Shangdrok Why Handmade

Why Handmade

In the era of Modern Materialism, humans changed the way we live, what we produce, and the way we consume. With the tools and technology that we deploy at scale, we create and produce as we wish. The efficiency of modern management and the seamlessness of production lines allow us to produce in mass quantities. Shift workers and machines standing by 24/7 just so we can produce restlessly day and night.

With such capability, it is easy for people to think that since we are already producing, it is wasteful not to produce at all times. With such thought in mind, excess products are being punched out endlessly. Therefore, we have entered the era of overproduction and overconsumption, whether it is cheap items or luxurious goods.

Humans increasingly take these creations for granted, having the ever-growing tendency to take more than we need. Gifts and purchases are no longer cherished nor treasured. Items are discarded if dissatisfied.

We used to worry about not being able to compete with the pace of modern consumption and production as we look at our Aunties felt, spin and knit by hand. But now, seeing how our Aunties chatting and working in laughter, though sometimes dozing off or nagging at their children during work, compared to those aisles and aisles of expressionless workers at restless factories, we are relieved and certain that SHANGDROK is on the right path.

And yes, all of our products are produced by these simple yet genuine Northern Nomads, who are just like us, not perfect, not flawless. They do not ask for much. As long as they do not need to be separated from their families and their culture, as long as they can live and work in their own villages, it is all worthwhile.