Small House is two sisters. Small House is Valerie Marchand and Heather Marchand. Both work out of their home studios in Torontom, Ontario. Any given day you will find either or both sisters sewing, drawing, painting, gluing and cutting. Both Valerie and Heather have educations in Fine Arts and are most happy when creating something. Aesthetics and function are carefully considered concerning all items made for Small House.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

This is Not Small House,


Edward Burtynsky, Manufacturing #17, Deda Chicken Processing Plant, Dehui City, Jilin Province, 2005



Lets start a conversation about something that is on all our minds as buyers and sellers and general makers of things,

(Fair) Pricing.


Okay. There it is. It's out of the bag, out on the table... open for discussion.

Now there are certain things we will all agree upon regarding this issue. We all know workers should be paid more than mere pennies for their work, along with fair treatment and all. But are we really ready to pay fair prices? Fair pricing should mean quality over quantity and quality lasts. We need to question our own needs for consumption. How ready are we really to give up "things." Within the big picture I have only begun to examine my own wants and needs as a consumer and cannot claim to have any answers. I have however considered some qualities that I myself am willing to pay for.

I will pay for uniqueness. I will pay for handmade. I will pay for made in Canada. I will pay for something that is made to last and to be reused.

Thoughts?


Valerie.

3 comments:

  1. I am soooooo on the same page as you.

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  2. i think we, as a society, are not ready to pay for fair pricing. i can't speak for canada, but in the us, we are all about free and cheap and we don't really care about the quality or the people behind what we make. it's sad, but it's deeply ingrained in our collective conscious and it will take a long time to change. not very uplifting, am i? :)

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  3. I agree it is a tough habit to break. But really it's a trap... buy inexpensive item and it wears out, breaks or is just plain crap... then buy more. We are trained to want more and to want new things.

    I think Canadians have similar feelings as the US... you just seem to do everything on a much bigger scale!

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