Last night, a few of us attended the open studio evening for the newly renovated Woodstock Industrial Centre, now called 'The Woodstock Exchange'. It is such a powerful space, inspiring collaboration between creatives of all fields. Each floor houses skilled and talented artisans from illustrators, graphic designers and architects, to fashion and furniture designers. It did raise quite a few questions in my mind though. I found in walking into a few of the studio's that some of what they did was extremely undefined. Maybe that's cool!? Maybe it's a great thing to be able to tackle a bunch of projects, whether it be a simple, cutesy wedding invitation or a more conceptual brand management project. However, what I've been obsessing over, over the past few months is the idea of focussing on doing one thing and doing it so well that people wouldn't want to go anywhere else. Knowing that you have honed your skills in that one area and that you know every nook and cranny of that field. Sure, over time you will have the ability to branch out and be more creative with more things; but isn't it more admirable to know that you've expelled blood, sweat and tears to do that one thing so well that customers wouldn't want to go anywhere else?
A friend and I were chatting about this. About consumer loyalty and how we cannot expect to generate a loyal base of consumers if we don't offer a brand with all the same loyalty we expect from them as consumers. How can we expect them to keep coming back every month/season/year to buy our next great idea if we don't offer them something that they will love and cherish for years without fear of it losing quality or value? The general view of 'beauty' is often quite transient, but I choose to find beauty in something more - like an old pair of jeans that I will love and keep forever despite the way it slowly wears with age. That could be because of the memories it holds, or simply because those jeans have been an old, loyal friend for years and years.
