Allow me to introduce myself.    Trained as a textile artist and fashion designer, professionally I am known as an executive in the world of retail.   Retail is not particularly known for its dedication to Slow, but rather is a world which thrives on and requires speed to market.  In my field it is all about knowing your customers and responding – quickly – to their needs.  To counterbalance  this addiction to speed, I have retained my connection to my training as an artist and have become a knitter – a serial knitter, in fact – throughout the past decade.

Thought by some to be the domain of grannies, knitting allows me to start something from the ground up, focus on the practice and the journey .   It is amazing to start with balls of yarn and Slowly, Slowly, Slowly create something entirely different.  You can carry that creation with you to multiple experiences, keeping the slow rhythm of knitting a constant during meetings, long plane rides, boring waits.  Dr. Perri Klass, in her book Two Sweaters For My Father: Writing About Knitting knitted her way through medical school, much to the chagrin of her mostly male classmates.  She claimed it kept her alert throughout lectures, a not-to-be-scoffed at accomplishment for sleep deprived residents.  It also kept her balanced and focused on the lectures.

With knitting, if you make a mistake, unlike in the rest of life, you get to rip it out and have a makeover.  The steady movement of your hands and need for counting stitches and rows provides a soothing counterbalance to chaos around and seems to allow true clarity of thinking.  Instead of the mind wandering, the mind seems to focus while knitting.  Some think we are not listening when we knit;  I have been reprimanded for knitting while attending strategic planning conferences.  Silly non-knitters.  If they only knew.
This is my introductory post on the concept and practice of Slow Design.  The posts will focus on artists who, whether they have named it as such, engage in Slow Design.  Those who work in the media formerly known as craft exemplify Slow Design, with their dedication to the connection between the mind and the hand.  Stitchers, ceramicists, glassblowers, furniture makers all practice the Art of Slow.  As I learn from them, I shall pass it along.

Hi all,
I am a Graphic design student in Bournemouth, UK and I am currently doing my final major project on promoting Slow to the UK.

I have written a brief, a (rough) outcome and a manifesto to support my project. Any comments, ideas etc would really help enhance my work and would be very much appreciated. If all goes well then I will carry out this project for real so you guys could potentially get involved!

More development work will follow very soon…

Brief

The aim of this project is to introduce and establish the slow movement mentality to the UK. The Slow ideology is to create a speed bump for everyday life. The goal of this shift in speed is to make people really engage with life and their surroundings; making richer connections with loved ones and friends.

Corresponding to the new slow proposal, the aim is to tackle the taboo of the common use of the term slow. There is of course a bad slow, being lazy for example but there is also a good, considered, slow. This fresh attitude on slow is the desired message. Ultimately the aim is to get people to enjoy and appreciate life by taking a break from the everyday hustle and bustle of life.

Live Slow 2009: a manifesto

We, the undersigned, are patrons of Slow. We, the undersigned, are patrons of speed. We, the undersigned, are patrons of life. Our slow is not lazy nor do we slack or stumble. Our slow is faster than you. We are the tortoises, and you are the hare. We win the race and enjoy the journey.

Like a tortoise we are wise and we are long lasting. Our aim is to engage with life. Living is a series of experiences and connections with our environment, we engage with every aspect of living. Our connection with loved ones is stronger, deeper and richer. And our connection with our surroundings is well informed, valued and utilized.

At home our slow is taking quality time with our family. At work our slow is considered, your fast is not. Our slow is more productive. We take time to look at all angles of a problem to make the best decision.

Slow is not a derogatory word for us; we do not use it like most. Your slow is synonymous with stupid, ours is the opposite. We wish to abolish the taboo of your slow and motion for our new slow.

Your eureka must not be too late; too often an illness or incident results in a new found clarity, but we propose you slow down now! Enjoy the existence you are here to live, we urge you not to hurdle the journey of life.

Signed:

Andrew Jackson

Outcome

A regular event, perhaps monthly, weekly or even daily that would promote and practice the slow mentality.

The experience would encourage people to learn about the slow theory, sign-up to the life of slow movement and, or, raise awareness of this attitude so perhaps the masses could take elements of the slow theory and incorporate them into their everyday lives.

Promotion of this event would be through a pseudonym of a tea party, afternoon tea or simply a tea break. The tea party would be an ambassador for the slow ideology, and act as a literal participation in the slow movement. The slow theory would utilize the normality of a tea break to represent the seemingly extreme ideology of the slow movement. Tea is an international phenomenon with many recognised connotations, which are perfectly appropriate for the slow movement. William Gladstone, four times British Prime minister relays,

‘If you are cold,
tea will warm you;
if you are too heated,
it will cool you;
if you are depressed,
it will cheer you;
if you are excited,
it will calm you’

These were the words he used to advertise tea to the UK. Tea explained here is used as a remedy to solve dilemmas. Now the second most popular drink in the world, tea has a plethora of associations. Tea break, afternoon tea, and tea parties and all the other social associations made with tea are a great representation of a state of mind similar to that of Slow. The common experience of a tea break would be used as a tool to demonstrate the seemingly unfamiliar slow mentality, by taking a break and engaging greater with friends and families.

