REIMAGINE HOW A TEXTILES FACTORY COULD LOOK LIKE - HOW ASSEMBLE BECAME ASSEMBLE
In 2016, back when we started manufacturing full-time, the world was a very different place. One thing was the same though, starting a textile manufacturer in Scotland was/is really difficult. Keeping one going, well that’s another matter entirely.
Back then, the one thing we knew for sure was that we needed to approach production differently. The traditional factory model clearly wasn’t stable and working as efficiently as it could and we were seeing business after business either go under or move their production out of Scotland.
Everyone we spoke to or asked for advice said the same thing; Starting a successful factory in Scotland can’t be done, and why would you bother anyway? You are never going to make any money. Luckily we thought that was nonsense! And first of all, making money wasn’t our main goal.
- It was clear to us that what needed to happen was a complete overhaul of the whole way we do business and produce textile products. It was time to take a step and reimagine what a textile factory could look like, a clear framework we could build everything around. What we needed was a manifesto! A simple set of design and manufacturing principles that would underpin every product we made and how we would approach it.
OUR KEY PRINCIPALS:
1 NEED - Is it a product our clients and their customers want and use?
2 SIMPLICITY - Both in its finish and construction. No “unnecessary” detail or non-functional element.
3 MINIMALISM - Both in fabric use and design. Begin without thrills, embellishments or impractical detail.
4 LOGIC - Never reinvent the wheel, start with the existing designs, develop, improve and innovate to a new product.
5 LONGEVITY - It’s got to last. Both in the construction as well as its design.
6 DISASSEMBLY - It’s got to be easy to disassemble even if there aren’t the systems to do so yet.
7 PRACTICALITY - Pockets, ease of movement, size of bags etc all need to be considered.
8 VERSATILELY - No product should have just one use or function.
9 TIMELESS - Nothing that couldn’t be used in 1 year or 10
10 EVOLUTION - Of design, concept and production. Develop, evaluate and improve.
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Photo: Kalopsia's founders (plus a baby)