Well, here is two independent thoughts about this.
1. Designer products are nice and offer rewards - better materials, better thought out functionality and better looks. But in the end these `designer products` are still made in the same China and, possibly on the same plant as `non-designer products`. And they fail in the same ugly manner (in my experience at least). Why bother then. Life is short and there is many more interesting places to put money.
2. I just overhauled a lens from Kodak made in 1934. It was working before I touched it but I decided to not give it a chance to croak unexpectedly. Apparently the lens (non-coated Ektar) is crap, the parts are cold-stamped of soft steel and brass or mold of aluminum, the combination of materials produces electro-chemical corrosion, everything is made in attempt to minimize cost (comparing it to Rollei's Prontor from 1937 I would say Kodak having the same features is at least five times cheaper in production) and make it fail in a year or so. And yet after over 70 years it was working as is (last service done in 1941 - marked) and works even better now after my service. Nobody makes products like this any more. Nobody designs them to last. Even the cheap stuff like Kodak built according to the old school of engineering survived for over 70 years despite every attempt to make it disposable. Well, modern designers managed to kill the old school and now they make disposable things that look good, employ great materials, function well (at least within warranty) and cost a lot. Perfect achievement for the business but I like things like old Kodak and Rollei and do not like `designer products` that my wife tends to buy.
Interesting comments that actually support my call for designs that have an inherent built in longevity.
This issue is something that I need to pay more attention to in the next article. Most of the high quality designer products that we are stocking at dream icons are manufactured in Europe, or Scandanavia. There are many sub-standard products out there with a designer label attached. With our design skills we assess a design beyond an illustrious badge and it is judged on merit alone.
Take an Alessi bird kettle for example - stunning iconic looks and exceptional build quality. It cost considerably more than the cheap alternatives, but like the camera described in the comment it will still be working when all around have fallen into disrepair.
Thanks to you and the people who have commented, it is always useful to hear new views.
2 comments:
Well, here is two independent thoughts about this.
1. Designer products are nice and offer rewards - better materials, better thought out functionality and better looks. But in the end these `designer products` are still made in the same China and, possibly on the same plant as `non-designer products`. And they fail in the same ugly manner (in my experience at least). Why bother then. Life is short and there is many more interesting places to put money.
2. I just overhauled a lens from Kodak made in 1934. It was working before I touched it but I decided to not give it a chance to croak unexpectedly. Apparently the lens (non-coated Ektar) is crap, the parts are cold-stamped of soft steel and brass or mold of aluminum, the combination of materials produces electro-chemical corrosion, everything is made in attempt to minimize cost (comparing it to Rollei's Prontor from 1937 I would say Kodak having the same features is at least five times cheaper in production) and make it fail in a year or so. And yet after over 70 years it was working as is (last service done in 1941 - marked) and works even better now after my service. Nobody makes products like this any more. Nobody designs them to last. Even the cheap stuff like Kodak built according to the old school of engineering survived for over 70 years despite every attempt to make it disposable. Well, modern designers managed to kill the old school and now they make disposable things that look good, employ great materials, function well (at least within warranty) and cost a lot. Perfect achievement for the business but I like things like old Kodak and Rollei and do not like `designer products` that my wife tends to buy.
Call me a retrograde.
Interesting comments that actually support my call for designs that have an
inherent built in longevity.
This issue is something that I need to pay more attention to in the next
article. Most of the high quality designer products that we are stocking at
dream icons are manufactured in Europe, or Scandanavia. There are many
sub-standard products out there with a designer label attached. With our
design skills we assess a design beyond an illustrious badge and it is
judged on merit alone.
Take an Alessi bird kettle for example - stunning iconic looks and
exceptional build quality. It cost considerably more than the cheap
alternatives, but like the camera described in the comment it will still be
working when all around have fallen into disrepair.
Thanks to you and the people who have commented, it is always useful to hear
new views.
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