Possible event types:
Annual - ‘Tea party’ - 12hrs
Weekly - ‘Afternoon tea’ - 2hrs
Daily - ‘Tea break’ - 30mins

‘Craft, art, and design are words heavily laden with cultural baggage. For me, they all connote the profound engagement with materials and process that is central to creativity. Through this engagement form, function, and meaning are made tangible. It is time to move beyond the limitations of terminologies that fragment and separate our appreciation of creative actions, and consider the “behaviours of making” that practitioners share.’
David Revere McFadden
Chief Curator and Vice President, Museum of Arts & Design, New York
http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/contemporary/crafts/what_is_craft/

‘Slow is not a new concept in the crafts, it would seem that notions of ‘slow’ are epitomised by Craft and processes within craft production and life. The values that powered the development of twentieth century studio craft in Britain and informed its nineteenth century forebear, the Art and Crafts movement echo the ideas and values debated within the current Slow Movement. Truthfulness – to oneself, to materials, to humanistic principles of design, creative satisfaction, ethical production, process and sourcing of materials, were debated and practised by craft practitioners well before the advent of the internet and the current shifts we are experiencing in reassessing the impact of global production and consumption and the stresses it places on our lifestyles.

Many of the themes and debates within the slow movement persist within craft, both within our perception of the interests of many makers and the history and culture of studio craft. There are still generations of craftspeople for whom making and lifestyle are intimately connected and for whom the desire for autonomy is a significant motivation. The process and experience of making, of tacit knowledge that brings together the hand, eye, mind, the lived experience and bodily knowledge that understands material and goes beyond learned skill is one which is deeply connected and driven by personal value.

In 2007 we initiated a project for Craftspace www.craftspace.co.uk to explore the identity of contemporary craft within the philosophies of the Slow Movement. This project brought together some of our shared interests. A major ambition was to develop an exhibition, which could, through exhibiting the work of craft practitioners, who are responding to the ideas and values we are debating, and to present this for public discussion. This exhibition which we have called ‘taking time: Craft and the Slow Movement’ launches in October this year (2009) and will be touring around the UK.

A key process of the project has been to communicate our ideas – and to bring in the responses of others – through the blog: http://makingaslowrevolution.wordpress.com

We are hoping to regularly update you on how the project is developing and we welcome your questions and comments.

The holiday season seems like a good time for me to start writing about Slow Home on Slow Planet. It is a time when the connection between the quality of our life and the home in which we live seems to be the most evident. In fact it is often a holiday that is largely about being at home - with family and friends enjoying familiar kinds of food, music, and domestic rituals. Despite the incessant consumerism that runs rampant even in this more difficult of years, the memories we truly value about this holiday, and try very hard to impart to our children, are often about being together in a home that becomes a sanctuary from the rest of the world and the rest of the year.

Holidays are slightly surreal in this regard and our busy lives seem to take over again by noon on the first day back to work. But perhaps this intense annual experience of home points us towards a potentially different kind of relationship with the place in which we live. In the same way that the carefully prepared festive meal leisurely enjoyed over conversation at an actual dining table is a commonly experienced example of a slower approach to food, our sense of intimate home during this season can speak to a broader audience about the potential for a slower approach to home.

I believe that there are very strong parallels between the food we eat and the homes in which we live. A healthy relationship with both are essential to our well-being but these have come under siege by the too fast world around us. Over the past fifty years our historic rootedness in food and home has been challenged, if not shattered, by big business interests that provide readily available mass processed equivalents. These shallow copies of real food and real home promise everything but deliver little more than rampant consumerism, a drag on our environment, and a general diminishment in the quality of our lives.

Most of us understand these problems from a fast food perspective and see the potential for slow food to provide a critical alternative. This same argument can also be made against the so called fast housing industry. The sprawl of cookie cutter housing that surrounds us is a lot like fast food - standardized, homogeneous, and wasteful. It contributes to a too fast life that is bad for us, our cities, and the environment.

I founded www.theslowhome.com several years ago to raise awareness about these issues and provide critical alternatives to this cookie cutter world. In the same way that slow food raises awareness about the food we eat and how these choices affect our lives, my goal with Slow Home is to empower people to take more control over their home and improve the quality of how and where they live as a first important step towards creating a slower and more meaningful way of life.

As we start this new year and face the growing trepidations of an uncertain economy let’s try to remember the potential for home to be more of what of it has been these past few days and less of just a real estate investment in one’s portfolio.

Stephen Thompson, a designer in Mississippi in the southern United States, has put together a fascinating forecast of design trends for 2009. His conclusion: “If there is one overall theme coming for 2009, it might best be called SlowTec - a simple back-to-basics style that is all about less speed for better living - and a focus on quality craftsmanship and eco consciousness.”

