Our texts for today:
http://thisismadebyhand.com/shoppe/http://thisismadebyhand.com/film/the_knife_makerhttp://cutbrooklyn.com/artwork/1711581_Available.htmlhttp://www.bestmadeco.com/collections/axes
We all like to have nice things. Some people like to make very nice things in archaic ways. I'm not going to try to claim there is a "handmade movement", but there's definitely a cultural current of people wanting to buy stuff that is verifiably good and not just the best of the available options at Target for instance. It's hard to say that an enthusiastic craftsperson making kitchen knives by hand is somehow being evil by making cool stuff in a way that is economically viable for them, or that the people who buy the results can't do what they want with their money. But when he's selling one knife for six times as much as a block of kitchen knives costs at Target then you really have to question what exactly is going on here.
He's gotta be pricing his knives based on the value of his labor creating them, plus materials and whatnot. I certainly think $40 an hour is a fair rate to pay yourself for knife-making.
On the other hand, the resulting product, a $600 knife, seems pretty much like a Veblen good. Its use value has to be very close to even the $200 equivalent from Global, if we assume for the sake of argument that both are better knives than the $25 equivalent from Victorinox or the $10 equivalent from Ikea. Anyone who buys a knife from this guy either is spending a big part of their hobby budget on a knife they think is really excellent (maybe a few people) or…they've got cash and want something fancy and Handmade In Brooklyn By A Man With A Beard for its fetish value.
Something about this whole process is probably virtuous, and something about it is just conspicuous consumerism. And it all sort of feeds into the eternal quest of enthusiasts on the internet trying to figure out what thing is best. Running polls, seeking out trustworthy tastemakers, etc.
― whoop, up the butt it goes (silby), Thursday, 3 November 2011 18:55 (1 year ago) Permalink
I certainly think $40 an hour is a fair rate to pay yourself for knife-making
really
― The Uncanny Frankie Valley (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 3 November 2011 18:56 (1 year ago) Permalink
craftsmanship, consumerism, virtue, privilege, and quality [Started by whoop, up the butt it goes (silby) in November 2011, last updated 1 minute ago]Innocuous things that make you irrationally angry (a list thread) [Started by the great aussie ballkicking vids (jjjusten) in September 2010, last updated 2 minutes ago] 10 new answers
― glorified version of appellate court (get bent), Thursday, 3 November 2011 18:56 (1 year ago) Permalink
xp considering programming contractors bill their time at $75-$100 an hour or more $40 seems fairly reserved. Plus the guy obviously has rent, fixed costs, etc.
― whoop, up the butt it goes (silby), Thursday, 3 November 2011 19:00 (1 year ago) Permalink
so yeah maybe the guy could be pricing his labor at $18-$20 and selling the knives for cheaper but I don't think "how much do people deserve to get paid for their labor for doing one thing vs some other thing" is a focus here?
The "$40 an hour" thing by the way was inferred from $600 knives / 15 hours of work = $40 an hour, assuming materials costs are negligible.
― whoop, up the butt it goes (silby), Thursday, 3 November 2011 19:03 (1 year ago) Permalink
Materials, tools, rent also factor into the cost of that knife, and whatever it cost him in time and materials to learn the skill in the first place, he's probably really only paying himself $20/hr.
Tied into this is also a sense of satisfaction at supporting craftsmen - I'm wearing a pair of jeans right now that cost more than $200. I can justify it (in my mind) because they're the only jeans I wear, the materials and construction are of higher quality than basic Levi's, and they're made by one guy in a loft in the bay area (Roy's Jeans). Objectively, it's an absurd amount to spend on jeans, but I appreciate the craftsmanship and that I'm supporting someone making them on his own rather than feeding $50 to a corporation that uses sweatshop (or near-sweatshop) labor.
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Thursday, 3 November 2011 19:28 (1 year ago) Permalink
The ability of machines to mass-produce items, which in turn cost less because of economies of scale, is not something I have a problem with. It is the steady flow of profits away from under-compensated labor toward over-compensated capital that seems to me like the essential problem to address. That and overconsumption in general.
