The Craftsman versus the Industrial Complex

[DWFII]

"Old World" craftsmanship is a dying art in most industries, yet there will always be a demand, even at over inflated prices (which is the scenario you painted above). If you want custom made items and high quality items, they are going to cost more than similar items at Walmart.


Again, these are just my observations and opinions based on my experience in this market. I hope this was able to shed some light for some people. Others may disagree and their mileage may vary, and that's fine too.

Rocky,

I can't speak to your business...I'm not even going to try.

But aside from the fact that we are never going to agree on this...simply because I am a firm opponent (if that's the right word) of what I call the "factory mentality" that permeates every nook and cranny of our daily lives--from the food industry to the entertainment industry to our attention spans (144 character limit, please) to the way in which we prioritize every aspect of our personal lives for efficiency and not quality or human connections or just the pleasure of being alive.

Aside from all that, I can tell you that I am not seeing what you are seeing in clothing or shoes. And I not only have been at it for 40+ years I have, as mentioned, a pretty comprehensive understanding of where the shoe Trade/industry came from and where it seems to be going.

And everything I've seen underscores the similarity between Traditional kilts and Traditional shoemaking.

Forty years ago there were six companies in the continental USA that made lasts. Today there is one. Forty years ago there were any number of skilled model makers--the guys that hand carve last from which the machines turn sizes. I don't know of more than two or three still alive. Who will create the next generation of lasts? Who cares?

Right after WWI there were any number of Irish Linen mills spinning long staple linen yarn--used both in fabric and in shoemaking. Last year the last one of those mills closed. Who could re-establish that industry?

After WWII were a number of sources in the US and abroad where you could buy the kind of pitch and rosin that was used during the days of sailing ships to preserve and waterproof rope, as well as for making threads to sew shoes together. Also as a matrix for mounting pieces to do engraving on silver and steel or the polishing of optical lenses. Rausch Naval Yards in Louisiana was one of them. Gone. Gone for good...all of them.

Two years ago the last major "grindery"--maker of hand tools for the shoe Trade and assorted other industries--went down.

Tanneries are getting thin on the ground since I began my career, with major tanneries in the US and Europe...especially those who utilize natural, environmentally friendly tanning agents such as tree bark...closing down in the face of competition from tanneries using synthetic tanning chemical and even "faux" leathers. Of course quality takes time...up to a year in the pits for natural bark tanned outsoling compared to weeks for synthetic. Nevermind that the pit tanned leather is objectively superior in every way.

And the result is a flood of shoes that are made of plastic and cardboard...even from companies that once were very high end, high quality.

Of course that's another significant aspect of all this--once a company cuts quality in favor of quantity; once increasing the profit margin becomes "job one" rather than making a quality product; that company can never reverse the process.

The skilled workers aren't there--dead... with, irony of ironies, never having passed their Traditional skills and knowledge on to the next generation.

The tools aren't there.

The linen isn't there.

The wax isn't there.

The leather isn't there.

And if the quality isn't there and the next generation grows up not knowing what quality is, then the demand isn't there.

You don't see it. And....sincerely, no offense...I suspect you never will even though it is happening in the same way and at the same pace in the clothing world. I suspect our perspectives are just 180 degrees from each other and maybe even 180 degrees from what is needed to recognize the value of, and save, those traditional endeavours that formed, and informed, cultures, societies, and our lives.

I might ask/add in passing that if you had 40 years and 80 plus hours into hand carving a pair of matching bespoke lasts and the hard physical labour of making a pair of shoes ...as well as $200-$300.00 in the basic materials... what would you feel was a fair price for a pair of shoes?

Parenthetically, the next time you buy that "reasonably" priced pair of shoes for $80.00 or that shirt for $10.00, the suit for $100.00, bear in mind what my old business adviser told me--any manufactured product has to charge five to ten times the cost of raw materials to make a profit. (that may even be low these days). So the cost to make the shoes was $8.00.

You can't buy a pair of cheap leather soles for that. Can't even get close for good quality pit-tanned outsoles.

I'm not even gonna speculate on what the cost of raw materials for a PV or canvas garment is (bifurcated or not) .

But one has to ask...what corners are being cut to make a whole shoe for less than $8.00...nevermind what it's selling for?