For a brief period in my life I did wear jeans.
And they were the most uncomfortable
bloody pants I've ever had.
A lot of people think that what I'm wearing
is some sort of dress up.
This is not a costume... these are my clothes.
There's something good about wearing an item of clothing
that's made by a person that you might know down the street.
They're actually fairly simple technology
and you can make them.
The person can shear a sheep,
and then you need a weaver,
and then you need a tailor.
You try making a puffer jacket by hand.
You just wouldn't be able to do it.
How I approach my life, I think is normal.
Turns out that my normal is very odd and different.
I'm a Trad.
Which means I try to live somewhat
by some sort of traditional lifestyle.
I have a very conservative view.
When I say conservative, I mean the good aspects of the past.
I don't like modern, fashionable things,
flashy things that are going to break down
and end up on the scrap heap.
I try to live some sort of life that has meaning to me.
A bit gentler than the consumer world.
What appeals to me about craft
is the obvious love
and the handmade-ness of an object.
The personal touch.
I'm rebelling primarily against crass consumerism.
Book binding is radically against
modern consumer society.
Sewing a book with a needle and thread
is something that people have done for 1500 years maybe.
It's a very old craft and a very gentle occupation.
Things haven't really worked out as I'd hoped,
which is really disappointing.
I had hoped to be an example to other people.
That by acting and living in a certain way
other people would cop on and think, 'Well, that makes sense'.
But that's just met with a chorus of laughter mostly.
And you can't blame them.
Because I suppose it's freakish to most people.
They can't see the ethics behind it.
I am amazed that the world is still holding itself together.
For the last twenty years
I feel that I'm in a bus with all these other people
who are partying along, and the bus is heading towards a cliff.
We don't want to know that our lifestyle is destroying the planet
and our children's inheritance.
The North American Indians, they had a completely different view.
They would talk about the Seventh Generation.
What you do now, how is it going to affect
the generation seven times down the line.
Why can't we think like that?
Because we're a bit lazy,
we just do what everybody else does
and we don't question or think about things that much.
You need to examine who you are.
What are you doing with your life?
Are you benefitting other people?
Are you benefitting the planet?
Or are you just taking?
It can't be all in one direction.
There's got to be give and take.
I would always say, follow your passion.
Hopefully your passion is a good one.
It could be that your passion is making money.
And so do you encourage that person to follow that passion?
People have a job so that they can get lots of money
so that they can do nothing.
Do nothing? That's not much fun, is it?
Enjoying your work or your labours, enjoying it.
I'm actually incredibly lucky
to be living in the time I'm living now,
to give me the option and choice of freedom
to be able to express myself as I do.
I'm so lucky and wealthy,
but not in terms of dollars in the bank.
But I am my own boss.
Well, no, Lee-Ann's the boss.
I'm very lucky.
To all of you who have contributed,
for those of you who've shared our films,
for those of you who have written out comments,
this journey is just beginning.
And we've put a Patreon link below our films,
so if you'd like to continue to support us,
we'd love for you to donate below.
Thanks so much.