As modern consumers we expect speed and convenience when we shop, we rarely purchase items that are not “in-stock” and expect them on our doormat the next working day and if that promise cannot be fulfilled we shop elsewhere. So how does the made to order model work in our favour here at Canem Studios? Why would we even consider not manufacturing at scale in the same way as most of the pet and for that matter the fashion industry?

The truth is not that much time has passed since household items, including clothing, leather goods and hardware were all produced by local craftsmen and associated tradesmen who provided the raw materials. The items produced were of quality and held a presence that is rarely experienced with fast fashion and mass produced items today, often passed down to siblings, sons and daughters and even grandchildren. So what will we pass down? What items do we own today that will stand the test of time in the same manner?

Of course everything that is made to order on a relatively small scale typically comes with an added cost of time and money. But the advantages are evident over the wholesale manufacturing model. Our customers’ are presented with a product that is truly unique to them, yes we have different models and styles in our collections, but every item is unique and one of a kind. Cut and finished by our own hands and built to last. Also we do not have to anticipate demand ahead of time, we are not left with hundreds or thousands of items unsold where the typical industry practice is to incinerate or send them to the landfill.

Removing deadstock from our warehouse is a must for a sustainable and environmentally conscientious future. It presents issues with scaling the business and sometimes increases waiting times for our customers but we are preparing to address these problems in the future and welcome the challenge we all must solve to live in a sustainable society. It also frees up our time to spend evolving our designs and developing new products and ideas outside of the constraints of #fuckfastfashion micro season rhetoric that is destroying our planet and society. Our business objectives have always been for a slow organic growth that we can scale based on reputation using local labour and materials.

Text by Dimitri Georgiu 

Photography by Carlina Gea