― Aimless, Thursday, 3 November 2011 19:29 (1 year ago) Permalink
let me use your shit and you can use mine
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Thursday, 3 November 2011 19:31 (1 year ago) Permalink
one one hand, yeah i think 'fetish' is a very good word to use in terms of what's happening from the consumer side here, it's inarguably luxury for the sake of luxury
Otoh, paying living wage to local craftspeople for good product isn't a bad thing, i guess. Haven't ever heard of any millionaire 'dude who makes knives in a workshop' types.
― blind pele (darraghmac), Thursday, 3 November 2011 19:34 (1 year ago) Permalink
there's a real arrogance to the new breed of millenial craftsman, i.e. the kids who went to college in the '90s and '00s and then realized they liked doing manual work that was, by their standards, "below" them. To justify their own egos and intellectual pretentions they take to correspondingly hiking the prices/ramping up the cultural "worth" /finessing the language in their copy to include shit like "artisan-made" and "uniquely sourced and crafted" so that they feel their middle-class prejudices being satiated while they're doing work that would otherwise be, you know, plain old labor.
(and I don't buy for a second that the high cost of labor is due to some benevolent workers' solidarity with their underpaid brethren)
― turkey in the straw (x2) (remy bean), Thursday, 3 November 2011 19:43 (1 year ago) Permalink
darraghmac on the mark ^
There's certainly a handmade movement. Wallpaper is fixated with it. It reflects a cultural shift in the way wealth is spent. It's considered a little vulgar or, at best, impractical to want the most stuff or the biggest stuff, people with money to throw around want something unique - something with its own instant 'heritage'.
I think there's also an element of the 'shop class as soulcraft' idea, in a strange way. People like the idea of working with their hands, creating something beautiful from raw materials - a counterpoint to people shifting numbers between Frankfurt and Zurich, making millions of intangible dollars. Even if it's the latter group with the cash to pay for it, but not the time or skill to do it themselves, an element of the romance remains.
I can't really see a moral problem with people spending £30,000 on a couture Chanel dress, tbh, given the number of people involved in making one and the number of dying crafts the company keeps alive. It's a needless luxury but it's not the worst needless luxury out there.
― Mohombi Khush Hua (ShariVari), Thursday, 3 November 2011 20:01 (1 year ago) Permalink
― turkey in the straw (x2) (remy bean), Thursday, November 3, 2011 12:43 PM (35 minutes ago) Bookmark
this kind of bald-faced self-serving projection is 100x more arrogant and prudish than any of the "new breed" of "millennial craftsmen" i've met or known.
― ah, how quaint (Matt P), Thursday, 3 November 2011 20:29 (1 year ago) Permalink
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 3 November 2011 20:33 (1 year ago) Permalink
making something yourself and selling it, as your livelihood, and trying to be good/get better at it, is such a weird proposition in today's market that some kind of authenticity branding is kind of unavoidable, no?
― ah, how quaint (Matt P), Thursday, 3 November 2011 20:36 (1 year ago) Permalink
not talking about domino's obviously
artisan means square in that context
― mark s, Thursday, 3 November 2011 20:43 (1 year ago) Permalink
Matt, I don't give half a shit whether you agree with me or not, but why don't you do it without the ad hominems?
― turkey in the straw (x2) (remy bean), Thursday, 3 November 2011 20:44 (1 year ago) Permalink
also: chunky xp
― ah, how quaint (Matt P), Thursday, 3 November 2011 20:46 (1 year ago) Permalink
tbf your entire post is basically an ad hominem
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 3 November 2011 20:46 (1 year ago) Permalink
I would categorize remy's post more as an appeal to emotion and prejudice.
― Aimless, Thursday, 3 November 2011 20:50 (1 year ago) Permalink
first of all, you're kinda being dicks.
second of all, i'm dyspeptic after paying $14 for a shitty plate of vertically-arranged eggs crafted by an "artisanal cafe" started by trust fund brats that took out the breakfast place where i used to buy excellent burritos for $5.50 and included a side of dirty rice so this is probably feeding into it
third, eh, fuck it
― turkey in the straw (x2) (remy bean), Thursday, 3 November 2011 20:55 (1 year ago) Permalink
occupy burritos
― Mr. Que, Thursday, 3 November 2011 20:56 (1 year ago) Permalink
remy, not sure where the ad hominem is, unless it's taking a guess at why someone would write that kind of boilerplate horseshit.
xp yeah, sorry, that sucks?
