Timelessness

In today's world of modernization, mass production, consumerism, conspicious consumption, disposability and instant gratification, it seems like everything has lost its soul. Character in everything, from cars, to clothes, to crayons, seem to have lost their soul in the midst of profit making, efficiency and the rest of the hoohaa they call progress. Whatever happened to taking pride in your product, and artisanship and skilled labour?

Now, we have machines doing things, at a much faster rate but at what price? The price of character, of soul, and of craftsmanship. A quick comparison: How many objects can be considered a classic that is a product of modern times and how many objects can be considered a classic that came from a time long forgotten? The answer is obvious.

To leave a legacy, if one can figure out how to make something timeless, classic, eternal, with lasting appeal in these modern times, then one would have it made. Bring back the character, the soul, the feeling inherent in something that is timeless. Because, everyone, whether they acknowledge it or not, have a gnawing feeling deep deep down that our time is limited, that we are living on borrowed time, that we are born to die and all those other cliches. And with that feeling comes the desire for something eternal, something that will last and leave a legacy.

I like the slogan for Patek Phillipe, that you never actually own a Patek Phillipe, you merely take care of it for the next generation. Classic, timeless things are well designed for one. But mostly, it's because of the soul, the character, the craftsmanship, the pride taken and the lasting appeal that makes something a classic. Classics are seldom in fashion, but they never go out of style.