Flock

TIMELESS DESIGN IS NOT A CLICHE

First of all, we apologise in advance for sounding overly obvious, simplistic, and idealistic in what we are about to write, but we will say it anyway as the topic is very much in The Flock inbox at the moment. This morning we got to work to an email that had a link to a video by French designer Phillipe Stark in which he talks about timeless design. The video is called 'Timeless Design is not a Cliche', which is interesting - that a word such as 'timeless' could be a cliche. His basic point is that purchasing decisions are increasingly based on short terms needs, influenced by fashion and cashflow, a model that the world's resources cannot sustain. What he is encouraging is a change in attitude that looks at a well considered purchase lasting for life, and being handed on to generations to come. Over the years of running The Flock we have discussed this idea quite a bit. A good quality object made of sustainable materials in a responsible manner may have a higher price on it, but while you can get less expensive mass produced versions, the good quality object will last you many times longer, while the cheaper will need to be replaced sooner. Of course you will need the money up front to pay for the quality so planning and forethought are needed, skills that are becoming less important as things become more and more readily available. Sometimes we feel like we are holding on to an ideal that is in danger of very soon becoming eclipsed by the consumer industry that surrounds us.  It is very difficult balancing the sourcing and selling of quality goods with the realities of small business and often we wonder if we are winning.  And then, we see talks like the one this morning by Phillipe Stark, and we look at blogs containing the most amazing innovative and considerate things going on in the world, and we realise again that there is a huge complementary sway.  We feel that the things we choose are timeless, and we do not wish to compromise this.  We really appreciate the people who come to The Flock and actually get what we are trying to do, and support it.

Thanks to you all

Emma and Billy

http://www.dezeen.com/2013/07/17/timeless-design-is-not-a-cliche-philippe-starck/