more doom and gloom...

[NorCalPiper]

I believe there is an answer. Innovation! Do something that revigorates the industry that DOESN'T have an exact, cheap, poorly made replica to be compared to. Price it fairly, and even the most un-informed buyer will be able to consider it as a purchase and most likely will!

[Mickey]

I believe there is an answer. Innovation! Do something that revigorates the industry that DOESN'T have an exact, cheap, poorly made replica to be compared to. Price it fairly, and even the most un-informed buyer will be able to consider it as a purchase and most likely will!

We have actually been doing that for decades. The commercial side of the house closely watches the artisan side, in many if not all, crafts. Why pay for an R&D office when it is already being done for you. A few years ago, you couldn't find things such as skeletonized reel seats or split rear grips or no foregrips. If you wanted it, you had to go to a builder. We started doing it to reduce weight and increase sensitivity. Today, go into any sporting goods store, and these are now the norm. A friend of mine just a couple of years ago perfected custom formed, foam filled carbon fiber grips. These are now showing up in mass produced rods. Below are some examples of my own rods. Top is a skeleton seat for an ultralight. Below that is a semi-skel seat and split grip. That leaves us with going back in time with the third rod, an all wood fly rod, which I made completely out of Western Red Cedar (rod and grip both) with hand tools only, and a mother of pearl seat. Then comes the "novelty" ones, like the bottom one, done in a baseball theme (St. Louis Cardinals)



The one thing that the commercial side cannot do yet, is custom threadwork. Here is an example of amercan eagle diamonds, on the top part, along with an example of a weave, where designs are woven into the main thread body, and with a campaign ribbon and purple heart, in the split grip area. This was a donation to a Disabled American Veterans function. Below that it is the eagle weave in progress (note the small loom and pattern).





The threadwork on this rod took roughly 20 hours if I remember. If I worked for minimum wage, the threadwork alone would run about $150. Factor in grip work, guide preparation, and complete assembly/finish and you are talking a pretty high dollar rod... It's a pretty tough sell to a guy on the street who can go to Cabelas and pick up a usable, decent looking rod for $30. I can't compete with that, even on a plain jane utility rod. All I can do is continue to offer top quality components and work. If that means that I only build one rod a year for the occasional bass pro or special gift, I can live with that. Unfortunately for me though, I can't count on this as a source of small income like I could years ago.

[tyger]

Nice rods!

Yeah, you are right about the way they look into the artisan world for their R&D. Ha! I had a bright idea about a fish buckle/belt that would sell GREAT on cruise ships, then about 10 minutes later I said: "They will take this to China, and get it made for 13-18 cents an hour." End of short saga.

[Mickey]

Thanks tyger. I know what you mean. Even our own component suppliers are shameless in stealing ideas that guys come up with and try selling them back to us. I made a simple excell chart for easy measurement conversions (various components are sold in mm, inches and 64ths) and posted it on a forum. Six months later my exact chart was in my supplier's catalog with their logo on it.

Here's my prototype for a spin/cast/fly combination rod. It hasn't caught on yet, but I won't be surprised to see it on shelves someday.

[tyger]

Mickey, I was on a business trip to Mexico (Puerto Villarta) many years ago, and one morning, at dawn, some locals were killing little jack fish in the surf by hand lining a small spoon off of empty liter bottle "spools." All I could do was watch the fun.

After that, I never traveled (and still don't) without rod/reel/lures. I pack 4- and 5-piece fly setups, and 3 piece spinning rigs. Europe, Mid-East, South America, NZ, OZ, everywhere!

You should get that combo of yours into a high-end market of guys who do the same.

If interested, Email me for the market I am thinking about: chickenmag@yahoo.com

Of course, they will ask if you can supply their expectations, and that could be hundreds, and this is a tough deal for us who make 'em one-at-a-time. With unemployment at a real 17%, that might not be as hard as it was a couple of years ago.

[CMcG]

This is starting to sound like the Craftsman vs. the Industrial Complex thread.

Considered from another angle, the rise of the cheap sporran and its impact on traditional makers probably has a lot to do with how people wear the kilt. If one only wears the kilt for special occasions, a few times a year, one's sporrans won't receive a lot of use. At that rate, even an cheap sporran will last for years and years...

There are other factors to consider in the decline of Scottish sporran manufacturers that are not linked to imports from India. Scotland is a small country relative to the size and population of North America. On this side of the pond, there are now several competing manufacturers of high quality sporrans: L&M, Buzz Kidder, SHO. William Scott and Son may be the largest manufacturer of sporrans in Scotland, but the article in the OP is the first time I've ever heard of them.

[thescot]

It's certainly in all crafts, for sure.

But I must echo what rsvpiper, said: I tried to commssion a custon sporran from a prominent sporran maker in Scotland about a year or two back, and in the midst of our discussions, I was suddenly ignored. Never heard back. Another on this side of th pond still has a cantle I sent for a custom sporran.

I guess we'll al have to talk to Turpin from now on. He answers the mail.

[artificer]

The one thing that the commercial side cannot do yet, is custom threadwork. Here is an example of amercan eagle diamonds, on the top part, along with an example of a weave, where designs are woven into the main thread body, and with a campaign ribbon and purple heart, in the split grip area. This was a donation to a Disabled American Veterans function. Below that it is the eagle weave in progress (note the small loom and pattern).

Mickey, that's just gorgeous! I don't spend a lot of time fishing, but a rod like that must be a joy to use.

I bolded a bit of your text that I thought was particularly important.

As craftspeople, we must focus on the things big production CAN'T- custom made products for the people who know exactly what they want and can't find it mass produced.

I think it's the problem Scottish sporran makers are having right now. They're making the same thing as they have been for decades. Now Pakistan is doing it for less. Instead of changing their business model, they're being driven out of the game.

Now, don't get me wrong, I KNOW first-hand that custom work takes a lot more time than reproducing the same thing over and over again. And I know that the time spent custom designing costs money. But apart from being made in Scotland rather than Pakistan, what are most Scottish sporran makers offering the customer?

The only hope for the craftsperson or small business it to do what cannot be done large scale, and it might be specialty materials, it might be full custom design, but I fully believe it's the only path to survival, if not success, in this business climate.

ith:

[OC Richard]

In my opinion, the fact that not all Scottish craftspeople are perfect in their business relations does not argue for the mass importation of cheap third-world-made merchandise which undermines native Scottish crafts.

There is perhaps no human pursuit in which everyone is perfect at all times.

Can we at least call for clear labelling, so that the public knows what it's buying?

I recently got a kilt jacket from St Kilda and it has a label inside which says

Quality from Scotland
Made in UK

Not difficult at all.

[madmacs]

Quality from Scotland
Made in UK

Not difficult at all.

Sounds like a trading standards issue... Get them to label the bagpipes "this item is for novelty use only" ?