Yet usually woodworking is not a viable business. As a craft - sure. As a day job to provide for your family - not really. Guys who created a custom tables for me five years ago are out of business.

Pretty much the same story with any craft.

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shakna 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The Mechanics Institute, where craftsman learned and offered their wares in my town, was founded in 1801.

Its still here, today.

I wouldn't dismiss an industry based on business failures. The restaurant industry still exists, despite it being almost a guarantee that you will fail.

There's also stores with hand-knitted clothes and bears, sculpters and painters.

Yes, all of these are niche - but they survive because they embrace a different business model.

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sojournerc 8 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Right, nobody needs cabinets or doors because... AI. /s

I'm a professional woodworker. One-off tables in a garage might not be a great business, but millwork, built-ins, and cabinetry in homes is a great business. You're likely not exposed to cabinet or architectural woodwork shops that build high-end homes, or that just do renovation for that matter.

	▲	ivell 4 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		A better comparison to Ikea vs Handcraft would be shrinkwrap software vs custom software for companies. With AI, the custom software industry is getting disrupted (if the current trajectory of improvements continue). In case of woodcraft, there is some tangible result that can be appreciated and displayed as art. In case of custom software, there is no such displayability.
	▲	wat10000 7 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		That’s the point. It used to be something almost everyone bought. Now it’s relegated to high-end luxury. The craft still exists, and you can still do well, but it’s much diminished. It’s not that nobody needs cabinets or doors. It’s that automation, transportation, and economies of scale have made it much cheaper to produce those things with machines in a factory.
	▲	bsder 7 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		> One-off tables in a garage might not be a great business, but millwork, built-ins, and cabinetry in homes is a great business. I'd like to see numbers backing that up. My personal impression is that you have a small number of custom woodworkers hustling after an ever smaller number of rich clients. That seems like exactly the same problem.