"economic growth is fueled by things like thrift, honesty and delayed gratification. but when profit and making money become the ultimate, it eats away at delayed gratification, thrift and honesty and destroys the very basis for economic productivity." - daniel bell
this has been giving me a lot to think about over the last couple days. one of the biggest dilemmas for me in making and selling is the fact that i originally started making because i didn't want to buy the things i knew i was capable of making on my own. the shift from making for myself to making for others has been a tricky process - one that i'm still trying to work out. the work, the learning and the repetition is what ends up being gratifying to me. my hands need to work, but it's hard to find the motivation to work that is not driven by the need for more. more stuff, more money, more recognition.
hmmm...
as someone who can't knit or sew (or build, or cook, or...ugh), it's hard to not want to buy the handmade things i see. at the same time, it feels strange to place a monetary value on these things and to enter a relationship based on transactions. i even feel conflicted about teaching because there are moments when i sense that i'm supposed to care about 'customer satisfaction' rather than learning for its own sake. hard questions...
ReplyDeletei am grateful for the makers like you out there - people who put their time and heart and talent into objects. money has its part, to pay for materials, time, freedom to create. but more important are inspiration, connection, gratitude created by your making process. you make beautiful things, and that makes the world a nicer place.
ReplyDeletei'm so in the same place on this. i love and (i think) need to create, but don't need so many things for myself or family. so i think of selling. but i don't just want to create more things for others to fill up their houses with. how do we simplify and promote simplification for others...and still create? bartering would be great, but i need to find the other end of the barter.
ReplyDeleteoh man, elly. i have been thinking about the same thing lately as well! it has been kind of hard for me to get up the motivation these days. i'm so wiped out from everything this summer to moving to a new place. finally today i just looked up an old drafting book and started drafting a sloper pattern. don't know why i don't have one already, think i lost the one i made when i drafted my dorothea dress. anyway, it is helping me to "get back to the basics." i have been thinking lately about how when i used to make things for myself, it would come naturally and easily. i didn't have to force myself to come up with a bunch of new designs for fall or spring. ugh. that is the hardest for me. everyone is coming out with their collections and i've got nothing new to show! anyway...ramble ramble. i would love to hear more of your thoughts on this sometime!
ReplyDeletewow, thanks so much for being so thoughtful in your responses, and even grasping what i was talking about. i have been so stuck with blogging these days because i have nothing simple to post, and i don't want to make everything so heavy. it's hard for me to find a balance without sounding really cryptic. plus, these are just things i've been seeing for myself, and i wouldn't want to be the wet blanket for everyone else who doesn't feel the same way. thanks for both identifying with me and encouraging me, too.
ReplyDeleteerica, it's the people who don't sew but appreciate handmade stuff that are my best and kindest customers, so i wouldn't know what to say either! it's also my return customers that need just one more garment house dress that usually help me sell out my collections. i have noticed that i've got to be somewhat sensitive to what the customer wants or things might not sell as well. but then my highest requested items are always the things i start out just making for myself! how do you build a business model on those conflicting things?! there has to be a balance of making (sewing garments) or saying (as a teacher) what you want with remembering who you're selling to. or maybe you're not supposed to pay attention to what people want at all, and just be yourself. i don't know.
jenna, i agree, money is a big part. i wouldn't have business without it! i would even agree with you about beauty making the world a better place too, but sometimes it's hard for me not to wonder which part of the world i'm making better. my own? or people who really are in need of a better world.
welliewalks, you should definitely create stuff if you feel you can, and you'll find a good way to build relationships with other designers who want to barter too! i think that when people just simplify their lives, it's contagious to everyone around them, whether or not they say something.
anna, i hear you! i am trying so hard to catch up after this summer, and i feel i've missed the boat on a couple good seasons. it's hard to step back and honestly say, "right now, i don't have it in me." i feel like there really is a method for success that i can't quite keep up with because of the real life behind the business (or my own shortcomings, who knows). but i don't really like that type of business that just looks successful, but is sacrificing a lot of things that people don't see anyway. when you get the chance to step back, you see that there might be other ways of seeing it. i always hope that skipping a collection here and there will help not water down my next collection. and AS IF nina garcia is judging my success as a designer! ha! that is so smart taking the time to make your own slopers. sometimes it gets too fast when you're in the middle of keeping up with seasons to sidestep and do the stuff that in the end, will make your life a WHOLE LOT EASIER! also, i really, really love every collection you come up with anna. i never notice what seasons you miss because everything you put together is breathtaking. man, why can't i just come over and work with you someday?!
elly, thanks so much for taking the time to respond! i know it's hard in our busy schedules. believe me, i am the worst blog comment responder. hah! and i am still going to respond to that email you sent me way back when! i know i don't need to, but i'm saving it for a rainy day. :) just wanted to say, i would LOVE it if you came over to work with me someday! sometimes working by yourself is so lonely and probably a big reason i am not always so productive. i get side-tracked big time. even jed being around helps me work better! but he has classes now. anyways...!! i will probably email you a long winded "book" sometime in the near future. :)
ReplyDeleteexcelente y totalmente real el articulo, felicitaciones Ruben, siempre un paso adelante!
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Hi Elly :) I just wanted to add than, man, I'm so on the same page as you right now!
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm sewing, knitting, etc - the projects I'm the most passionate about are the ones that I'm doing for the first time and am making for myself or for friends. I love the repetition of selling and making for others, but nothing beats that first time joy when you see an idea materialize out of thin air! And sometimes it's hard to find the balance between those two things and still feel like it's handmade and it's a business. Collections are tricky too! While I love the challenge of making a completely new set of items, I don't feel a strong urge to redefine myself each season. Nina Garcia wouldn't like me much either, haha!
Like Anna was mentioning, I tend to work better and have more fun doing it when others are around - somehow it makes me more inspired! I just wish that all my co-blog-makers could pop out of the internet and share a studio with me :)
A bit late to the party, but I completely agree with everyone. I've been in that same place for the majority of the summer. With regards to clothing, pushing out season after season of clothes just for the sake of it really isn't worth it. The quality of the items often becomes compromised and the whole reason behind why you do what you do becomes blurry and vague. If you want to work that lifestyle you may as well try and get a job for a major label. To me it just feels very 'throw away'. Garment House is classic pieces of clothing made to last for years and years, not just a season or two!
ReplyDeleteBeing creative isn't something you ask for, or decide to be, it's something you just are. You can't help it, half the time it's infuriating and frustrating, and the other it's the best and most satisfying thing in the world! You've just got to do what you do and stay true to yourself; that's what makes the likes of Garment House, Anna Allen Clothing and Rennes so different. All three of you I'm so glad to have found because your work ethic is born from pure love of what you do and an honest enjoyment from doing it. THAT unfortunately is rare. If I could thank the internet for one thing it would be that it's shown me there are other people out there like me, and that alone has made me keep doing what I do. :)
I really really love what you wrote here. I'm a maker too, and have had many of the same thoughts/feelings.
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