Overview
Common Goods wanted customers to understand why a handmade bag costs what it costs. We spent a week inside their workshop and came back with a film about hands — cutting, stitching, burnishing — and the patience each step demands.
The challenge
A working shop cannot stop for cameras. We shot around production, rigged lights to the ceiling so floors stayed clear, and recorded interviews in the fifteen-minute gaps between operations.
Approach
Observational first, interviews second. Mornings were pure documentation; afternoons were conversations recorded at the bench, tools still in hand. Nothing was staged that the makers would not actually do.
Outcome
The film plays on loop in all six Common Goods stores and accompanies every online order confirmation. Returns for craftsmanship reasons fell to nearly zero.
- Workshop documentary (8 min)
- Maker portrait series
- In-store loop and web edits
- Process stills archive
“Our customers finally see what our hands have always known.”
Priya Raman — Co-founder, Common Goods Co.