Wednesday 30 September 2009

Crafting Mass Production

I attended the Greengaged conference 'Crafting Mass Production' which included presentations from Kresse Wesling, Chris Svensson and Fred Deakin.

Of particular interest was Fred Deakin's presentation. Fred Deakin is 1 1/2 of the band Lemon Jelly, and is also responsible for producing the album artwork. Through his talk he discussed the concept of crafting a mass produced product and how this relates to emotionally durable design. Initially, Lemon Jelly's album covers we screen printed by hand, making each record unique and individual. These covers now fetch upwards of £200 on ebay, this is a collectors item that people don't want to throw away. Another example he used was a vinyl sleeve designed in collaboration with the Fashion Designer, Laura Lees. The sleeve is made out of a pair of jeans, and you can create 4 sleeves for every pair. This is now a collectors item which again shows that it is possible to make something that people won't want to throw away, and to give a new 'slower' life to unwanted clothing by turning it into something desirable.

Now it almost feels as though we are beginning to reinvent the Arts & Crafts movement, with the emphasis being on the unique, the handmade, and the concept of everything slowing down.