― ah, how quaint (Matt P), Thursday, 3 November 2011 20:56 (1 year ago) Permalink
― Mr. Que, Thursday, 3 November 2011 20:56 (40 seconds ago) Bookmark
^^
― Abattoir Educator / Slaughterman (schlump), Thursday, 3 November 2011 20:57 (1 year ago) Permalink
probably the most vile part of this trend is the tacit assumption that the guys making those global knives (or any high-quality product made by a skilled craftsman) are not putting equal or greater amounts of skill, effort, and passion into the things they're making.
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 3 November 2011 20:59 (1 year ago) Permalink
remy what's the new place called?
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:00 (1 year ago) Permalink
― Aimless, Thursday, 3 November 2011 19:29 (1 hour ago)
otm!
― iatee, Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:01 (1 year ago) Permalink
i'm writing off the cuff here, but in my experience a lot of the current iteration of 'craftsmanship culture' i.e. 'dudes who have a hobby making shit' gets elevated all out of proportion into 'artistry' that shortchanges long-time practitioners and career creators of that same ("mass-produced") items. maybe i'm thinking narrowly (though not – sorry – appealing to prejudice or bald-faced self-serving) but in the case of my uncle the snobby pro-'artisanal' attitude cost a good and devoted laborer his job.
― turkey in the straw (x2) (remy bean), Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:04 (1 year ago) Permalink
In other words, I guess I agree with CAD.
― turkey in the straw (x2) (remy bean), Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:05 (1 year ago) Permalink
it goes beyond 'justifying their own egos and intellectual pretentions' - if you can sell shit for more money by marketing it differently, *that is a good idea*. this happens in basically every market for everything!
― iatee, Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:06 (1 year ago) Permalink
otm
― Mr. Que, Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:07 (1 year ago) Permalink
how about when the product is bank accounts, iatee?
― turkey in the straw (x2) (remy bean), Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:08 (1 year ago) Permalink
this is really easy to run into if you buy liquor these days--microdistilleries are popping up all over the place and using words like "local" "artisinal" and "craft" and they pretty much ignore some basic facts of the beverage alcohol industry (liquor branch in particular), such as 1) distilling is really hard; 2) once you can do it it's really easy to do large-scale; 3) market competition and consumer choice have resulted in an environment where 95% of midshelf and higher products are quite high-quality.
the response of microdistillers is to give something "unique" (i.e. a gin that can't be used in martinis) or to essentially just put something out there and provide no reason for drinking it beyond who/how/where it was produced (i.e. the glut of awful, pointless "white whiskies" that you can get now).
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:11 (1 year ago) Permalink
― turkey in the straw (x2) (remy bean), Thursday, November 3, 2011 2:04 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark
yeah, i can see how the appeal to "artistry" is arrogant, especially when there are so many other people who make and sell the same kind of thing in a factory and do a good job and don't loudly claim to be "artists" and probably aren't white. agreed that mass-produced <> "lovingly crafted" etc. xp
― ah, how quaint (Matt P), Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:16 (1 year ago) Permalink
― iatee, Thursday, November 3, 2011 2:06 PM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark
yeah, i mean, that's where things get complicated imo
― ah, how quaint (Matt P), Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:17 (1 year ago) Permalink
the Global website has just this one photo of dudes grinding knives
― whoop, up the butt it goes (silby), Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:19 (1 year ago) Permalink
if he had a beard maybe he would be ok to work out of brooklyn instead of japan
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:20 (1 year ago) Permalink
i guess i think there should be a distinction made b/w stuff that "appeals to artistry" in a way that is kinda slimy and stuff that is actually "artisan" by definition. and if ppl wanna pay $600 or for an actual artisan knife i guess that's their prerogative?
