tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882700271785733320.post3034942425278139442..comments2024-03-27T03:41:28.779-04:00Comments on The Art of Vintage Leather Jackets: Locavoirs, Leather and Mindfulness....David Himelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15058879105374623194noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882700271785733320.post-47069048930587917982013-01-28T16:39:33.088-05:002013-01-28T16:39:33.088-05:00I just found your blog post so forgive my waaay la...I just found your blog post so forgive my waaay late entry but it's nice to know I'm not alone in the frustration with off shore manufacturing. I inherited my Dad's business last year and grew up with a moral compass directed towards quality and durability. Making products that were unique and lasted for decades. The industry is a faint shadow of what it used to be and trying to be a responsible manufacturer takes time and dedication. I can appreciate the argument that people overseas need jobs etc, but by the same token we have sacrificed the choice of having some of the best tanned leathers available for cheap poorly executed materials. I look at the pieces we made even 15 years ago and miss the tanneries we once had. So now I have to scour the country looking for things that I feel confident are of the highest quality but they ain't cheap! And unfortunately, this new consumer market that has been created weighs heavily on the price point vs buying something that truly has value. Which is probably why I'm steering the business out of the sport bike arena and back into vintage. I can't and won't compete with things made in Pakistan or where ever because at the end of the day one of my suits or pieces should last a lifetime and many seem unwilling to recognize the difference.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12382099536423865965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882700271785733320.post-46280835556735399682013-01-28T16:17:13.593-05:002013-01-28T16:17:13.593-05:00It's nice to know I'm not alone in the opi...It's nice to know I'm not alone in the opinion that trying to compete with the insanity of off shore pricing is ridiculous. I too manufacture leather clothing (mostly riding gear) and have found more and more that if my client isn't into a one of a kind, ultimate quality product then I really don't want to make them anything at all! I inherited the business from my Dad and grew up with the concept of quality and durability drilled into my DNA. I'll email you some rare pics of some of our earliest pieces from 1970-71. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12382099536423865965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882700271785733320.post-13985058007137967832012-05-22T14:23:55.536-04:002012-05-22T14:23:55.536-04:00one hundred percent true about trying to make a li...one hundred percent true about trying to make a living...sadly there are loads of people trying to make a living...but everyone seems to forgot about what they are doing to make a living.....and who is being hurt in the process. If it was an issue of more localized production and fair wages and waste-water treatment...everything would likely cost pretty much the same...the huge difference is expressed in the terrible conditions and waste and environmental costs of the producers and the incredible greed of the contractors....I am a proponent of buy once buy well...which is lost on a fast paced disposable consumer society.David Himelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15058879105374623194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882700271785733320.post-86532816272038950832012-05-22T12:28:18.323-04:002012-05-22T12:28:18.323-04:00That's a complicated subject!
The fellows in...That's a complicated subject! <br />The fellows in Pakistan are trying desperately to make a living too. <br />As real wages fall in the West, people wanting to dress well look to cheaper sources - H&M and Zara - which supports 'sweat ships' off the African coast and hi-pesticide cottons. While Vintage is one option, and buying long-lasting fashion (like yours) another, most simply don't have access or can't wrap their heads around paying so much for a single article of outerwear.<br />We who want to 'do the right thing' support organic and artisan-made, which is yet prey to the flexible fingers of Capital for distribution (Whole Foods, doing 'the wrong thing for the right reasons'), marketing, etc.<br />The juggernaut of corporate capitalism, in its endless adaptivity to trends and subcultures, has a fix on the system; there seems no way out, and if you want revolution, they'll gladly sell you the weaponry.<br />Perhaps the Third Way is as you suggest: Do your best always, be mindful of your actions and their consequences, and cultivate compassion.The Vintagenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02792355296828425415noreply@blogger.com