SLOW...

I've been called many things, but something I will no longer take offense to is slow. I am slow. In my work, in my tasks, in lots of things, I'm slow. I take time, care and I want things to be right. If that takes a little longer then so be it. And you know what? I am not alone!

It seems there is a whole movement out there that is urging us all to slow down. Taking its cue from Slow Food, Slow Design is emerging, bringing with it hope for those of us who just want to do it right. As a designer and artist, I can not compete with a market of mass production. I'm not even in the same ball park. I make everything by hand. Every stitch, every cut, every stroke of the brush, every everything is a thoughtful and deliberate attempt to get it right, and that takes time. Can you get a mass-produced handbag cheaper than you can get a hand made one? Yes. Will it be the same quality, have the same attention to detail, the same loving care? Absolutely Not.

Slow Design is cajoling you to take that time, to once again connect with not only your tasks, but with one another, with the environment. Encouraging the use of local materials, local resources, local craftspeople. Craftspeople! Slow design embraces craftspeople! Embraces time-honored techniques, though they may not be the most time efficient option. Slow Design isn't about quantity, but quality and sustainability. In a world of throw away, Slow Design is attempting to bring back heirlooms.

Until recently, I had never even heard of Slow Design. It was just the way I did things. But it makes sense. Use what you've got, do your best, appreciate the process, focus on the details, take from the past, and strive to protect the future. How could being called slow be a bad thing?

happy wishes!