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:20 (1 year ago) Permalink
competition in the market for personal bank accounts is a great idea and the fact that large banks don't seem to want to offer a competitive price (free) anymore is why people are switching to alternatives. xp
overall if someone is consuming less cause they're spending more money on fewer things, I'm totally cool w/ artisan stuff. if it's just creating more needless consumption opportunities otoh, there's a good argument against it.
regardless of 'higher quality' (true sometimes, bullshit sometimes) this trend has to be looked as primarily as marketing. you know what else has marketing behind it? all the cheap crap in the world.
anyway I find this interesting but am getting on a train. surely will be 500 posts while I'm gone.
― iatee, Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:21 (1 year ago) Permalink
xp what is artisan by definition?
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:21 (1 year ago) Permalink
Many of the best chefs in the world use knives costing 1/2 - 1/3 as much as those in the OP, made by folks whose family/ancestors have been in the "artisinal" "knife"-making business for centuries.
Global is not very "artisinal" fwiw, it's a fairly large manufacturer.
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:22 (1 year ago) Permalink
thanks for this thread, this is a subject i've been mulling over a lot lately. *mulls*
― elmo argonaut, Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:23 (1 year ago) Permalink
also, making one particular thing is like 95% tedious and brutal anyway, it's not like someone making knives in their warehouse is going to know something ^those guys don't. factories improve quality control for products like that big-time. xposts
― ah, how quaint (Matt P), Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:26 (1 year ago) Permalink
(it's only on ilx that i remember what a socialist i am, at heart)
true story:
my Uncle J spends 30 years making a niche product so successfully that it becomes ubiquitous in his corner of the [classical music] industry. Uncle J charges a very reasonable fee to make a custom, one-of-a-kind [widget], and takes on an apprentice who studies with him for six months. apprentice comes to my Uncle, and says he wants to become a partner –– AFTER SIX MONTHS –– because he's learned everything Uncle J. has to show him about making very complicated [widgets]. Uncle J. says no, not yet, and apprentice informs J. he'll be quitting if he can't make more $$$; what he feels is fair compensation. Uncle J. asks what fair compensation is, and the kid lists a price that is easily three times what Uncle J., himself, makes. Uncle J. is already paying the new kid a pretty top-shelf salary (middle five figures) roughly equal to 4/5 of J.'s own salary, in an industry that is flagging in this recession. Uncle J's apprentice quits and a few weeks later opens up a business at the other end of town where he charges many many times more than Uncle J. for the [vastly inferior, vastly less-experienced version of the highly technical widget –– now made with recycled! metal!]. Uncle J. loses all of his clients, who (are carefully seduced by the former apprentice to) feel that his product is inferior and less "ethical", because Uncle J.'s his experience and craftsmanship and desire to be reasonable are trumped by the geewhiz factor of a kid who slightly alters a half-stolen design and stamps ARTISANAL and HANDCRAFTED over a product that has always - obviously - been artisanal and handcrafted. Reducing my (inchoate) argument to a nut, I find it reedikerus that 'artisianal' and 'craftsmanship' are currently applicable to anything that, say, a 23-year-old has done for less than a few years.
― turkey in the straw (x2) (remy bean), Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:26 (1 year ago) Permalink
I don't think I thought that Global was particularly artisanal, just their knives are more expensive than and probably better than random stamped piece of crap knives from Target. So from a purely use-value perspective ("I want an objectively good knife and will pay more for quality because this matters to me") they are competitors. xps
― whoop, up the butt it goes (silby), Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:27 (1 year ago) Permalink
obv. i know this is not a generalizable anecdote, but it's illustrative of the attitude that bothers me
― turkey in the straw (x2) (remy bean), Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:28 (1 year ago) Permalink
yeah that kid sounds like a massive tool
― whoop, up the butt it goes (silby), Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:29 (1 year ago) Permalink
The customer is always right, even when the customer is a flagrant idiot.
― Aimless, Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:30 (1 year ago) Permalink
ha i finally looked at the links in the original post and pretty much had the same reaction tbh xxp
― ah, how quaint (Matt P), Thursday, 3 November 2011 21:31 (1 year ago) Permalink
And by "today" I mean a few hours ago.
― lets just remember to blame the patriarchy for (in orbit), Tuesday, 26 March 2013 05:39 (2 months ago) Permalink
I really miss the silkiness of milk fat.
