Making it Yourself

In Seth Godin’s blog this morning, titled “Made by Hand” he talks briefly about a newly published book called….wait for it…… Made by Hand: Searching for Meaning in a Throwaway World. (http://sethgodin.typepad.com)

Seth says: “The book is about the increasing insulation between modern life and the idea of actually making/growing/fixing things.” ...And… “Tweaking, making and building are human acts, ones that are very easy to forget about as we sign up to become cogs in the giant machinery of consumption and production.”

The Throwaway World:

We all know how easy it is to just replace something these days, how “things” are built not to last. I am sitting, frustratingly, with 2 examples at the moment….. a 5 year old washing machine that wont go past the 8 minute mark on the cycle and a 13 year old sewing machine that either works (badly) or doesn’t work at all….. and with both of these appliances people have muttered darkly that it might be cheaper and easier to just buy new ones. The funny thing is that my last washing machine lasted me 25 years and my sister-in-law has lent me her sewing machine, which works like a bomb - and she was given this machine for her 21^st birthday all of 38 years ago (sorry Bren!). By the way, I also have a tumbledryer that is about 3000 years old – and I know I will be quite sad when it finally gives up the ghost and so will many of my friends have a good snicker about this ancient bit of machinery.

Made by Hand:

These days when people ask me what I am doing now, I say I am a “Gaiter Maker”…. Because that is what I do ….(and Bren has been my life saver for lending me her sewing machine whilst mine was being diagnosed.) Months ago I wrote about the amazing feeling of satisfaction I got and still get, from making something myself and selling it. I am not sure how many gaiters we have sold to date - I am the factory bit; Lisa does the admin, marketing and selling – but our gaiters fly off the shelf. Each one is hand made by me and if things aren’t quite right it gets unpicked and re-sewn… or dare I say it, thrown away. We are very, very proud of our gaiters. Lisa does the odd spot check to make sure the gaiters are 100%...sometimes using different fabrics they may be a bit smaller or not stretch as much, so she tries one on to make sure it fits properly and suggests refinements and modifications if required. If you want to see what our gaiters look like, go to: http://www.ar.co.za/2010/01/ar-mini-gaiters/

But here’s the thing: I find myself getting a bit miffy when people say I should sub-contract out the work, that I am wasting my time doing this, that I should be using my brain more!!! I find it quite hard to explain the pleasure I get from this, I have learnt quite a lot about 4 way stretch fabric, how to cut out and sew these things in the most efficient production line way…. And whilst I still can’t explain how and why the gaiters work so well (but they just do) people love them more than any other type of gaiter… and Joy of Joys…. When I sit pinning or cutting stuff out I listen to book tapes/CD’s….isn’t that the best of both worlds?…. Busy hands and mind!

We can never go back to everything being hand made…. This would bring the world to a grinding halt wouldn’t it? But there is something very special, about a bit of hand made lace, a hand made bowl or even a hand machined part for your old sewing machine.