Episode 07: Something Old, Something New

Newness has a fascination all its own, but by definition it cannot last. What alternatives are there?

Transcript

Kevin: 0:10

Hello and welcome to this next episode in the series. Make Life Better by Design. As before, I'm your host, Kevin Drayton. I was an architect for more than 30 years, a bit of a design, obsessive, uh, and I have a passionate belief that good design has the ability to make life better for all of us. Okay, so what are we on about this time? Well, because my definition of design covers such a broad compass of subject. It can be difficult to think about ideas and concepts that apply right across the board. However, one general topic I think is worth pondering is the matter of age and how the passage of time may or may not alter our perception. Of design in whatever sphere. I don't mean just how each of us may change or modify our ideas of good design as we get older, although that does and will happen in many instances. No. I am also thinking about how time affects our perception of things, which brings us to the naughty subject for today's podcast newness. Now the new, in my experience. Holds character all of its own. It tends to be brighter, cleaner, unsolid, and without the baggage of other times and other people. Apart from any other attractions, pleasures, and enhancements to one's life, a thing may bring. The quality of newness is real, and for some people, it's actually essential. But here's the question I'd like us to consider today. How long does new last and if new is important. What do we do when a thing ceases to be new? Of course, in terms of age, it's by no means only new that has particular attractions, vintage, classic, and antique. These all have their adherence. And at a slightly lower level X display, uh, old stock and discontinued, can also make some people's eyes light up. So in the times that we're in now, what I, could call the age of reuse, recycle, and repair. Newness becomes at one and the same time, rarer and thus of greater appeal having a value for many people, but it's no longer the clear and undisputed champion of quality. If quality is what you're looking for, it can only reside in newness. It's no longer the case. I think most people are happy to mix their preferences for things which are at different ages and stages of their lives. That's not to say they reject the new outright. They also find joy in the pater that time can bring to many things. It's the pater time can bring if they were designed in the belief that longevity is a virtue, and anyone who's heard any of the previous podcasts will know, I think is extremely important. For example, I've got some solid wooden furniture and leather goods that are clearly aged, but have been well looked after and cherished, and it's clear they, they wear their history with pride and poise. Their design definitely makes my life better, which is not to say that I don't ever purchase new things I do, but the pleasures of newness will and must fade depending on what they are within a certain timeframe. And it's not just me, of course, Elsa Crawford, who you may know as a highly influential designer, curator, and journalist of design. Uh, I, I came across a quotation. Um, she said in an interview, buying at full retail price from established brands is dull and only shows how gullible and conformist we are. We're seduced into showing off, but nothing is solid. Our newfound happiness melts into air. Well, that's a more elegant way of my saying. Or they don't stay new for very long, do they? The very first day that the new. Moves from the shop, the showroom, the warehouse to your home. It begins the journey of the rest of its life. And one thing, certain it will never reach newness again no matter how long it exists. Maintenance, yep. Is a critically important activity. True, but how often does maintenance maintain anything which is actually used on a regular basis to its absolutely pristine, prime, fresh, out of the box condition What maintenance can do is achieve another level of enjoyment and pleasure. This whole business of new is one of the reasons why I've never owned a, a new car direct from the manufacturer, never having been used by anyone else because for me, there's a pleasure to be taken. In acquiring a vehicle that's, lived a bit, hopefully, preferably essentially for me, cherished and well maintained by previous owners, and, and that provides something that a new vehicle could not give me, Ilsa Crawford again incidentally, sees a broader benefit in this kind of approach. He says. This connects us to others, to how things are made to our roots, and we can benefit the collective Good./I, I happen to agree with that very much. The history of a vehicle, who's owned it, where it lived, what sort of driving it did. Can be, enhancements for me and Crawford thinks that small actions of this type can add up to improve society as well as our individual states of mind. It's true that the same money. Spent on an older vehicle, opens the door to something of a higher specification than would be available if you were buying new it's equally true that they, hold the hearts of many people./ I have owned three Porsches. I've been lucky or foolish enough, depending on your view. All of them were pre-owned or pre loved as the jargon has it. At the time I acquired my first. Some 80% of all Porsches ever manufactured were still on the road, not crushed and lying in junkyards. Now, okay, that tale may be apocryphal, but there is a lesson there somewhere. It's not so far off the truth. I'd like to think that certainly made my life better to take that route to ownership. and did a little something for the planet as well. Yes, I know. there are People who disagree but, uh, I think if you're cunning enough, you can justify pretty much any action that you like. Now, as always, with these podcasts, I am, I'm not asking you to follow a particular path. Buy new, buy used; repair and restore. Do without completely, but don't automatically think that brand new is best. Just please give, give it a bit of thought and let's make life better by design for ourselves, and everyone else. So again, a short podcast this week, but if you have been, thank you very much for listening. I of course welcome any and all feedback, although I have to say I do reserve the right to sulk horribly if it's, uh, negative. Next time. It's a real treat, a real live guest. Someone whose appearance on a podcast about design might surprise you. How's that for a teaser? Okay.