Your Style Is the Moat: How Makers Build Work That Can’t Be Compared

Your Style Is the Moat: How Makers Build Work That Can’t Be Compared

From The Handcrafted Podcast: The Business of making things by Paul Mencel

May 25, 2026 · 14 min

About this episode

Paul reflects on his experience at the ICFF design show to explore the importance of personal style for makers.

Join Us Summary: In this episode, Paul reflects on attending the ICFF design show in New York and uses the experience as a jumping-off point to explore one of the hardest questions for makers: What is your personal style, and why does it matter? He discusses the tension between inspiration and imitation, custom work versus collections, and how developing a recognizable creative identity can become a competitive advantage. Drawing from his background in music, Paul compares furniture design to...

People in this episode

Host: Paul Mencel

Topics covered

  • personal style
  • makers
  • competitive advantage
  • inspiration
  • imitation
  • furniture design

Keywords

  • personal style
  • makers
  • ICFF
  • furniture design
  • creative identity
  • competitive advantage

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: ICFF

Places: New York

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