Marcus Sly - Furniture Making and Design

In a 1919 pamphlet, Greggor Paulsson1 pointed out that poor design and workmanship is not only ugly, but also a waste of resources. Almost a hundred years later his words seem more relevant than ever.

For decades we have been able to act as if the world's natural resources are more or less infinite. This has been possible because vast economies of scale in the extraction and processing of these resources, together with a tendency to not properly account for the future cost of damage done in the process, have made them very cheap to buy.

This seems to be changing. Resources are becoming scarcer, the people wanting to use them are becoming more numerous.  The idea that growth needs to be made sustainable is entering the mainstream. Over the last few years these changes have become very noticeable to many people who need to purchase natural raw materials. Prices have been rising steeply, and quality materials have been harder to source.

One way to help ensure that the earth is not over-exploited, and that there is enough to go round, is to shift from an economy of quantity to one of quality. We need to produce more things which are not only fit for purpose, nice enough to want to keep, and well made enough to last when we do keep them, but which are also truly efficient. By this I mean that the things we own need to meet both our practical and deeper needs at the same time. This way we can own less and use up less resources, while still making wonderful environments in which to live and work.

A poor quality table is a mere surface to put things on. A beautiful handmade table meets many more needs. It gives pleasure to the senses and is a delight to look at, to touch, to hear (when we tap it or things are placed on it), and even perhaps to smell. In its sublime imperfection we see the reflection of both the craftsperson who made it and of ourselves. Such a table becomes more beautiful through use. It can become a living part of a family's story.

Similarly, a good bed can be not only a comfortable place to rest but also offers a special, personal sense of enclosure and refuge from the busy-ness of life. Such a place can give subtle support and containment to us as we relax, talk intimately, make love, connect and dream.

People who are lucky enough to have a small, soulful, home which contains things such as this have less need to 'consume'. Instead they have the opportunity to gather, tend, and pass things on to others.

So perhaps part of "saving the earth" may have to do simply with care, imagination and love in the design and making of everyday things. Or craftsmanship as it used to be called.

1Paulson, Greggor. "Better Things for Everyday Life." Modern Swedish Design. Museum of Modern Art. New York: 2008. p90.