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Britain’s vellum industry is booming, quietly

blakesterz 5y ago
"The market has shifted from monks to megayachts (vellum makes a lovely sofa). But his company is the last vellum maker left in Britain. The lack of competition is good for Mr Wright but bad for the craft in general." I'm not sure I'd call an industry with ONE maker left "booming" but it is a short look at one niche among many that are dead or dying. "The loss of craftspeople can change the look of a nation. "
sandworm101 5y ago
Yup. There are plenty of ultra-rick people buying highly-refined and labor-intensive luxury products for their yachts. That cannot be the basis for any serious economy. And as another commenter noted, one producer does not make a boom. I don't think it even qualifies as an industry.
- jtbayly 5y ago
  If there are plenty of them, and they are ultra-rich, and they are buying, why can't it be the basis of any serious economy?
  - nicoburns 5y ago
    It can be the basis of an economy. But it will always be a very inefficient if you measure efficiency in terms of societal value with respect to the societal effort put in to create that value. Why? Because it necessarily entails a large section of our production being focussed on a small proportion of the people. And even ignoring issues of fairness, diminishing marginal utility means that those people don't derive nearly so much value as that same effort directed at the masses would create.
  - sandworm101 5y ago
    It can be an economy, but more of a disneyland economy totally supported by an external flow of cash. Someone has to make the energy/food and provide services for the masses before those masses are available to make luxury goods for the rich.
    - jtbayly 5y ago
      I still don't get it. Are you telling me you grow your own food and make your own energy for your computers used for coding? Plus, Disneyland (ie Tourism/entertainment) seems like a pretty serious economy to me.
nsoqo 5y ago
Si vis pacem, para vellum.
- SquibblesRedux 5y ago
  For those who are curious, this is a Latin pun. The original, "si vis pacem, para bellum" means "if you want peace, prepare for war."
- marginalia_nu 5y ago
  Si vis bellum, para oleum.
OJFord 5y ago
The mentioned 'red list' of endangered crafts: https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/redlist/categories-of-risk/ https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/redlist/categories-of-risk/
- SquibblesRedux 5y ago
  Does anyone know if lists like this are maintained fro other countries? It would be fascinating to see the states of various crafts for all countries.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- sandworm101 5y ago
  Clog making? We should probably add witchfinding to the list of happily-dead professions. Times change. Some jobs disappear. >> "Compass making NEW FOR 2021" Really? There isn't a single company making a compass? All those people building specialized electronics for satellites and military aircraft and none of them include a compass in their products? Or does "compass making" only mean the old-fashioned floating needle compasses that were long ago replaced by electronics?
  - laputan_machine 5y ago
    1) It will be for the UK, not the world 2) It clearly states it's for magnetic compasses, it does not include solid state compasses. https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/compass-making/ https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/compass-making/ 3) I do not understand why your writing tone has such indignation.
    - sandworm101 5y ago
      Because I see far too much time/effort/money being spent on the "protection" of certain crafts while more practical things are being left to rot. Tax dollars should only be spent on heritage crafts once the economically-relevant trades are protected. At the moment places like Britain are hemorrhaging tech skills and knowledge.
JohnJamesRambo 5y ago
If it is made from a baby calf, I prefer it go extinct.
- aitchnyu 5y ago
  All dairy products are made from cows birthing calves.
- stronglikedan 5y ago
  I don't know. That seems wasteful. I'd rather they use the skin, instead of just throwing it away after processing the veal.

"The market has shifted from monks to megayachts (vellum makes a lovely sofa). But his company is the last vellum maker left in Britain. The lack of competition is good for Mr Wright but bad for the craft in general." I'm not sure I'd call an industry with ONE maker left "booming" but it is a short look at one niche among many that are dead or dying. "The loss of craftspeople can change the look of a nation. "

sandworm101 5y ago

Yup. There are plenty of ultra-rick people buying highly-refined and labor-intensive luxury products for their yachts. That cannot be the basis for any serious economy. And as another commenter noted, one producer does not make a boom. I don't think it even qualifies as an industry.

jtbayly 5y ago
If there are plenty of them, and they are ultra-rich, and they are buying, why can't it be the basis of any serious economy?
- nicoburns 5y ago
  It can be the basis of an economy. But it will always be a very inefficient if you measure efficiency in terms of societal value with respect to the societal effort put in to create that value. Why? Because it necessarily entails a large section of our production being focussed on a small proportion of the people. And even ignoring issues of fairness, diminishing marginal utility means that those people don't derive nearly so much value as that same effort directed at the masses would create.
- sandworm101 5y ago
  It can be an economy, but more of a disneyland economy totally supported by an external flow of cash. Someone has to make the energy/food and provide services for the masses before those masses are available to make luxury goods for the rich.
  - jtbayly 5y ago
    I still don't get it. Are you telling me you grow your own food and make your own energy for your computers used for coding? Plus, Disneyland (ie Tourism/entertainment) seems like a pretty serious economy to me.

nsoqo 5y ago

Si vis pacem, para vellum.

SquibblesRedux 5y ago
For those who are curious, this is a Latin pun. The original, "si vis pacem, para bellum" means "if you want peace, prepare for war."
marginalia_nu 5y ago
Si vis bellum, para oleum.

OJFord 5y ago

The mentioned 'red list' of endangered crafts: https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/redlist/categories-of-risk/ https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/redlist/categories-of-risk/

SquibblesRedux 5y ago
Does anyone know if lists like this are maintained fro other countries? It would be fascinating to see the states of various crafts for all countries.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
sandworm101 5y ago
Clog making? We should probably add witchfinding to the list of happily-dead professions. Times change. Some jobs disappear. >> "Compass making NEW FOR 2021" Really? There isn't a single company making a compass? All those people building specialized electronics for satellites and military aircraft and none of them include a compass in their products? Or does "compass making" only mean the old-fashioned floating needle compasses that were long ago replaced by electronics?
- laputan_machine 5y ago
  1) It will be for the UK, not the world 2) It clearly states it's for magnetic compasses, it does not include solid state compasses. https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/compass-making/ https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/compass-making/ 3) I do not understand why your writing tone has such indignation.
  - sandworm101 5y ago
    Because I see far too much time/effort/money being spent on the "protection" of certain crafts while more practical things are being left to rot. Tax dollars should only be spent on heritage crafts once the economically-relevant trades are protected. At the moment places like Britain are hemorrhaging tech skills and knowledge.

JohnJamesRambo 5y ago

If it is made from a baby calf, I prefer it go extinct.

aitchnyu 5y ago
All dairy products are made from cows birthing calves.
stronglikedan 5y ago
I don't know. That seems wasteful. I'd rather they use the skin, instead of just throwing it away after processing the veal.