for cheaper, machine-made objects grew.

Yet there is and has always been an ongoing love of all things crafted by hand and created by exceptional talent, which has been fuelled by a desire for authenticity, quality, and unique products. With an emphasis on handcrafted goods, this is almost a form of resistance to the homogenization and standardisation of modern consumer culture. 

These talented and rare people are adapting to the changing times and now utilise technology to assist in perfecting ideas and new versions of age-old crafts.

Think of something well-known, somewhat common, like a cricket bat. The best bats are generally made by hand, though modern techniques may now involve some machine assistance. Hand-crafting allows for greater attention to detail, better balance, and tailored performance characteristics, based on the wood’s individual properties. 

Luxury companies such as Rolls-Royce are renowned for their exceptional craftsmanship, which involves a blend of traditional artisan skills which meet hand in hand with modern technology. 

For example, you may have heard about the Rolls-Royce Starlight Headliner, a leather-covered roof with twinkling lights sewn into it. It is a stunning work of artisans and technology that brings a soft, dispersed lighting environment to the car. The idea for the headliner initially came from a client, and their ned for subtle inside lighting, and so Rolls-Royce took the idea and ran with it

Clients can choose any sky constellation (or some other pattern if you wish).  An optional added feature that transforms the interior roof of a Rolls-Royce into a simulated night sky, using hundreds of tiny fibre optic lights embedded in the leather. It creates a bespoke twinkling night sky that can be personalised with different light intensities and even specific constellations.

The fibre optic lights are meticulously placed and trimmed to create a twinkling effect, mimicking the appearance of stars. The process is run by a small yet highly trained team that matches up the pattern onto the leather and then individually sews the lights in the correct pattern and passes each singular light through the leather to create the map. From hours to days to create, it is the perfect meeting of modernity and handmade craft.

Another area of extensive craft at Rolls-Royce is elaborate bespoke embroidery. The handcrafted nature of its bespoke work, where artisans meticulously stitch each design. Utilising various embroidery techniques, including different stitch types, thread thicknesses, and colour variations, they can achieve any desired effects. From headrests to seats, doors to ceilings, in fact, anywhere throughout the interior of their vehicle.  

Clients can commission intricate embroidery work, often inspired by personal stories, passions, or even specific life events. This level of detail and personalisation is not just about aesthetics; it’s about creating a deeply personal connection between the client and their vehicle.

The luxury of artisanal craft goes further at Rolls-Royce. The golden age of travel is ever present. Think, for example, of the wooden panels on elegant steam trains or the patterned marquetry of the early days of motor transportation. This level of handwork is still alive and thriving at this prestigious car company.

And then there is wood. In one corner of the head office in Goodwood, UK (where all the cars are made), there is a veneer wood storage area that is climate-controlled to ensure the veneer is kept soft, malleable, and supple. The company even has a wood specialist who travels around the world to source veneer. Find an array of fine woods here, including Elm, Olive, Ash, American Walnut, Sycamore, Maple and Mahogany, but know there are other options. But each piece of wood must be perfect.

Also, the grain cannot be ‘marked’ (most companies would dye over them), but not here, just like the leathers used across the fleet, they need to be in a perfect state, in order to be used in one of these cars. No bite marks on leather skins or wormholes and minerals in the wood that leave undesirable marks. This is perfection of materials and perfection of craft.

As veneer is made up of layers of wood (thinner than 1mm), the grain must be hand-matched to ensure a ‘natural flow’ across the panel; this process is called book-matching. The pattern must have a form of continuity in its grain, from one piece to the next. Hundreds of pieces of wood can be used in just one piece of work, hence the degree of artistry employed to refine, match and craft.

Combining the latest technologies with refined traditional craftsmanship, aided by options like laser-cutting, makes the creation of intricate jigsaw-like marquetry less time-consuming, while also opening up new design possibilities, and still binding the elaborate and intricate handcraft with modern tooling.

Personalised marquetry is a hallmark at Rolls-Royce, which utilises the pinnacle of skilled craftspeople who are able to fulfil any client request. The leather used within the car is also cut by hand and hand-stitched in places. When creating the seats, for example, in order to ensure the leather is completely smooth, a specialist fish bone is used. It softly eases the leather into place by hand.

From choosing from over 44000 colours for the car and or the interior to choosing your bespoke colour, the process is driven by human interaction and human creativity. The level of detail, the commitment to artisanal crafts are second to none here. At the heart of Rolls-Royce stands a philosophy committed to crafting an individual’s vision into reality.

And talking of done by hand, the coachline is painted by only one person by hand and can take up to 4 hours to create. The thin pinstripe painted down the length of the vehicle is done freehand, with uniquely crafted brushes to ensure a seamless, clean, continuous line. There is only one artisan gentleman in the factory whose job this is, and if a customer desires anything else hand-painted on the outside, then he is the man.

In many respects, it’s fair to say that Rolls-Royce are still majority handmade. While some automated processes, like painting, are used for consistency, the majority of the assembly, including the engine, interior, and even the iconic hood ornament, is done by hand by skilled craftspeople.

This commitment to craftsmanship is a core part of the Rolls-Royce brand. It is this pledge to detail, artisan, and unique craft and luxury that ultimately allows for sumptuous and relaxing journeys, crafting each client’s desire into reality.

As we rejoice in the return of the artisan and the refocus on creative expression, the move away from practical skill toward artisanal crafts, the story is one of evolution and adaptation; hand skills meet technology, where the human spirit thrives. Our need to touch and feel, to connect on an emotive level, is ever present. Bespoke artistry is not just a trend; it is a core spirit that thrives in new and innovative ways at Rolls-Royce

Find out everything you want to know about Rolls-Roycemotorscars.com Here

If you enjoyed reading The Rebirth: Our Love of The World of The Artisan why not read The Rarest Birds Are The Most Beautiful here

.Cent magazine London, Luxury Minded