Underneath this lovely slow umbrella, Thompson predicts lots of global influences, patchwork, rich color, wood, vintage items, and snowflakes, among other trends.  And though Thompson doesn’t talk about scale, maybe Sarah Susanka’s dream of the Not-So-Big-House will finally take hold, making all those mega-mansions suddenly appear as ridiculous and embarassing as we always suspected they were. Most of these design trends will fit perfectly in a human-scaled, size-appropriate dwelling.

The slow movement has been ahead of its time for years, ironically, but the world is finally catching up. A global economic meltdown just might get us to stop grasping for cheap, fast and easy, or oversized and expensive,  and wake up to authentic experiences rooted in creativity, community, and soul. So it seems like the perfect time for this blog, and I thank Carl for the invitation to post.

I’ve been working out my own definition of “slow” for textiles and cloth for about a year now on Red Thread Studio, my blog. I was inspired by Slow Food, the first part of the slow movement to be codified –  its rejection of the mass-produced, cheap, anonymous and ubiquitous and its embrace of history, regional origins and differences, skill, community and nourishment. Slow Food doesn’t have to take a long time to cook, but it does require making more space in your life for a relationship with food, a greater consciousness and respect for the choices we have.

These are the ephemeral qualities that I think translate to the world of cloth. Textile traditions and techniques need preserving and protecting. Skills that used to be handed down, most often from mother to daughter,  are in danger of extinction, replaced by an endless cycle of conspicuous consumption, disposable and forgettable choices, and outsourced production. We don’t know where our textiles come from, any more than our food; we don’t know whose hands shaped them, or designed their beauty, or stitched their warmth.

I’m lucky to have a lifelong and ongoing experience of making things with fabric. My hands, my senses and my imagination have explored the full range of the art-craft arc, and found immense satisfaction at every point on that arc. For a good part of my life, these activities were, let’s say, less than cool. People would comment that they’d love to make things too if they, you know, had time in their busy and important lives. That’s missing the point. If the process of making things wasn’t  hugely satisfying and fun for me, I would never do it.

Today it’s popular and even cool once again to make things, yet much of today’s “Craft 2.0”movement seems to succumb to fast principles: How can we make it quick, cheap, easy, and skip over all the hard part of learning how to do it well?

So I offer a different approach, and I’ve identified 10 qualities that I think characterize Slow Cloth. You can have a Slow Cloth sensibility as an individual artist or artisan or as a commercial company, and it bears repeating that “slow” is not literal. More than once, I’ve found myself emphasizing that slow cloth (or fashion, or design, or craft) has nothing to do with whether or not your creative work is done by hand or machine, or how long it takes to complete. Instead, the thread that runs through all these qualities is the idea of authenticity, one of those know-it-when-you-see-it things that is as vital as it is indefinable.

Slow Cloth:

1. Has the possibility of joy in the process. I often hear people say that they think they should learn to knit or sew, because they think they will save money or that it’s somehow virtuous. Nonsense. Everybody should know how to sew on a button or mend a seam, but beyond that, if you don’t love the process, there isn’t much point. In other words, it’s the journey, not the destination. If efficiency and sameness are the primary goals, it’s not Slow Cloth.
2. Can be contemplative. Not every moment of making is a serene mystical precious experience, but the totality of your work opens space for you and gives you room to think, to breathe, and to be.
3. Involves skill and has the possibility of mastery. Rather than choosing easy or instant-gratification methods (craft kits!), you’re aiming for originality, and an ever-expanding level of fluency and grace in the techniques you work with.
4. Acknowledges the rich diversity and multicultural history of textile art and craft. Textiles express culture and we live in a fantastically big and small world. Slow Cloth celebrates that diversity rather than eliminating it.
5. Honors its teachers and lineage. Most of us began to learn our skills with cloth from an ancestor or friend,  and there are many generations before us who used their inventiveness and creativity to expand possibilities in the world of cloth. Thank them and pay it forward.
6. Uses materials thoughtfully and respects their sources. Remember that it takes a lot of people and energy to make your fabric or yarn or dye, or the clothing you sell, and maintain an ethical and environmental perspective.  I don’t think everything has to be organic or even natural – some of my favorite textile artists, like Mary Ruth Smith, use some synthetics — but be mindful of your footprint and choose well and appropriately.
7. Honors quality. We want to make things that last and are well-made.
8. Honors beauty. Beauty is a whole complicated and wonderful subject all its own. I believe we have an innate need for beauty that’s driven us to make decorative textiles for many thousands of years.
9. Supports and encourages community. A Slow Cloth company respects all of its labor force; a textile artist or artisan acknowledges a relationship to other. We share knowledge, preserve history and legacy, and help our neighbors. Our skills give us common ground and a place to connect; it was as true for ancient weavers in the courtyard or 19th century pioneers at a quilting bee as it is on modern knitting forums and textile blogs on the Internet.
10. Is expressive of individuals or cultures (or both). The human creative force is reflected and evident in the work. Cloth is a language that can communicate values, myths, ideals, dreams, status.

As we develop this sensibility, our overall relationship to textiles changes and deepens. Your comments are welcome!