Those three words, “Handmade with love.”, are everywhere in the maker community—on product tags, banners, social media posts, slapped onto everything from pottery to jewellery to woodwork like some kind of required disclaimer. I’ve been making and selling handmade goods for 43 years and producing craft shows for 26 years, and I’m convinced: it’s time to let it go.
This phrase has become the participation trophy of craft marketing. It’s cliché. It’s overused. And worse, it’s doing you absolutely no favours.
Of course you love what you do. That’s a given. You wouldn’t be hand-stitching leather, throwing clay at midnight, or weaving fibre for hours on end if you didn’t love it. Because let’s be honest: there are far easier ways to make a living. The love of the craft is already baked into the fact that you’re doing this work at all. It doesn’t need to be stated, and certainly not like it’s your unique selling point.
Your customers, the ones who seek out handmade goods, already know the value of what you’re offering. They understand that handmade items take time, craftsmanship, skill, and meticulous attention to detail. They know you didn’t arrive at this level overnight, that behind every piece is often years of trial and error, of honing techniques, of learning what works and what doesn’t. These buyers connect emotionally with handmade work all the time, that’s often why they buy. But putting the words “handmade with love” on your products doesn’t create that connection. Your craftsmanship does. Your story does. The piece itself does.
The thing is, nobody actually sees those words anymore. When everyone at the craft show has the same phrase on their tags, when every Etsy listing includes the same tagline, when every Instagram post ends with the same hashtag, it all becomes visual noise. Buyers scroll right past it. “Handmade with love” doesn’t make you memorable—it makes you identical to the thousand other makers saying the exact same thing.
You’re essentially using valuable real estate on your tags, your booth signage, your website to say nothing at all. Instead of giving customers something specific to remember about you, you’re lumping yourself into the same generic category as everyone else. It’s the opposite of branding. It’s anti-differentiation.
So, let’s talk about what is more valuable on a product tag. “Handmade” as a descriptor? Absolutely. That’s useful information. But here’s what actually matters after that: things like where it was made, what it is, what materials were used. “Handmade in Nova Scotia” tells a story and gives context. “Handmade with love” tells nothing and actively distracts from what the customer should be focusing on—the product itself. Those two extra words ‘with love’ are just noise cluttering up the message. They draw the eye away from information that actually helps someone understand what they’re buying and why it’s worth the price. Every word on your tag should be working for you. “With love” is dead weight.
When you lead with “handmade with love,” you’re inadvertently positioning yourself as a hobbyist rather than a professional. You’re making it about your feelings instead of your expertise. And in doing so, you’re undermining the very real economic conversation that needs to happen: handmade goods cost more because they’re made with expensive supplies, specialised skills, and irreplaceable time. One-of-a-kind items command higher prices than mass-produced factory goods—not because of love, but because of value.
And let’s be real for a second: the people who own factories probably love what they do too. They love the fact that they can produce thousands of units and sell them at a great profit. Love isn’t your differentiator. Your craft is.
I know this phrase feels safe. It feels warm and approachable, especially when you’re standing in a booth hoping someone will connect with your work. But it’s not serving you. It’s filler that doesn’t tell customers anything meaningful about your work.
So what should you say instead? Give them substance, not sentiment.
Focus on storytelling rather than falling back on empty phrases. Explain why you made the item, what inspired it, what it’s made from, or simply where it’s made. Describe your process or materials in ways that give customers real information: “Hand-stitched over 20 hours.” “Made with ethically sourced fabric.” “Custom glazed.” “Forged from reclaimed steel.” “Made in Canada.” These details tell a story. They demonstrate expertise. They justify your price point. They give buyers something concrete to remember and talk about when they show your work to someone else. And when you talk this way about your work, that love will be felt, the passion will show.
You are not a hobbyist making cute things in your spare time and hoping people think they’re sweet. You are a skilled artisan running a business. Your work deserves to be positioned that way.
It’s time to retire “handmade with love.” Let your craft speak for itself. Because if the work is good—and I’m betting it is—it doesn’t need a greeting card slogan to sell it.
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