Ever wanted to find an honest, genuine recommendation for a product that is amongst the best in class for the job you have in mind? Ever found it difficult to dodge the advertorial or sponsored placement? Well I reckon the only approach is the - you show me yours and I'll show you mine one. So check in here to check out what other people say is brilliant and to share what you think is brilliant. It must be built to last, reparable, well designed and do what it's supposed to do fantastically. It can also be beautiful.
I have always wanted to write a blog or create a website recommending products that are really well designed and #builttolast. They are truly wondrous to a nerd like me because they are rare and because they are what the developed world needs - sustainably produced stuff that works well and doesn't create landfill.
It's not trivial stuff. We are at a pinch point where we have to make decisions that both stop global warming and allow developed and developing economies to grow and improve the lives of everyone. On the face of it the two things are a contradiction in terms. Good commercial sense dictates that it doesn't pay to make things so well that they don't need replacing in case you run out of customers. Environmental and sustainable sense dictates that we need businesses to do just that; build things that really last, don't require land-fill and don't use up precious resources and belch out CO2.
It's a conundrum. Ask #Lego. Lego bricks lasted generations so the company's innovation was to develop throw away lego toys where the bricks are designed to create only one model. What else commercially could a chief exec tasked with growth reasonably do? - Ask customers to pay more up front but benefit from a lifetime deposit refund if they want to empty the toy cupboards and return the bricks? Or perhaps Lego could sell instructions on how to put their bricks together in really cool ways? In the end they went back to the built to last recipe but added new bespoke bricks and parts that people could add to their collection so they could design, create and build really cool new stuff of their own. Lego have realised that we can replace endless new stuff with inexhaustible and sustainable new ideas that require much less new stuff and no throwing away of old stuff. More manufacturers need to follow suit but how do we make them move faster?
The EU is tackling the issue in the only way legislative bodies know how, by forcing white goods manufacturers to build machines with replaceable small components like screws and springs which should mean you no longer have to replace a whole motor if a screw breaks. Case in point, I have a 1 year old Miele dishwasher in my shed with a fault code and no valid warranty because of its location in self-catering premises. The cost of the call-out and inspection even before repair was going to be 50% of the cost of a new machine, so despite much whinging to Miele customer services, there it sits....I can't bare to throw it away. Does anyone want it?
Buying stuff that's just built to last isn't going solve global warming but it's not going to make it worse. Anyway here are some things I love that are built to last as my tiny contribution to a sustainable (circular) economy . When the list gets long I will start to categorise things a little. Apologies in advance for the self promotion under "To Do" as I must declare openly right here and now that I run www.taltonlodge.com. The rest is pure un-sponsored personal opinion, I absolutely promise.
If you contribute you must also be un-sponsored and it must be a personal recommendation of a thing you have actually used and cherished for years past or something you can assure me that you will cherish for years to come. If you make it or sell it you must declare that and we'll have someone else independent check it out.
To do
Come to Talton Lodge and Talton House www.taltonlodge.com and do stuff like cycling, walking, talking, making music and playing games - fun that doesn't require new stuff. Eat locally grown and locally cooked stuff made from scratch and travel here in full cars or trains and buses. Please see reviews on facebook, tripadvisor or google.
Food and drink equipment
Stanley Legendary Classic Ultra Vacuum bottle - Lifetime warranty 1.3L Flask - double insulated, stainless steel and keeps things really really hot or 28 hours and iced for 150 hrs!. Boil your kettle and fill it to have a source of piping water for tea or instant coffee all day. Nerdy but brilliant.
Office or desk equipment
Merchant and Mills everyday scissors - An essential pair of lightweight everyday scissors to have in your workroom. For paper or fabric – but not both! Etched with the Merchant & Mills logo. Made in Sheffield. 315g. Steel. Cut perfectly, beautifully made.
To wear
Hiut Jeans https://hiutdenim.co.uk/ - expensive jeans with a lifetime repair guarantee so if you don't mind a repair or two on your jeans these will last you a long time. really good denim in lots of cuts made to measure.
To walk in
Smartwool socks. Specifically - https://www.smartwool-socks.co.uk/ Men's PhD® Outdoor Heavy Crew Socks. Made from Merino wool, they are so comfortable and are designed to last a very very long time. Wearing the first pair now - still no sign of threadbareness after 2 years. Not cheap but really excellent.
Scarpa Walking boots. https://www.scarpa.co.uk/ The most comfortable, light, waterproof, leather Goretex boots I've ever owned. Absolutely brilliant
Toys Lego.
I'll keep adding to this over time in Built to Last 2/3/4 etc. over time. But please can people suggest truly excellent, useful, beautiful, brilliantly and sustainably designed objects and things they love owning, using or looking at. Thanks all.
