The Italian Artisan Economy and Its Relevance in America’s Future
The Rise of Artisan Industries: A New American Economy?
Young people are returning to craft and local production, sparking an artisan boom across Orange County, Los Angeles and beyond. On October 21, Joel Kotkin, Irene Lottini and Shaheen Sadeghi explored the revival of artisan industry in America through the lens of the Italian model.
Chapman University · Argyros Forum 201
The report behind the evening
This evening was held to showcase and discuss the findings of our new report, Rise of the Artisan Economy, by Joel Kotkin and Irene Lottini and edited by Marshall Toplansky, produced with Chapman’s Ferrucci Institute for Italian Experience and Research. The report looks at what Italy’s artisan tradition can teach America, and why small, skill-based businesses may matter more, not less, in an age of AI.
Program
Wednesday, October 21, 2026 · 5:00 to 6:30 pm · Argyros Forum 201, Chapman University, Orange
- WelcomeDr. Federico PacchioniMusco Endowed Chair in Italian Studies and Founding Director, Ferrucci Institute for Italian Experience and Research, Chapman University
- The reportIrene Lottini and Joel KotkinCo-authors of Rise of the Artisan Economy
- ConversationWith Shaheen SadeghiCEO, LAB Holding
- AudienceQuestions and discussion
What we heard
From Rise of the Artisan Economy; see the report’s endnotes for full sources.
Italy’s workshops, up close
Irene Lottini took the room inside a Florentine goldsmith’s workshop run by a father and his two sons, a Venetian weaving house still working 18th-century looms, a young Prato company reviving the city’s tradition of regenerated fabrics, and bakeries that serve as gathering places for their towns.
Trades and degrees, together
Rather than setting trade school against college, the Italian businesses in the report combine both: hands-on training in the workshop alongside degrees in marketing, business and art history.
Southern California’s makers
Joel Kotkin pointed to the region’s own artisans, from Orange County restaurants that began in home kitchens to aerospace machinists who see themselves as craftspeople, and to strong demand for skilled trades.
A new kind of consumer
Shaheen Sadeghi, who founded The LAB more than three decades ago, described how mass culture has broken into many communities of taste, and why people increasingly want to know who made what they buy.
Financing the next generation
Audience questions turned to how young entrepreneurs can fund new ventures, from crowdfunding and personal savings to home-based businesses and landlords willing to partner with small tenants.
A more humane economy
Joel Kotkin closed with the report’s larger argument: that small, skill-based businesses can help renew a market economy that works for more people.
Scenes from the evening
Our partnership with the Ferrucci Institute
This evening, and the report behind it, grew from our collaboration with Chapman’s Ferrucci Institute for Italian Experience and Research. We are grateful to the Institute for its partnership, and to the leadership of Dr. Federico Pacchioni, Founding Director, and Andrea Molle, Assistant Director, who brought Rise of the Artisan Economy into the Windows to Italy series and helped make the conversation possible.
Thank you to everyone who joined us in Argyros Forum 201, and to Shaheen Sadeghi for sharing his experience building community around makers in Orange County.
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