A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale production of goods, or their maintenance, for example by tinkers. The traditional term craftsman is nowadays often replaced by artisan and by craftsperson.
Shoes are repaired by a skilled shoemaker; here he evaluates a pair of shoes with a customer watching.
Japanese potter at his wheel (1914)
Bagh print traditional hand block print craft in India
Street handicraft: here a skilled metalsmith in Agra, India sits between scooters in a commercial area making careful observations in the practice of his trade
An artisan is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food items, household items, and tools and mechanisms such as the handmade clockwork movement of a watchmaker. Artisans practice a craft and may through experience and aptitude reach the expressive levels of an artist.
American sculptor Bessie Potter Vonnoh in her studio
Traditional hand block print artisan in India
An artist blacksmith and a striker working as one
Wood carver in Bali