The Sustainability of Craftsmanship: MCL by Design

With global industry increasingly dominated by automation and technology, some still value and recognize the importance of sustainability of authentic craft.

The very nature of craftsmanship, in the face global industry and technological trends, gives cause for concern over its sustainability. The threats to the practice of skilled artisanal works, despite seeing a resurgence in popularity, in recent times, are still a plenty. Fortunately, some do endeavor to seek out and tread a more sustainable path for the future of craftsmanship.

The aspects for consideration in sustaining craftsmanship, for generations to come, include the likes of cultural, social, environmental and economic factors. At MCL Design, Founder, CEO and Designer, Matthew Campbell Laurenza is concerned with each. For him, cultural sustainability involves the preservation of local traditions, skills and practices in crafting his pieces, as well as integrating local influences in his designs.

Social sustainability is the responsibility to ensure skilled workers, whose hands grace his designs, are able to live and work in acceptable conditions for an enjoyable life. By ensuring a stable community of skilled workers, which involves MCL Design’s artisanal workers receiving a fair wage, the profession retains attraction for younger generations and skills continue to be passed on, and the legacy of the craft is not lost in the passage of time.

Furthermore, MCL Design as a company and Matthew Campbell Laurenza personally contribute annually to myriad charity events and organizations. Giving back is an essential and integral component of conducting business for Matthew, as part of his socially sustainable practices. MCL Design is passionate about charity partnerships for a variety of worthy causes.

Environmental sustainability concerns MCL’s commitment to more environmentally-friendly and mindful business practices, including ethical sourcing and repurposing of materials, as well as meticulous selection of business partners. By steering clear of the mass production and automation, Matthew’s handcrafting approach to design, as well as opting, where possible, for repurposing, recycling and reclaiming components, ensures lower environmental impact.

As regards economic sustainability, in order to ensure viability of the company, all elements must conspire together in a harmonious marriage of art, craft, skill and a collective conscience, in running the business successfully, to invest back into the people and materials, necessary for executing fine jewelry designs for the discerning consumer. MCL Design also works to foster healthy, respectful, long-term business partnerships with a likeminded network.

Choosing ‘slow’ craftsmanship over today’s ‘fast fashion’ is a calling for MCL Design. As a skilled craftsman by training himself, Matthew Campbell Laurenza fully appreciates the intensive man-hours, patience and precision, required by each of his craftsmen and -women for handmaking his designs, as do his clientele. Each piece, carved and sculpted by hand, bears the story of that craftsmanship, the legacy of tradition and a uniqueness, unrivalled by automation. His stance on the need for sustainability in craftsmanship is perfectly summed up in his three-worded mantra: ‘cherishable’ not perishable.