I like the idea of domestic production of stuff. But the aspirational hope to catch a market by acquiring a patron ("if we can get DAniel DAy Lewis to wear our sweater!") feels to me not just like the bad side of the past ("if a Medici picks me I will no longer have to live exclusively on barley!") but also the saddest aspects of the current economy, where elites hold such a disproportion of global wealth it makes a lot of sense just to direct your entrepreneurial energies to hoping they buy from you. One of the big consulting firms had report about this, and it also reminds me of my previous experiences where NGO projects in poor countries often revolved around the dream of getting rich world consumers to buy the (weavings, ceramics, honey, herbal tinctures, etc. etc.) of some villagers from somewhere. A clever anthropologist (I don't remember who) described this as the vision of a belt of money circling the globe and many little projects hoping to find a way to get some of it to rain down on their spot.
I mean ... that doesn't seem great to me as a way forward? High quality domestic mass production for the domestic masses seems better, is that an impossible dream?
Speaking of watches, I collect mechanical ones. But I don't spend that much because I love Vostok, a Soviet brand which makes awesome mechanical watches for very little money. Not exactly craft but pretty cool nonetheless
Camping equipment and bicycle equipment. People get very fussy about having gear that's just right, they're willing to pay a premium for hand crafted stuff
wonderful ep, and I appreciate the optimism.
We must make and support the world we want to live in!
I like the idea of domestic production of stuff. But the aspirational hope to catch a market by acquiring a patron ("if we can get DAniel DAy Lewis to wear our sweater!") feels to me not just like the bad side of the past ("if a Medici picks me I will no longer have to live exclusively on barley!") but also the saddest aspects of the current economy, where elites hold such a disproportion of global wealth it makes a lot of sense just to direct your entrepreneurial energies to hoping they buy from you. One of the big consulting firms had report about this, and it also reminds me of my previous experiences where NGO projects in poor countries often revolved around the dream of getting rich world consumers to buy the (weavings, ceramics, honey, herbal tinctures, etc. etc.) of some villagers from somewhere. A clever anthropologist (I don't remember who) described this as the vision of a belt of money circling the globe and many little projects hoping to find a way to get some of it to rain down on their spot.
I mean ... that doesn't seem great to me as a way forward? High quality domestic mass production for the domestic masses seems better, is that an impossible dream?
Speaking of watches, I collect mechanical ones. But I don't spend that much because I love Vostok, a Soviet brand which makes awesome mechanical watches for very little money. Not exactly craft but pretty cool nonetheless
Camping equipment and bicycle equipment. People get very fussy about having gear that's just right, they're willing to pay a premium for hand crafted stuff