I gave up milk a few years ago and this is my #1 regret, but this stuff is a great splurge. I hate the chalkiness of almond milk in coffee (but drink/use it for everything else).
http://www.drinksilk.ca/silk-for-coffee.phpThe Canadian domain leads me to guess its not in USA but there must be a similar product?
― she started dancing to that (Finefinemusic), Tuesday, 26 March 2013 12:48 (2 months ago) Permalink
I've definitely seen silk "creamer" in the US, and it's pretty good in coffee for a soy product.
I usually use a splash of milk, no sugar. The milk does something really nice to the coffee flavor that I can't quite describe, whereas I find that sugar just kind of masks it.
― space phwoar (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 26 March 2013 13:34 (2 months ago) Permalink
i drink coffee black but sometimes if i go to a coffee joint i will get the triple-dipple-mochachinolattecoolatta or whatever. for fun. sometimes its fun to add a ton of half & half and sugar to coffee as a kind of dessert. but generally i like it black. like my men. (i am so saying that the next time i order coffee somewhere.)
― scott seward, Tuesday, 26 March 2013 13:44 (2 months ago) Permalink
also if coffee is riiiiiiiiiillllyyy rilly strong i don't mind cutting it with milk. like beyond strong. like mud. with all the scary oil floating on top.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 26 March 2013 13:45 (2 months ago) Permalink
i have it with milk if it's not great coffee, with sugar if it's really not great, and black when it's good (i.e. when i make it myself)
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 26 March 2013 13:48 (2 months ago) Permalink
I'm picky enough that I'll bring my aeropress when I travel and know there isn't anything nearby other than starbucks or my parent's cofee but I'm not picky enough that I'll grind it all ahead of time.
lol i know this headspace v well
lookit this stupid thing.
Beautiful, well-balanced and exquisitely made, this glue pot should last for decades and will bring an aura of old world charm and craftsmanship to your workbench. Brass glue pot $96.95 Glue pot warmer $24.10
― arby's, Friday, 5 April 2013 22:44 (2 months ago) Permalink
for reference i made my own glue pot today from shit at the salvation army for $6.00.
are you a luthier?
― HIGH-FIVES TO ALL MY COWORKERS AT THE QBERT SEX SWING (silby), Friday, 5 April 2013 22:47 (2 months ago) Permalink
i've made a few guitars.
― arby's, Friday, 5 April 2013 22:50 (2 months ago) Permalink
all without a $70 glue pot?
srsly tho tell us about making guitars
― HIGH-FIVES TO ALL MY COWORKERS AT THE QBERT SEX SWING (silby), Friday, 5 April 2013 22:55 (2 months ago) Permalink
i'm in my second year of school for it, so i'm pretty green obv. what i have learned:
-it is equal parts great fun and wanting to die-cumulatively the tools are extraordinarily expensive
idk what do you wanna know
― arby's, Friday, 5 April 2013 23:21 (2 months ago) Permalink
well, I guess as germane to this thread, what are the differences between a $99 guitar and a $9000 guitar? Are you hoping to become an independent maker of handcrafted artisan guitars? What's the price-point for guitars made by your instructors? Do they teach because they're into it or because making custom guitars doesn't pay the bills?
― HIGH-FIVES TO ALL MY COWORKERS AT THE QBERT SEX SWING (silby), Friday, 5 April 2013 23:49 (2 months ago) Permalink
those french market cans of coffee in supermarkets are p alright
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Saturday, 6 April 2013 00:04 (2 months ago) Permalink
as guitars?
― HIGH-FIVES TO ALL MY COWORKERS AT THE QBERT SEX SWING (silby), Saturday, 6 April 2013 00:04 (2 months ago) Permalink
rubber band coffee can jams
― Woody Ellen (Matt P), Saturday, 6 April 2013 00:51 (2 months ago) Permalink
Where is the link to the NPR story about the $100 Guitar Project?
