Hacker News Reader

Comment by keithpeter | Hacker News Reader

Thanks for posting this. Quote from OA...

"Bellerby says it takes around six months to complete just one of the globes, which range from £999 ($1440) for the smallest to £59,000 ($85,000) for the Churchill."

William Morris[1] was a socialist and paid decent wages and provided good jobs. He did it by making furniture and wallpapers that only the seriously rich could afford. I suspect we will see more of this craft production of nice things at costs a large multiple of the cheapest mass-produced items.

(OA lead me to a teaching idea...[2], and it turns out that gore projection is full of compromises and trade-offs [3])

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morris

[2] http://www.gma.org/surfing/imaging/globe.html

[3] https://www.mapthematics.com/Downloads/Gores.pdf

View on HN

Taking a stroll through London's Chelsea Design Quarter, you'll find there is indeed a substantial market for craft production of nice things that cost a serious amount more than the Ikea version.

Have a look at Catchpole and Rye, for instance. They make absolutely beautiful bathroom fittings, handmade in Kent:

http://www.catchpoleandrye.com/products/taps/bathroom-taps/

Glasgow 1980s in the tenements around Templeton's factory. They had Belfast sinks with taps like the more retro ones on that page. Just made in brass locally. Strange how stuff changes - the objects that surround us.

All the stuff people ripped out for being old fashioned. Probably with the exception of stuff from the 70s, I think every look inevitably makes a comeback, because it looks old fashioned!

This is fascinating. I will be sure to visit that area the next time I visit London. Are you aware of similar areas in New York?

No, I'm afraid I don't know the NY equivalent (if any). I only know the Chelsea place because I used to run through it when living in London.

> I suspect we will see more of this craft production of nice things at costs a large multiple of the cheapest mass-produced items.

That’s pretty much the business model of several european countries even – high tech, and nice things manifactured.

It is also quite a nice way to shape your purchases. Buy very few things, but get the best quality you can afford. For me, it aligns nicely with a minimalist approach to life. See the Boots theory of socioeconomic unfairness.

> I suspect we will see more of this craft production of nice things at costs a large multiple of the cheapest mass-produced items.

A nice thought. Experience tells me it will remain remarkably difficult to find skilled craftspeople.

Businesses such as this, although frequently making things I want to buy, seem exceptionally vulnerable to recessions, so there's regular attrition.

Even now will often have little idea of this new-fangled internet thing - presumably too busy at the lathe or forge!

I wish there were easier ways of finding these folks. Google is no help most of the time.

Thanks for link [3] in particular. I learned about the different planisphere projections at a young age, but had never thought about the challenge of pasting a flat map on a physical sphere!

Really the kind of thing you only think about when you have to physically execute it.

thanks

Reply on news.ycombinator.com