The Future of Silversmithing

[Traintime]

This is not to make any light of the current planetary problem, but we all know there is one "...ocracy" or another that is always pulling some strings. Some time ago the Aristocracy used all their power to crush the Luddites in their rebellion against technological changes. On a hunch, I searched the site and found Luddites buried in one thread as part of a link to a past photo hosting...the only mention at all. Being curious, and always loving to upset the powers that be, I searched for a link between Luddites and Silversmiths and came up with an 1867 reference comparing the Luddites' violence to that of the biblical silversmiths of Ephesus: https://books.google.com/books?id=0SoPA ... es&f=false

Now, no doubt the aristocracy was always the great benefactors of the smiths, and this all trickles down (bla, bla, blah). Right now though, all those conglomerates of jewelry-and-precious-metal-objects-hawking have shuttered their doors in both mall and mainstreet alike. I'm sure the "workshops" behind everything are also having a bad period. So what happens to the makers in the future if this doesn't just blow over and return to normalcy? Do they take a stand for societal support of the crafts and face being hammered like the Luddites? Do they just go quitely into the night and slip below the icy waters? What lies ahead for them and their skills?

[Traintime]

In the mail (carrier wears gloves now):







There goes the flatware industry. I missed the part about remove and clean all jewelry. He forgot this: Do..try to hold your breath for the next 9 months. At least they dumped: Go back to work and pretend nothing is happening.