Before the industrial revolution, most household objects were crafted at home or in small numbers by the town artisan. Those products are now considered collector’s items. Watch television for an appraiser to tell you how much Great Grandmother’s thing amabob is worth. The news always excites me. I have lots of Grandma’s stuff. 
In 2017, homemakers who craft house wares or clothing are considered clever, an example to others. They are just considered hobbyists until they try to market their ideas. There are a few large sites that specialize in teaching people how to create by themselves and a few more that sell their goods. Futurists suggest trends indicate a great interest in online arts and crafts. The time to reach a global market is here.
Artisans’ hand crafted products usually cost more and are of greater quality than mass produced plastic items. Often made of “green” materials the products carry the mystic of, “Maybe I can do this?” People are paying for history, hope for a better future as well as art. The hand crafted goods reality is that global families often purchase massed produced objects for their price and buy hand crafted objects for decoration.
Artistic Perspectives (AP) specializes in educating artisans about the business aspects of the creative process. The Artistic Perspectives’ website hosts information sharing through a blog, articles, classes and an online Shoppe. AP’s goal is to assist individuals in making affordable art for every day life. Artisans learn to control quality, speak out, and apply their creativity to the innovations needed for business. AP reaches customers around the globe.
The commercial world grows more complicated each day. Business ideas are complicated by new technologies, politics, diverse expectations and cultural roles. Cultures and laws often clash. Large businesses stomp on small business competition. Their main strategy is to standardize products and behaviors. At the same time technology has opened the door to global small business ventures. Entrepreneurs willing to learn, find small online business is close to the ideal lifestyle. Understanding business principles with global over tones includes money, value, shipping and customs. Challenges include respecting diverse language and thoughts, tolerating politics, and reaching commonalities among business cultures. These statements are facts as well as opinions. Individuals choose their beliefs from facts, opinions, and emotional states then call the resulting conglomerate their perspectives.
A perspective is influenced by the state of one’s ideas, known facts, and emotions. Individuals seek meanings from words. The meanings develop into perspectives that define relationships among people. Challenges develop when global perspectives clash or skew local meanings. Business owners endeavor to preserve their relationships by understanding other’s perspectives. Understanding does not mean accepting or supporting different ideas; but understanding does include respecting diversity.
The AP website gives voice to diverse opinions, informs new entrepreneurs about business principles, and encourages mutual respect. Perhaps AP values clarity because confusion arises from the diverse meanings found in the concepts of “artist” and “artisan”. Diversity both empowers and blocks creative businesses.
Compare the words “artist” and “artisan”. Some people consider the words interchangeable while others regard them as different as red apples from orange structural beams. When trying to understand how definitions create uncertainty in meanings we can look at synonyms.
A simple word, like “perspective”, can be replaced by many other words. Each substitution carries a slightly different meaning. Consider how viewpoint, angle, aspect, attitude, context, mindset, prospect, headset, landscape, objectivity, overview, opinion, panorama, proportion, relationship, relativity, vista, broad view, frame of reference, relative importance, method of viewing, approach, direction, intention, position, plan, slant, or standpoint shade the meaning of “perspective”. Confusion prevents meaningful problem solving. As speech floats from one mouth to another’s translating ear, perspectives are misunderstood. Words alone do not prevent clarity. Individual’s values can blur meaning. The following definitions were found on Google:
“An artist creates something whose only value is aesthetic. An artisan creates something that is functional — bread, furniture, etc. — but attempts to imbue some element of artistry or aesthetics in his craft.” (https://www.google.com/search?q=definition+of+artists+and+artisans&rlz=1C1PQHS_enUS524US525&oq=de&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i60j69i61j69i60l2j69i57.1937j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)
The words highlight the author’s values more than define art. 
An interpretation of the definitions could read like this:
“An artist creates an object with no purpose except to render emotion. The artisan creates a commonly used object while “painting” on a layer of beauty.” This does not sound right to me. An outer layer of beauty does not come from a creative soul.
People take umbrage over either the definition or the interpretation depending on personal feelings. I believe neither author is right.
Music, paintings or statues are artistic creations that create joy. “Art objects” primary function is to speak emotionally. Other purposes like manipulating crowds, controlling space, covering holes, recording history, or improving values are considered secondary. The artisan’s creations are also beautiful objects whose commonly recognized purpose is a specific use, but the inherent beauty is basic to the creation. After all, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Beholders also determine the function of the object. Museums are filled with memorable functional items like bowls, vases, windows, and furniture which are never used except to teach and display. We might not be inclined to eat with the museum’s tableware, or play a musical instrument from the 1600’s but we can feel an emotion that leads us to conclude craft is art.
Diversity makes life interesting and challenging. Business can be based on principles of diversity. Global businesses depend on language and cultural diversity. Learning more about people around the world supports successful business innovation. Today’s communication technologies prevent a repeat of Van Gough’s story of art with no buyers until after his death. Somewhere in the world there are buyers who will want quality art objects. Our work is to successfully match perspectives.
References
Vito Bobek. Perspectives on Business and Management . https://www.intechopen.com/books/perspectives-on-business-and-management
William L. Davis. The Journal of Business and Economic Perspectives (ISSN:1528-5014) is published semi-annually, Fall and Spring, by the College of Business and Public Affairs, The University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin TN 38238.
The International Journal of Business and Economics Perspectives (IJBEP-ISSN-1931-907X) is published (since 2006) by the Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines.
Michael Kleinaltenkamp, Wulff Plinke, and Albrecht So¨ llner. (2015). Theoretical Perspectives of Business Relationships: Explanation and Configuration. Business Relationship Management and Marketing, Springer Texts in Business and Economics, DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-43856-5_2 michael.kleinaltenkamp@fu-berlin.de