Manufactum is a good source for all kinds of items to make you feel like a member of the british aristocracy. They specialize in hard to find objects that have the air of great craftmanship and “the good old days” in them. In this age of self-destructing disposable DVDs and embedded lotion packages for electric shavers I find it refreshing that there still is a big market for shaving brushes, real wool blankets and other luxorious items that may cost a little more, but last a lot longer. Their web site is a bit difficult to navigate, but it’s worth it. For inspiration if nothing else.

“There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper”. Over a century later, John Ruskin’s observation is still valid; what’s more, we believe it says a lot about the products on offer today.

There was a time when the only problem facing quality goods was competition with goods of an even higher quality, now it seems that inferior goods are the main problem.

Certainly, as far as household goods are concerned, there are very few high quality products which are not diminished by the proliferation of paler imitations, produced by unimaginative competitors at the lowest possible price.

Products have increasingly shorter life cycles, they come and go, are launched and disappear again. Everyday items have been turned from commodities into consumer goods, not built to last, but to be thrown away as soon as possible in order to make way for the latest fad or ‘special offer’.

Not only is this harmful to the environment, it also means that we no longer have a ‘special relationship’ with the things we use every day and which help us to do something well.

How many of the products on offer today will ever become prized possessions?
This is why we have selected items of quality in the widest sense of the word:
– they are manufactured with great skill according to traditional methods and are thus reliable and practical;
– the materials are carefully chosen to suit the purpose, and are, therefore, attractive;
– they are made from traditional materials, i.e. metal, glass, wood etc., can be repaired and are environmentally friendly.

Posted by api in Blast from the past

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