― What About The Half That's Never Been POLLed (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 6 April 2013 00:55 (2 months ago) Permalink
Here:http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2012/12/03/166430924/a-100-guitar-makes-a-30-000-mile-odyssey?live=1
― What About The Half That's Never Been POLLed (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 6 April 2013 00:59 (2 months ago) Permalink
And here is their webpage: http://www.100dollarguitar.com/
― What About The Half That's Never Been POLLed (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 6 April 2013 01:00 (2 months ago) Permalink
xxp those are all really good questions! i'll start with these:
What's the price-point for guitars made by your instructors? Do they teach because they're into it or because making custom guitars doesn't pay the bills?
i think those are both reasons they do it. their guitars start at around 3000 or $3500 for a basic acoustic guitars (probably half that for electrics) so naturally it's hard to find buyers. most full time hand builders probably put in 70 hour a week or something and with exceptions only eek out a living. there's a lot of self marketing involved, you really have to get out there, hit bluegrass festivals and shit, there are so many builders out there, nobody is going to just google onto your website and buy something without playing it.
Are you hoping to become an independent maker of handcrafted artisan guitars?
this is ideally what i'd like to do. i don't enjoy repairs all that much, but there's a lot more steady work in it, and, see above. get a famous person or two to play something i made and maybe it could happen? it's the dream. wake up and saunter into your own shop and immerse yourself.
what are the differences between a $99 guitar and a $9000 guitar?
this is a really good question but a tricky one. 99-to-9000...the tonal difference between a brick with strings and a face full of hot air? between 600 and 3000, the difference between a factory guitar and a handmade guitar can...be all sorts of things. possibly better woods, possibly better craftsmanship, but there are fantastic playing and sounding factory guitars out there, it really depends where you go. factory guitars are commonly overbuilt, but that's far from the rule. with hand makers you might get, say, more attention to voicing of the instrument, a better sound, i think the biggest thing hand builders offer is options. it's getting a guitar that is tailor made in terms of neck contour, nut width, spacing at the saddle, body depth and dimensions, wood combination...and do you want a guitar that sound great in the studio or a loud bastard that can keep up with a banjo? iow the difference is mostly luxury.
― arby's, Saturday, 6 April 2013 01:21 (2 months ago) Permalink
that $100 guitar thing is awesome.
― arby's, Saturday, 6 April 2013 01:25 (2 months ago) Permalink
lol i am a terrible salesman.
"arbys, why should someone consider your product?"*pry guitar from kindly inquisitor's hands**toss on pile of wasted dreams and fire*"u should try a seagull"
― arby's, Saturday, 6 April 2013 13:10 (2 months ago) Permalink
http://shop-generalstore.com/collections/home-garden/products/equilateral-nails
bronze nails w/ triangular heads, $28/4
― Sadly, 99.99 percent of sheeple will never wake up (I DIED), Saturday, 6 April 2013 19:55 (2 months ago) Permalink
so much bullshit, my friend bought a whole can of attractive old forged nails from a reclaimed furniture store for a few bucks. also "For decorative use only, a pilot hole is necessary."
― HIGH-FIVES TO ALL MY COWORKERS AT THE QBERT SEX SWING (silby), Saturday, 6 April 2013 19:59 (2 months ago) Permalink
at a certain point you've got to be honest with yourself and just say "these are weak wall hooks" instead of nails
― Sadly, 99.99 percent of sheeple will never wake up (I DIED), Saturday, 6 April 2013 20:15 (2 months ago) Permalink
i like this store near me. and it reminds me of this thread for some reason. i don't actually ever go there cuz i am always at my store but they have fun stuff. and their whole thing is a whole thing. industrial lamps and old pencil sharpeners and all that.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/LOOT-found-made/222948171103406?id=222948171103406&sk=photos_stream
― scott seward, Saturday, 6 April 2013 20:21 (2 months ago) Permalink
and they are in turners and thats really cool cuz its really not brooklyn but more nice arty folks are moving there. cuz its so cheap and not brooklyn. and its a great place.
― scott seward, Saturday, 6 April 2013 20:22 (2 months ago) Permalink
https://www.genmfg.co/products/1/tybee-jump-rope
― Sadly, 99.99 percent of sheeple will never wake up (I DIED), Wednesday, 10 April 2013 13:12 (2 months ago) Permalink
http://onedof.com/
Rolls eyes at weirdo audiophiles.
