Coverage for Manufacture & Industry in the new issue of Viewpoint magazine. The comprehensive article by M. Astella Saw focusses on consumers' growing interest in craft and how certain brands are responding. Please click on the spreads for a closer look (apologies for the lack of slickness.)
Here are a few select quotes from the piece:
"There seems to be a desire to understand more about where objects come from, how they are made and, consequently, how to make them." (Rosy Greenlees, executive director of the UK Crafts Council)
"As production has shifted further away from the consumer, you lose that sense of where things come from." (James Shaw, Albam)
"Fantasy doesn't look so appealing any more... Competitors will go one step further to show behind the scenes at their workshop, mill or ethical factory. They will outline that their provenance is finer, that they really are to be trusted, and hence that their brand and product are ones to purchase or invest in." (Hugo Macdonald, Monocle)
And a couple that M&I contributed:
"Big brands are too frightened of giving away their secrets. The most interesting brands are often smaller, younger companies, such as Marwood, a tie brand that has documented its research and development process from the start."
"So many people have lost touch with the costs of materials, production and distribution. If you understand these things you are much more likely to part with your money where value is shown."
