cottage industry

Definitions

1. 1

   A job or occupation carried out at home or on a part-time basis, historically often…

   A job or occupation carried out at home or on a part-time basis, historically often manufacturing work such as sewing, lacemaking, or spinning.

   • Near-synonym: proto-industry
   • A craft such as quilting may be pursued as a hobby or as a cottage industry.
   • Scotland and Ireland are famous for their tweeds and homespuns and what are known as the "cottage industries" have been recently revived in those countries as the products of their hand looms have become deservedly popular abroad.
2. 2

   A small-scale industry, with relatively few employees or a limited customer base or low…

   A small-scale industry, with relatively few employees or a limited customer base or low economic impact.

   • Customers quickly sensed the change when CA took over a company: The new owners vigorously enforced license agreements, often in the courts. A cottage industry soon sprang up to advise companies on how to negotiate with CA.
   • Microfinance, once a relative cottage industry championed by antipoverty activists and development wonks, is on the verge of a revolution, with billions of dollars from big banks, private-equity shops and pension funds pouring in.

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