The Fate of Traditional Crafts
Have you ever come across a vintage watch that once belonged to your grandparents, admired its beauty, and wished to bring it back to life? All you need is a watchmaker—but where can you find one? And when was the last time you saw a watch repair shop?
Like many other now-archaic professions, traditional crafts are slowly disappearing, replaced by project and product managers, digital work, and universally standardized jobs—jobs that are the same whether you do them in Denmark, Serbia, or Australia.
Forgotten crafts are an essential part of our intangible cultural heritage, reflecting a different time and set of values. Craft production once thrived in workshops run by master artisans, who trained apprentices and journeymen for years before they could become masters themselves.
Today, most of these trades have either vanished completely or are known only to a small number of people, primarily families who have been practicing them for generations. While these manual trades require skill, creativity, and precision, they also serve as cultural and national identity markers. Below, we take a closer look at some of these forgotten crafts.
Blacksmithing
Blacksmithing is considered one of the most physically demanding trades, requiring great strength and endurance. In the past, blacksmiths worked exclusively by hand, using hammers and raw muscle power to forge red-hot iron. Today, modern tools such as pneumatic hammers have made the job easier, speeding up the process of manufacturing and repairing metal tools.
Once, blacksmith services were essential to every household, especially in rural areas. The rhythmic hammering of iron was a familiar sound from workshops, but today, it is rarely heard. However, some blacksmith shops still exist, proving that this craft has not entirely disappeared.
While blacksmiths once specialized in making horseshoes and farming tools, modern blacksmiths have adapted to contemporary needs, crafting decorative iron fences, artistic metalwork, and parts for tractors and agricultural machinery.
Chimney Sweeper
Chimney sweepers once played a crucial role in households, removing soot from chimneys to ensure wood-burning stoves—then the primary source of heating and cooking—functioned properly. These skilled craftsmen were easily recognized by the long, flexible rods with brushes attached to the end, which they used to thoroughly clean chimneys.
Beyond soot removal, chimney sweepers were also called upon when objects accidentally fell into chimneys. To clear these obstructions, they carried a heavy iron ball, which they would drop down the flue to dislodge blockages.
They were most recognizable by their black uniforms and soot-covered faces, often wearing small black caps.
In folk tradition, encountering a chimney sweeper was believed to bring good luck.
Pottery
Pottery is one of the oldest crafts known to humanity. Potters carefully select the right type of clay, mix it with water, and knead it into a pliable mass suitable for shaping.
In the past, this craft was entirely manual, requiring patience and skill to create pottery and other objects. With the invention of the potter’s wheel, the process became much faster and more precise.
Once shaped, the pottery was left to dry in the shade or an airy place. Some pieces were coated or painted with various colors, adding a unique artistic touch.
The final step was firing the pottery in special wood-burning kilns. Depending on the size of the item, firing could take anywhere from several hours to several days. Afterward, the pottery had to be carefully cooled—a delicate process requiring great expertise to ensure durability and quality.
Watchmaker
The watchmaker, or "sajdžija," is a craftsman who specializes in making and repairing watches. In the past, watchmakers meticulously handcrafted every component of mechanical timepieces. Today, their work primarily involves replacing damaged or worn-out parts with factory-made ones.
In addition to mechanical watches, modern watchmakers repair electronic and electric timepieces and frequently replace batteries. Their expertise extends to pocket watches, wristwatches, tabletop clocks, wall clocks, and more.
While watch repair shops were once a common sight in every town, they are now becoming increasingly rare. Yet, those who continue this craft remain invaluable masters of precision and tradition.
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