"Every consumer decision now carries with it class and status implications in a way it didn't used to," said Barry Schwartz, the author of "The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less" (Ecco Books, 2005). "As you add dimensions to goods, you add ways in which people can distinguish themselves." Thus is created a perpetual chase after status and cool.
These articles at the NYTimes just re-enforce this sense that craft, with its innate scarcity, will soon dominate completely the high-end of design. It's going to be all about them one-offs!
- Who Pays $600 for Jeans?
- Dredged From the Deep, Pickled Paneling (registration required to view)