bits and bobbins

platform 21’s ‘repair manifesto’

platformmanifesto.jpg

yeah!! what they* said!!

(they = platform 21, a design laboratory based in the netherlands.)

***

(via craft:)

March 3 2009 | Posted in amazing art, crafty cool.

Comments

13 total remarks on this post.

  1. March 3 2009 at 9:39 pm

    sallymandy

    I adore this! It puts into words my own philosophy that I’ve developed over the years–especially the parts about repaired items being unique, growing a history, etc. I’m not a patient enoug sewist to make many things from scratch, but I love finding thrifted items and repairing or changing them to make them work for me. Repairing shoes…same thing. I just get a great feeling taking a pair of beat up shoes and making them look new.

    Thanks for posting this. Could I borrow parts of it for my blog?


  2. March 3 2009 at 9:59 pm

    Nadia Lewis

    My mending basket had been sitting unloved for years until this weekend. It takes almost no time to make something wearable again. Faster than shopping with pieces you’re sure to love!


  3. March 4 2009 at 4:44 am

    Jennine

    i think the whole world should read this.

    also along the lines of product designers… my bf is one, and my big gripe with this industry is that you have to buy a whole new product just for one small change in the components. it’s total BS. they should make it easier to uprgrade, and by which, i mean, if you need a new computer, you probably only need one or two new parts. why throw away the keyboard, mouse, screen…etc just because the memory is slow?

    the same goes for phones, printers, etc. there is so much waste.


  4. March 4 2009 at 7:01 am

    Sal

    LOVE this.


  5. March 4 2009 at 7:59 am

    emily august

    Couldn’t agree more!


  6. March 4 2009 at 8:08 am

    Georgie

    This is great!


  7. March 4 2009 at 8:53 am

    madam0wl

    Hear Hear! I have a 1st generation iPod that I’ve had repaired once, and my Powerbook’s screen currently only works if I have a binder clip pinching it in the lower left corner. Ha ha. I sew buttons back on and mend things, and have a huge “to fix” pile.

    Maybe there needs to be 4 R’s? Though I’m sure most people would categorize “repair” under “reuse”?


  8. March 4 2009 at 5:05 pm

    SwanDiamondRose

    i 1000% agree with this. when i purchase something, even something inexpensive, or thrifted, i consider that i am responsible for it’s lifespan. i take into consideration that if i won’t want it someday that it should be something that can be gotten rid off responsibly- given to someone, is donate-able, can biodegrade, or be recycled, upcycled. i like to buy/make things that will last a lifetime.

    this is why the vintage shoe thing drives me nuts, it seems like a good idea but i use toxic glue to make the repairs, and i don’t like buying new shoes. but i’ve ranted a lot about that before.

    and Jennine, about products meant to be tossed, i’m reading an interesting book, i guess i should blog it, called- Good Guys & Bad Guys: BEHIND THE SCENES WITH THE SAINTS AND SCOUNDRELS OF AMERICAN BUSINESS (AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN) by Joe Nocera. there is an entry called “Good Luck with that Broken Ipod”. it addresses specifically that you can’t upgrade, that you have to buy a new one, that they don’t really do repairs, that the warranties expire somewhat conveniently etc. (the book is about unexpectedly who might be the good/bad companies in the states).

    the other book that relates to this is The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World by Lewis Hyde. i blogged it under a previous name of it. it has had around 3 titles. a large part of the book deals with how objects gain… meaning, spirit, history through being passed to other people, the more passing the more gain. and how when the object or altered or added to it also gains. it’s an amazing book.


  9. March 4 2009 at 5:27 pm

    SwanDiamondRose

    sry that last sentence is meant to be-
    and how when the object IS altered or added to it also gains. it’s an amazing book.


  10. March 5 2009 at 8:41 am

    ambika

    This is exactly why I never bought another iPod. That they had *no* means of repairing the thing in house, refused to offer any repair references because it wasn’t ‘Apple supported’ and could only offer me a new one at a 10% discount. That was completely untenable to me.


  11. March 5 2009 at 5:02 pm

    sarah

    I love this! I don’t tend to t think about repairing as “adding to” their meaning/life, but it makes sense. I like it. Thanks!


  12. March 5 2009 at 10:46 pm

    Erica

    This is so on point and exactly what we need to hear right now. My favorite part about this is the acknowledgment that it is a mentality shift; it’s a conscious change in one’s approach to life, a very profound and positive change. We all need to make urgent lifestyle changes to halt destructive patterns, and learning skills to be self-sufficient and resourceful can only be beneficial. Thanks for sharing this!


  13. March 10 2009 at 7:53 am

    final fashion » click click - 10-03-09

    [...] Bits & Bobbins shares the Repair Manifesto. [...]