I’ve been talking to friends about this for the last couple years. A lot of people i know would jump at the chance to get off the grind and take a shot at a craft-business.
Yet in little pockets of cities in the richest parts of the world, clever, prosperous people like Wood and Laufer are creating firms that look more like workshops from the pre-industrial world than modern companies. From the local sourcing of materials, to the espousal of community, to the strong relationships with suppliers and customers, to the appearance of their products, the ethos of firms like One Eight harks back to a time before the Industrial Revolution transformed society. Their emergence has much to say about our needs and wants, and may hold clues to how we can better satisfy them in the future.
Jim Cuene 