Craftsmanship

Where to from here -

I find myself having the same conversation a lot these days.

This particular topic comes up continuously regardless of where I am or who I'm with. Perhaps I am unconsciously bringing it up but this notion of craftsmanship has been peppering discussions from St. John's to Savage Cove. I find that I am currently fixated with the idea of product quality and I don't think I'm alone in my preoccupation.

There was a time not so long ago when I was tempted by the besieging 'Sale' sign. I sometimes bought items that I didn't exactly need because they were too cheap to pass up. I would rationalize the purchase by reassuring myself that I would definitely, someday, probably, maybe need it and in buying it 'on sale' I was saving myself untold fortunes. I had convinced myself that cheap was something to be celebrated, that the almighty deal was improving my financial situation and that it was essential I have fifteen pairs of shoes in my closet. But the fifteen pairs of shoes bought 'on sale' never really fit right or looked that great. I didn't even want to wear them after the initial day of purchase, they hurt my feet, they crippled me. I regretted them and this regret was infuriating. I would dig through my closet, the floor covered in shoes, tossing heels this way and flats that, only to discover I had nothing to wear on my feet! How was that even possible? Instead of buying one quality pair of shoes that I loved, I had bought numerous shabby pairs that I despised. Rather than saving cash, I had squandered it. Something was not right with the shopping world.

The current retail economy is based on this cycle of discontent. It runs the gamut from footwear to vehicles to your home. The consumer driven economy requires us to continue purchasing beyond necessity. It tricks us into believing that this knife will cut bread as well as that knife at half the cost and we've been swallowing it down for decades. We've been buying tables made of fiberboard, we've been won over by a top coat of shiny acrylic paint, we've been deceived by trendy designs but the fact is it amounts to nothing. It just looks like a table but it actually isn't.

Before long, that dinette set bought on sale at a price that seems to good to be true will prove that it was in fact to good to be true. The acrylic top coat becomes worn and scratched and there is nothing you can do about it. You could have sanded and re-stained the table in days gone by but such is not the case now. Why not? Because it's not made of wood, is it? Sanding will only reveal the imposter wood beneath the veneer surface. And the cheap table wobbles every time you sit down, enraging you, decreasing your quality of life. The opposite of what you had intended with this purchase becomes blindingly clear...you are not satisfied, you are dissatisfied! This table is not functional, it does not serve its purpose.

The car you bought cheap was made cheaply in a foreign land by workers who were paid little and took absolutely no pride in the task. The house you bought was built in a matter of months by workers on a deadline with no thought given to longevity or comfort. Energy and resources are being consumed at an astounding (alarming) rate so we can motor on down to Wal-Mart for a dose of affordable retail therapy. Craftsman in our own communities find themselves out of work because we claim to be unable to afford their services.

The whole concept of affordability has been turned on its head as it is entirely more expensive to cheap-out than to invest in something that lasts. We'll be paying for turning a blind eye to poor quality one way or another. All the crap furniture, appliances, electronics, clothing and food we buy contributes to global pollution, deforestation, depletion of resources, incurring debt and unemployment. Not to mention, general unhappiness. Our dumps are full of our irresponsible spending where hills of Made In China DVD players snuggle up with mountains of Made In Mexico mattresses. You get what you paid for is right. When you pay nothing you get nothing in return. Nothing but disappointment.

So when pop says they don't make them like they use to, nod your head in agreement. Because they don't and they don't because we accepted that it was okay not to. In fact, we demanded that they not build them like they use to by refusing to pay for them like we use to. But enough is enough already, don't you think?

Some members of the Port Saunders Firettes took a break from breakfast cooking to pose for a picture. Shown are (l-r) Bev Patey, May Rumbolt, Janet Ryan, Sherry-lee Coombs and Katie Biggin.