― One bad call from barely losing to (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 10 April 2013 13:15 (2 months ago) Permalink
tbf that thing is fucking beautiful and I would buy it if I had infinite money
― --808 542137 (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 10 April 2013 13:32 (2 months ago) Permalink
oh, btw, I just googled it and it costs $150,000. I think at that point I would just pay children to walk in a circle holding my record.
― --808 542137 (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 10 April 2013 13:33 (2 months ago) Permalink
Yeah sorry the price tag obv the craziest thing. I read about it on PSF which did mention the $150k but obv it's not upfront on the website.
― One bad call from barely losing to (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 10 April 2013 14:15 (2 months ago) Permalink
Awesome Audiophile Snake Oil
― HIGH-FIVES TO ALL MY COWORKERS AT THE QBERT SEX SWING (silby), Wednesday, 10 April 2013 17:20 (2 months ago) Permalink
haaaaa:http://m.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2012/05/artisanal-reluctant-branding-pioneer-dies-age-474/52969/
― --808 542137 (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 16 April 2013 20:58 (2 months ago) Permalink
tote bags:
http://shop.naturalchildworld.com/collections/frontpage/products/full-inside-out-tote
― koogs, Monday, 22 April 2013 17:31 (1 month ago) Permalink
these handbags with envelope-like features made out of the mailbags that used to deliver them is the type of stuff that really gets our rocks off
― fucking Telstra (silby), Monday, 22 April 2013 17:32 (1 month ago) Permalink
Daguerreotypes:
http://primalphotographic.com/
― What fresh Hel is this? (doo dah), Monday, 22 April 2013 17:33 (1 month ago) Permalink
Tintypes etc. are pretty dope tho. <3 Sally Mann's glass plate work
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Monday, 22 April 2013 17:42 (1 month ago) Permalink
thinking a lot about this stuff again, which should surprise nobody.
― ⚓ (elmo argonaut), Wednesday, 22 May 2013 14:26 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
regale me
― 乒乓, Wednesday, 22 May 2013 14:27 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
generally, thinking about the ways independent craftspeople compensate themselves for their own time. it's not exactly surprising to see, for example, young men making their masculine type products -- let's say, for example, leather goods -- pricing their wares pretty highly. it's pretty common to see examples of things that are relatively uncomplicated in manufacture priced at a premium. some of that cost, i think, can be traced to the cost of raw materials, but it's likewise pretty revealing of the mindset to see folks who are clearly in the 'apprentice' stage using top-grade raw materials. the rest of the cost relates to how the maker values his time, as well as some more nebulous attributes of taste and aesthetic.
― ⚓ (elmo argonaut), Wednesday, 22 May 2013 14:42 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
also, dudes selling machine-hemmed cotton pocket squares for $20 on styleforum or wherever
― ⚓ (elmo argonaut), Wednesday, 22 May 2013 14:47 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
i've always seen pricing as a signaling device, tbh, i don't know if it necessarily is a reflection of how the 'craftsman' values their time
― 乒乓, Wednesday, 22 May 2013 14:48 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
but you're prob right that in the very low volumes these guys are dealing in, it probably is a reflection of how they value their time, their 'break-even' point
it doesn't matter how much someone values their time if someone else isn't willing to pay for it
― iatee, Wednesday, 22 May 2013 14:50 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
well, yes, exactly. but regardless of actual or perceived "quality", there seems to be a much higher valuation of the cost of labor when it's done in a western nation by a white man, and how that relates to ideas of class distinction and luxury. q.v. the price of custom suiting on saville row vs. in hong kong
i know i'm probably not blowing minds here, but it's just something that's been stuck with me for a while.
― ⚓ (elmo argonaut), Wednesday, 22 May 2013 15:11 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
rent is probably a big part of that cost. you have pretty fixed monthly costs and they've gotta be factored in...
― koogs, Wednesday, 22 May 2013 15:26 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
Rent where though.
― sword of (seandalai), Wednesday, 22 May 2013 16:35 (4 weeks ago) Permalink
where your customers are
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Saturday, 25 May 2013 07:03 (3 weeks ago) Permalink