China vs Etsy

Cafe near China Factory 

First I want to say that I love and support Handmade, but there is a balance, I also support factory made in the US and Overseas, because we aren't all artists and we all need work.

Lately, I've been thinking about this China factory issue. I know that Etsy sellers and other indie artists on sites like Artfire and Zibbet are upset that as soon as they post a new design on their site, a China factory is copying it and ready to ship to the US. As a former product designer that worked in China factories, I'd like to give you a more global look at what is happening to you and to others like us.

I don't deny that it's a crime that can't be stopped, that other countries are copying  our designs to retail in the US at a fraction of what it takes us to produce. But is it the fault of the Chinese or any of the other countries, like Vietnam and India, who also produce for our purchasing pleasure? Not really. We ourselves are to blame. Our need to have, have, have and at the lowest cost possible is what drives this. 

Product would not be made overseas if we as a nation were not buying it. Our US companies are driving the overseas factory to watch our seller sites and copy merchandise. The Chinese have no idea what will sell here, they are directed by Americans as to what to copy. Believe me, it is true. 

The Chinese citizens are for the most part kind, hard working, and very talented people. I have been to a lot of countries for work and never have I enjoyed the people more. Like us, there are a few bad eggs, but for the most part it is a wonderful country, very different than ours, but wonderful.

There is another aspect that I would like you to consider. Like my own story, design jobs are getting harder and harder to find. There isn't a need for product designers anymore when designs are readily lifted off the internet for free. Why would a company need to pay a staff of designers? Some do as they boast in house design, many smaller firms don't care in this economy, so many of my design colleagues are out of work or finding new careers like selling craft as an indie. 

There are so may sides to the geodesic dome of life. We should all consider what is on the side we can't see.

The Art of Art - Lesson Three - A Passion for Life

I met Bernard Pfriem while attending Lacoste school of the Arts in France, while the man was still alive. He was remarkable. I knew him near the end of his life, but he had such an amazing passion for life.

Bernard started Lacoste School of the Arts in Lacoste, France. I understand that he purchased the Boulengerie (bakery) in 1958, where my very good friend Hank stayed while we were there, for the cost of one refrigerator. The School itself was a collection of buildings and an old limestone quarry.

Bernard was just 80, and had recently suffered several severe strokes. He had a soft spot in his head where a piece of skull was removed, and he spoked in a muffled tone from his half paralyzed mouth. He dragged his one foot a bit and had an awkward gait, but when we went on field trips to Aix or Arle, Bernard was always ahead of us somehow. He went on every field trip and moved faster than the youngest of students.

He was engrossed in life and engrossing to listen too. There were weekly lectures in his courtyard and some of the students stayed and talked with him till all hours of the night.

Bernard had lived a wonderfully full and active life and continued to do his art and oversee many aspects of his school until he passed away in 1996.

I will never forget trying to keep up with him as he breezed his way up the steep mountainside to our rooms in Lacoste. His passion for life, people and Art, brought him through even the most adverse conditions, and he lived his life with complete passion and joy.

Bernard's good friends were people like Henry Miller, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Gustaf Sobin as well as his many students

Bernard's passion for life has inspired me to think that there are no limits to what you can achieve in life. Age or disability can't stop the forward motion of an unstoppable force. There is something about the spark in certain people, the joy they see in every day life. There is something about joy, and a passion for art and living, that seems to make one as close to immortal as any human can get.