Autodesk believes that the future of making involves three fundamental changes:
- Products themselves will be smarter with enablements via the internet of things.
- Processes will move towards automation via robots and greater efficiency via techniques like additive manufacturing.
- Consumer demand will shift toward bespoke creations instead of generic off-the-shelf products.
With this in mind, I ordered a custom-made shirt from https://originalstitch.com/ - Original Stitch and have been chronicling my experience.
- http://labs.blogs.com/its_alive_in_the_lab/2016/10/the-process-of-purchasing-customized-creations.html - The Process of Purchasing Personalized Creations
- http://labs.blogs.com/its_alive_in_the_lab/2016/11/original-stitch-zero-for-two.html - My Original Stitch Experience: Unfortunately Zero for Two
This brings up the question of what should the return policy be for bespoke creations.
For traditional items that are all alike, an unwanted item is returned to the manufacturer. The manufacturer can then verify that the item is in good condition or restore it and sell it to another customer. For a bespoke creation, that is not possible since each product is a one-of-a-kind creation. In the case of Original Stitch, the company does not have the customer return the shirt. They suggest that it be donated to charity. I like that.
I have been exchanging emails with Glenn Foster of Original Stitch. Recall that my first attempt failed because I used a construction tape measure instead of a cloth tape measure to capture the data. Original Stitch offers customers one mulligan. I supplied new measurements and got a second shirt.
There are two problems with the second shirt:
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My sleeves are too short.
Glenn's retort was that the shirt was made correctly and that I should consult their sizing guide.
https://originalstitch.com/sizing-guide - https://originalstitch.com/sizing-guide
Quite honestly, I had not seen this page. Had I watched the videos on this page before reordering, this story might have had a happy ending?
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My sleeves are of different lengths.
Regardless of my incorrect measuring technique, the 34" number that I supplied for each sleeve was the same. I can't see any way that the customer part of the process could result in a shirt like the one I have.
Glenn did offer to allow me to buy another shirt at half price, but I am reluctant to pour more money into this process. I fear AAUGA has summed it up correctly.