The plague of publicity

[hectorm]

the trick in business is this
expand your business to the maximum size possible without losing the motivating spirit of the enterprise

I am certain that, although difficult, a middle ground is very achievable for the benefit of us all.
For example, I draw a successful (IMO) similarity from the bespoke shoe trade:
I have always loved the shoes from John Lobb. In recent years while keeping their bespoke service at their St. James St. shop, the brand (through their twin John Lobb of Paris) has developed their RTW line (made in Northampton) maintaining the standard of quality and many of the characteristics of the famous bench made shoes.
Of course they are not the same product!
At one third of the price of a bespoke pair of shoes, RTW shouldn´t be. But that´s not the point. The point is that the brand has kept its prestige. Their bespoke customers do not feel cheated or offended and continue to call on "the most wonderful store in the world" for a top experience, while customers of RTW like me (a perfect fit for their size 12) are able to visit the shop at Jermyn Street and still acquire John Lobb quality.

[Merc]

just saying that not everyone can manage it
it has been a "dance" in my own business these last five years or so

[old henry]

Gentlemen today do not really know what a true benchmade suit is. They may know in their brain what a benchmade suit is but not in the life of things. Old customers knew. It was in the world then. FS

[shredder]

Frank, I surmise that the seed for a possible solution to our little problem may lie in the reason(s) why we ended up in the current situation. I am not old or wise enough to even have a guess at it. It is not enough to say that times and priorities have changed as they don't change by themselves. Rather, they need influence or impetus, no matter how subtle or gradual. Attempts to turn back the clock would be silly, but the question is, how can one exert influence in shaping the future? I think many firms are struggling with this question, and some may be going down questionable paths.

Merc mentioned a perennial problem of keeping one's people motivated. Another problem seems to be keeping oneself motivated. I was told of an independent tailor in Essex who was trained by and worked for a couple of the SR old guards. When asked why his prices are considerably lower than SR, he explained that, other than the overhead, he does not do things that SR firms do but are actually not necessary. I think that he is actually saying, why should I do things that my customers do not understand or appreciate? So, are the customers to blame, at least partially? I don't know, but apportioning blame does not seem like a productive exercise anyway. What seems to be worthwhile is to try to educate the consumers and to actually live up to one's reputation. It's hard work.

No simple answers...
s

[shredder]

All are architects of Fate,
Working in these walls of Time;
Some with massive deeds and great,
Some with ornaments of rhyme.

Nothing useless is, or low;
Each thing in its place is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest.

For the structure that we raise,
Time is with materials filled;
Our to-days and yesterdays
Are the blocks with which we build.

Truly shape and fashion these;
Leave no yawning gaps between;
Think not, because no man sees,
Such things will remain unseen.

In the elder days of Art,
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
For the Gods see everywhere.

Let us do our work as well,
Both the unseen and the seen;
Make the house, where Gods may dwell,
Beautiful, entire, and clean.

Else our lives are incomplete,
Standing in these walls of Time,
Broken stairways, where the feet
Stumble as they seek to climb.

Build to-day, then, strong and sure,
With a firm and ample base;
And ascending and secure
Shall to-morrow find its place.

Thus alone can we attain
To those turrets, where the eye
Sees the world as one vast plain,
And one boundless reach of sky.

-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

[NJS]

Shredder - Try applying Longfellow's poem to actual building construction these days!

[shredder]

NJS, interesting idea...

[old henry]

The poem from Vickie Vasolopoliss {?} Documentary says it all.

I am a tailor from the Old World.
My craft is dying.
Each tailor that goes is an end.
Let it be.
There is no place in the new world
.....for the honored work of an old humanity.

Non-tailors make the mistake of thinking that you can just grab someone off the street in need a job and teach him and his hands how to sew. You cannot.

[Merc]

Frank

would you say it takes a 10-year apprenticeship to become a real tailor?

[old henry]

I say it takes 10 years to kind of know things.
If I was still working with Toninno Christophoro and Rafael Raffaelli and Frank and Carlo Cesta and Henry Stewart I would STILL be the apprentice. I know nothing compared to them. Every time I go to Raffaellis shop I am the apprentice again and he still watches to make sure i am doing it right. He recently showed me a way to press the facing, first, before applying it by hand to the front.
ALSO..A "True Bench Tailor" would never have cut corners.
He loved and had profound respect for the craft that had given him life and had given his family life and had put fish and grain on his table.He loved the ancient craft given to his hands by the old men. The clock ticked slow back then. Easy hours.Quiet. Simple. "Bench" was a state of mind. Of time.. It is all Yesterday.

[Costi]

In the elder days of Art,
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
For the Gods see everywhere.

Let us do our work as well,
Both the unseen and the seen;
Make the house, where Gods may dwell,
Beautiful, entire, and clean.
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

http://www.thelondonlounge.net/forum/vi ... =15#p53177

[Merc]

I say it takes 10 years to kind of know things.
If I was still working with Toninno Christophoro and Rafael Raffaelli and Frank and Carlo Cesta and Henry Stewart I would STILL be the apprentice. I know nothing compared to them. Every time I go to Raffaellis shop I am the apprentice again and he still watches to make sure i am doing it right. He recently showed me a way to press the facing, first, before applying it by hand to the front.
ALSO..A "True Bench Tailor" would never have cut corners.
He loved and had profound respect for the craft that had given him life and had given his family life and had put fish and grain on his table.He loved the ancient craft given to his hands by the old men. The clock ticked slow back then. Easy hours.Quiet. Simple. "Bench" was a state of mind. Of time.. It is all Yesterday.

i think you're being too modest--