Craftsman - a person engaged in handicraft production, that is, small-scale release of products with the use of manual labor. The flourishing of handicraft workshops took place in the Middle Ages and during the Industrial Revolution, they were driven manufactories. Artisans initially sought to meet the needs of its economy, but the development of commodity-money relations played a role - master steel supply of its products to the market. First there were the objects used in everyday life, and later they began to make and sell weapons. In pre-revolutionary Russia artisanal method produces about 30% of all products. In the USSR, individual production was banned as "the highest degree of oppression of the working people."
However, individual production is now: artisans produced various luxury items, furniture for individual orders, jewelry, designer engaged in tailoring. In China, the majority of small businesses is an association of craftsmen.