The manufacturing industry is disappearing. We buy, consume, and believe that what we buy should be made and delivered to us under our conditions and to our satisfaction. The maker is usually anonymous and, due to that very anonymity, resigns himself to the role of docile supplier. Even if there is direct contact between buyer and maker, it is assumed that the maker will agree to the buyer’s conditions. It is not unusual for an order or assignment to be preceded by months or even years of deliberation, drawings and contemplation.
Architects, designers, retailers and intermediaries are paid for their advice. That is what they do. And they do so meticulously, investing the necessary time in that process. The green light is then given for the project and, since the decision has already been made, it is assumed that nothing more will get in the way of delivering the desired product – preferably tomorrow. What apparently is overlooked is the fact that the creation of a product entails far more work than its conception alone. The situation sometimes gets so crazy that we receive threats from advisers who claim that the commissioning party is considering charging us because it’s taking so long.
The writing of that letter or e-mail is then invoiced to that same client, making a bad situation worse for the client. The parties between the consumer and maker earn money solely because something is being made. I sometimes jokingly tell our entire office staff that, if we really didn’t need them so badly, they’d all be out on the street or have to work in the workshop. In other words, we need the lot of them to make sure that what we create actually makes it to the client.
Plenty of attention is paid to the fact that the manufacturing industry has all but vanished, but the fact that we no longer have a manufacturing mentality as a result of thoughtless consumption was a real eye-opener for me. We can buy anything we want with the money we earn without giving thought to all the work that goes into what we buy.
At the moment, we have very long delivery times because we’re so horrifically busy. Since the projects are often unique, it’s hard to properly estimate costs and progress. Add to that the fact that all kinds of changes often take place during the process and it becomes clear that there is little point in trying to predict anything at all. The funny thing is, the reason that many people probably buy from us is precisely because they do not want to buy something anonymously or without thought. At times it seems as if the process is nothing but voluntary self-punishment, namely being patient and waiting and showing understanding and hoping that everything will still arrive before Christmas (to name but one rather silly delivery argument that practically the entire world thinks sounds totally plausible). We make as much as we possibly can as well as we possibly can and this often entails more than we can imagine before we start.
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