Handmade Craftsmanship vs. Mass Production
QUALITY MATERIALS, HANDMADE DETAILS & CUSTOMIZATION MATTER
Bryer Leather started with a desire on my part to want great things, and with this, my goal has always been to offer the best available products. The concept of making a product by hand, with the expertise that I have been able to gather throughout a lifetime, is something people just don’t do anymore.
The true artisan is he who lives and breathes the products he is doing, one of my goals is to one day be that artisan: that is why I brought Bryer Leather to life.
I came into this business because I wanted my customers to be able to own something that they too, could value and pass on to future generations. Something that will only get better with age, and that will look and feel better 20 years from now, than the way it looked the day I delicately cut out the individual pieces of leather and slowly put it together.
When you purchase something made by hand, the care and attention to detail is what you get: the sensibility of finding everything was thought out and even the smallest details have their reason for being.
The luxury, feel and uniqueness of something well-made is unequivocal; it is the reason why our parents’ and grandparents’ stuff still exists, the reason why we can still cherish that old suitcase, or that great pair of glasses. Some of these articles bring a certain nostalgic feel when you come in contact with them.
Why is it then, we continue to push to excessive consumerism? We are geared to over-consume everything, and discard it as soon as it shows signs of age. We do it everywhere: with buildings, cars and particularly with the items in our closet.
This is not a lament – or not merely a lament – for bygone times. It’s become a social, cultural and economic issue as well. We have become the most wasteful people since the beginning of time.
The reason I started this business was not only because I was born to create beautiful and high quality products, but because I want to reshape our mentality: buy one great bag, and you won’t have to buy another. Ever. This reduces waste, it reduces unnecessary consumption and in turn it reduces the products that are constantly being mass-produced in great quantities, but with the poorest quality available for the sake of a cheap sale.
Bryer Leather wants to stress that it’s not about quantity anymore, it’s not about how much of something you can own, it’s about the quality of what you are holding in your hand, and the fact that you know exactly where it came from, how it was made, and that it was made for you... Made especially for you. It even has your initials!
Ahmed —
Awesome stuff you guys got here. I really like the theme of the wesitbe and how well you organized the content. It’s a marvelous job I will come back and check you out sometime.
Slimshady —
In my opinion, the kinds of besurhs you use make a HUGE difference! I used to buy really cheap ones from Target and Walgreens and recently started investing in the more expensive ones. I now have the whole collection of MAC besurhs! The reason I love them so much is because they are handmade and can last up to 10 years if you take care of them. They are costly though, so I reccomended you make a small purchase of some eye besurhs first (those are a definite NECESSITY to me) and then see how you like it from there. If those turn out to be too pricey for you, I realllly like the Sonia Kashuk besurhs from target-those are almost as equally good to me! If you take my advice, here is the list of MAC besurhs i just cant live without, and I hope you try it out because once I first tried it, I never used anything else!!!!1. my number one favorite shadow brush is MACs 224 tapered blending brush- it’s amazing just buy it! you can use any flat brush (a cheap one even ) to pack in the shadow to make it vibrant and then use the 224 brush to blend it out2. MACs 242 flat eyeshadow brush (ideal for smaller lids) or a 252 brush (for larger lids)3. MACs 217-another blending brush! but it’s slightly smaller than the 224, so it makes it easier to control.4. MACs 187 or 189 (i cant remember which one it is) but its a duo fibre foundation brush. It’s really expensive but in my opnion it’s well worth it! But i listed this last, because my eyeshadow besurhs are much more important to me!Hope I helped! =)
Edward S. Majian —
Beautifully articulated. I had to share this, and I wish all our clients would read it. As someone who is also crafting daily, and always mindful of what we put out, I can well relate not only to the handmade vs. mass-produced theme, but also to the subtext that touches on folks understanding just what it means to “bring something to life.”
Good work, and Merry Christmas!
Peace, Love and Light, Ed.