Hales
Global Industry Supporting Cottage Industry
Two Opposing Worlds
Economy of scale is an enormous barrier to the idealized democratic future where eveyone has the ability to produce everything accoriding to their need. One step towards this future is the marrige of big industry and craft. Lower volume (often local) production allows for more diverse and richer stories to be embedded in objects. The idea of “low volume” is usually in dicrect oppostition to the industrialized processes that have achived our low cost of goods. The meaningful connection of maker and user has been severed for decades, I would like to kindle a flame between craftspeople and large-scale automation.
Challenges with Crafters
Today we continue to see resiliant craftspeople carry on their work. In order to be profitable craftspeople have to charge according to time spent. In a first world country this can create costly goods. These craftspeople often fail to turn a profit because they spend many hours making and productin and not enough time findingd an audience who will buy their wares. Many rely on selling in collectives, or sometime in small storefronts.
+ Fast
+ Quantity of material
+ Inexpensive
+ Brand trust
- Impersonal
- Homogonous global design
- Growing distaste for big buisness
+ Diverse stories
+ User connection to makers
+ Meaningful jobs
+ Regional Design
- Costly in time
- Difficult to find buyers
- Unknown brand
- Inventory