Quote Originally Posted by Aldisimo View Post
'Factory' makes me think 'consistency.'
That may be part of it, but I think the connotation that "factory" has for most people centers on the "mass production" aspect.

An individual artisan can create products with a consistant quality because of his skill. For example, when I was making my first kilt, I had to concentrate in order to make my stitching even, and even then my stitching was not consistant. Now, after making some 350 +/- kilts, I can make even, consistant stitching almost with no conscous thought.

Yet no one would describe me as a "kilt factory." The word factory implies mass production and mechanisation. Yes, it also means consistancy. But when it comes to a traditional heritage garment such as the kilt, I think most prefer the consistancy of a skilled craftsman over the consistancy of an impersonal mechanized production process.