Part of the great effort of both
the vintage leather business and the new leather business is that of
ethics. Mindfulness is that procedure of
becoming aware of the self and seeing all things as unified. The local food society is an example of
mindful shopping where participants prefer to buy from local producers where
they know the source of their food and how it was grown vs. buying by price. Oddly my leather jacket project Himel Brothers
has taught me valued lessons on the kinds of problems that aboriginal
manufacturers may have faced as they progressed their business. Daily I get 2 to 3 emails and spams to this
blog from Pakistani leather manufacturers offering to make me jackets from my
patterns for the price of 47-57 dollars per jacket. How amazing!
I cannot even pay for the leather in one jacket at that price. It makes for a very attractive debate amongst
my clientele and my retailers about costs and pricing.
Now I generally don't think something I make
is standard. Certainly I seek to not
only achieve the quality and quality of my vintage collection in my new jackets
but I am also trying to achieve the zen nature and permanence that original
jackets imbued. Environmentally speaking
I have to know each of my suppliers, and design great life long lasting styles
that are made of right materials. While
not 100% local in the sense of pending from my neighborhood or Province, each
supplier is vetted for what they are creation and how they are making. Perhaps the differences between fondly grown
horses, slaughtered and gently treated and then vegetable brown in tree bark in
Japan is not always
Readily apparent to the consumer? The jackets are not permanent, nor do they
glow with electronica or transport the wearer to another planet. Simply put the pressures for me are to make
perfect technical replicas out of natural materials and not be the guy using my
skills and information to make 47 dollar jackets in Pakistan and sell them for
half of what I am presently doing.
People ask me why and how I do belongings. I think to myself. I make life long lasting,
beautiful, well made, well sourced organic jackets that like my period
collection will age and die gracefully.
It is incredible to think about when you are business your next 200
dollar made in (where ever) jacket all that power and all the pessimism that
goes into making something cheaply will be worn right on your back! Producers back in the day sought to be price
competitive whilst mounting features, branding and quality. Old makers reached the pinnacles of that example
and new competitors could only struggle on pricing. It was that downward push on pricing via cheaper
imports and a less educated customer that lead to the extinction of domestic
garment makers. How sad really because
the shopper actually stopped caring about what they were exhausting and chose
simulated fashion, or simulated quality in respect to price!
