The Design District

Posted By Rachel DeSchepper on 02/01/2008

I saw an interesting article yesterday, thanks to the NY Times about The Slow Design Movement.

Based off the Slow Food Movement, Slow Design basically means designing with “local ingredients harvested and put together in a socially and environmentally responsible way … it emphasizes slowness in the creation and consumption of products as a corrective to the frenetic pace of 21st-century life.”

The article features a favorite company of mine, Alabama Chanin, that makes and sells sustainable clothing, jewelry furniture and fabrics, most of which are repurposed from Goodwill and flea-market finds and have a decidedly down-home, Southern feel. But mostly, the article opened my eyes to this new realm of the design world. Of course, you can’t mass produce these Slow Designs. But, that’s the appeal of it.

I recently interviewed an artist who reminded me that there are people behind pieces of artwork. For as long as it takes a person to make a piece of art, he said, their thoughts are left behind. When you’re mass manufacturing furniture, accessories, clothing, what-have-you at a rapid pace, you lose that personal connection to the artist and it all becomes disposable. Rather, when you know that time, care and thought has been put into what you buy, it’s more likely to become a cherished piece to pass down. Good, clean, and fair, say these slow designers—can’t argue with that.