17th April, 2012
Today, whilst on the dreary tube ride to work, I read the most refreshing article by John Paul-Flintoff in the May edition of Elle Deco (pg’s 84 & 85 should you like to look it up).
The article discusses the never ending circle of debate we call consumerism and people’s attitudes to handmade works. Here’s a little extract to give you the gist:
“A few years ago, I made a decision: I would never again buy anything ‘cheap’ if I could help it. In other words, I would buy less than I had in the past, but it would all be good quality. The idea came to me indirectly. As the father of a young child, I had thrown myself into re-learning craft skills that I’d not used for years. Helping my daughter, Nancy, I experimented with book-binding, pottery and sewing.”
“By experimenting with these crafts myself, I also came to a better understanding of what was involved… I soon learnt that it’s impossible to compete with mass produced goods… I realised the pressure from consumers always looking for bargains (as I had previously done) leads directly to the exploitation of producers. Ultimately it can even lead to the destruction of entire industries.”
“It can be hard to care about the fate of producers that we don’t know, but the pressure on price also drives down quality – and that affects us all directly.”
“A home is built up slowly and filled with things that have meaning to the people who live in it – but if those things won’t stand the test of time, what are they for?”
Bravo Mr Flintoff – here’s to more people filling their homes with much loved and handmade works from the slow craft movement!