5 ms·

It's interesting the migration of trends from the hand-crafter (but expensive) to the mass-produced, but cheap, and then starting to come back to the hand-craft

by brc 12y ago

It's interesting the migration of trends from the hand-crafter (but expensive) to the mass-produced, but cheap, and then starting to come back to the hand-crafted, where it can be afforded. I'm not sure if that is a natural cycle of fashions - or a choice that has become repopular by increasing affluence. I see a lot of low-volume, handcrafted things growing in size, whether it is low-volume hand-crafted vehicle manufacturers (like Morgan), low-volume handcrafted products (like craft beer) and even low-volume, hands-on farming. At this point I take the re-emergence of these things as a sign of growing affluence, where there is so much disposable income it can be spent on things which are off the cost/benefit ratio in comparison to competitors. Perhaps it is a swing away from owning large properties as a form of wealth consumption and more towards individual items, betraying a gradual lowering in the average age of people who are able to afford such things. At any rate, it's an interesting phenomena to watch.

leemcalilly 12y ago
I think the internet is enabling this trend. It allows you to bypass the middle man. The consumer is also able to educate themself on products more easily (because of the internet). So high-quality products are more affordable, but not necessarily cheap. It's awesome. You see this happening with everything from Warby parker to Tonx coffee to clothing startups like Frank & Oak. My company, Original Fuzz, just launched a guitar strap that uses Horween leather (http://www.originalfuzz.com/products/skinny-leather-guitar-strap http://www.originalfuzz.com/products/skinny-leather-guitar-s...), and we could have never made it with Horween 10 years ago. We're able to sell it for $48 because we can find customers from around the world through the web. You don't have to do the traditional keystone pricing and leave room for retailers and distributors if you don't want to.
- brc 12y ago
  A very good point. In order to match up the limited supply of handmade goods with the limited market of buyers, you need to have a long-tail searching tool, and the ability to tap into small but geographically dispersed consumers. The internet is indeed the glue that brings this together, probably moreso than rising incomes (which have been rising for a long time, anyway).

by brc 12y ago

leemcalilly 12y ago

I think the internet is enabling this trend. It allows you to bypass the middle man. The consumer is also able to educate themself on products more easily (because of the internet). So high-quality products are more affordable, but not necessarily cheap. It's awesome. You see this happening with everything from Warby parker to Tonx coffee to clothing startups like Frank & Oak. My company, Original Fuzz, just launched a guitar strap that uses Horween leather (http://www.originalfuzz.com/products/skinny-leather-guitar-strap http://www.originalfuzz.com/products/skinny-leather-guitar-s...), and we could have never made it with Horween 10 years ago. We're able to sell it for $48 because we can find customers from around the world through the web. You don't have to do the traditional keystone pricing and leave room for retailers and distributors if you don't want to.

brc 12y ago
A very good point. In order to match up the limited supply of handmade goods with the limited market of buyers, you need to have a long-tail searching tool, and the ability to tap into small but geographically dispersed consumers. The internet is indeed the glue that brings this together, probably moreso than rising incomes (which have been rising for a long time, anyway).