| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Bodrighy |
Apologetic toutingThrough necessity as much as anything else I recently went self employed. The downside is that my hobby that paid for itself now also has to put bread on the table and I have found that making wooden rolls doesn't count so I have been scouting for ideas
I have found that one area for possible growth is making crafting supplies. I didn't realise just how many things used in crafting are round. One idea I thought I'd float is that of a bobbin and thread storage holder. Something like this. It could be made to hold any number of spools and apparently there are 2 different sized spool so that can be accomodated as well. If there is anything else that anyone would like me to consider please ask. I apologise for the 'touting' but I am much better at turning than selling so am on a much steeper learning curve. Pete |
||||
| marigold |
Touting lesson: leave the apologising out  .
Spool holder sounds like a good idea. Could you make a children's stacking toy of different types of wood? Kids stuff usually sells well. Not sure about H&S issues for toys though - you probably need 17 different certificates to prove that the item won't harm a toddler in any way. Maybe make a stack of decreasing rounds with a pointy thing on top and call it a Christmas decoration instead... I can visualise it better than I'm describing it! |
||||
| Brownbear |
Those things can be turned out on CNC machines on the Far East for coppers. Don't even try to compete with them as you will lose every time, spending hours making something that they can do in minutes or even seconds. You need to find something that has to be done by hand, and that means it has to be something that people are willing to pay good cash for.
Do what you do best and let them do what they do best. Of the top of my head, have you tried candlesticks? I used to have a pair with sort of barley-twist stems, in oak, that I would love to have back again. |
||||
| Bodrighy |
I agree with what you are saying but it's difficult to find anything that isn't at the moment. The idea is to have things done on a more personal level. With this particular item you may be right though so far I have only seen them for sale at a price that is higher than I could do them for and they were suggested to me by a professional seamstress. I could do them any size etc which may or may not be a selling point but at this stage I would do them, and anything else like this to order so wouldn't be wasting time and materials etc making things that don't sell. My usual method is that I would do one to guage cost in time etc and then float them at a price as a commissioned thing. Candlesticks with a barley twist tend to be time consuming and so more expensive if done by hand. Yes I could do them but haven't as it is something that would be popular only to people like yourself. With the time involved you would be talking at least £40 for a pair depending on size. pete |
||||
| Lorrainelovesplants |
Turn napkin rings & winglasses/tumblers and get a router and etch in things like 'ruby wedding' or happy retirement' etc. Very personal, and good gifts for folk with no idea what to get for folk. | ||||
| Treacodactyl |
Do you make much of the source of your wood? Something that would set you apart from imported stock could be local wood. Could you even offer to turn pieces of wood that people have into something? | ||||
| Penny |
That would be cheap 
|
||||
| earthyvirgo |
Garden implements possibly.
I went on a 'woodland course' a few years back and turned a (not very elegant) dibber. Again, I guess this might fall in the realms of BB's items that could be made en-mass very cheaply. If you could work with a blacksmith, custom forged garden tools (gorgeous forks and such like) with beautiful wooden handles might be an idea ... verging on art, but useable art? EV |
||||
| Brownbear |
Ah - you won't sell them to upmarket types for that. If you were selling them for £350 a pair and making them out of some gorgeous, highly patterned timber, you would get a lot more interest. Seriously. The sort of people who spend £40 on candlesticks would rather buy more cheaper ones. The sort of people with money to chuck around would think that at £40, they must be rubbish. As a highly skilled turner, you need to put your stuff in galleries rather than shops. |
||||
| earthyvirgo |
Completely agree BB, see my post above. We have a female blacksmith in North Wales who's made an excellent business out of 'arty' doorware. I refrain from making any comments about her knockers ... ohh, there, I have 
She's been commissioned several times by the Welsh Assembly to make stuff for their building in Cardiff Bay. very talented lady and excellent at the marketing game too. EV |
||||
| Chez |
I agree - try to think about what you do being 'art' (because it IS!) rather than 'stuff'. People will pay a lot more for original artwork.
Have you scouted local galleries? |
||||
| Lorrainelovesplants |
EV - does your lady blacksmith have a name? or a website? | ||||
| earthyvirgo |
Ann Catrin Evans. She's based at Glynllifon, just outside Caernarfon. Just had a quick Google and her name comes up multiple times. The URL which is shown on the Maker's Guild website and elsewhere is incorrect. A lot of the info about her is terribly out of date unfortunately. EV |
||||
| Bodrighy |
You are raising an interesting point. My personal preference would be to focus on the more arty or stylised things but perhaps I am being to negative. I charge according to how long something would take to make + materials etc. Selling via galleries is really hard as many see anything wooden as craft and that that is somehow 2nd class and not art. On top they add anything up to 50% +VAT. I try not to underprice as that is bad for other turners as well but maybe I go too far. Lot of food for thought here.
A pro once told me " turning wood is the easy part, the hard part is selling it" and he is right. 
BB's comments are correct re Chaiwanese imports, I have to make sure my work looks and feels quality and hand made and, as Steve mentioned, I do try and push the local wood, personally sourced angle. The only exotics I use are from other peoples offcuts and old recycled furniture etc. Might be worth bumping up prices on the more 'arty' work and seeing how it goes. Thanks for all the input. It's invaluable and welcome Pete |
||||
| Brownbear |
If you want to sell to that arty market, you need to give your web site a going-over. Lots of white space and less bockground in the pictures.
Putting things in galleries at around the £250 mark is a lot cheaper than the canvases that go for about £500+, and as in most exhibitions the stuff is on the walls, the organisers are often glad to have something that can go on tables in the centre of the rooms. If your stuff is good enough, then get the best price you can. Have confidence in the quality of the products. And if people like some of your little bits for £50 but can't afford the bigger stuff, they might get it made by another turner, so you are increasing demand anyway. |
||||
| sean |
A lot of galleries will let people pay in installments. There's an Arts Council scheme, or in the case of The Plough in Torrington we just administer it ourselves. | ||||
| Bodrighy |
That's been on my to do list for weeks. I really need to get down and sort it I know. I also need to redo a lot of the photos. Getting serious involves a lot more than you think at first doesn't it. Confidence in my work is not something I am that good about either so yet something lse to work on Pete |
||||
| Cathryn |
What about door handles or curtain finials? Bespoke door handles on your new home would be great! | ||||
| jema |
Basic economics.
If your costs are £10 and you sell at £40, then you need to sell 10 items to make £300. If you place yourself upmarket and sell at £110, then you need to sell 3 items. If your costs are more, then the logic is even more telling. e.g. costs are £20 then selling at £40 takes 15 sales, selling at £110 takes 4 sales. costs are £25 then it is 20 sales at £40, and still only 4 sales at £110. Remember marketing is a cost, so even on a craft item you might find costs are even higher than I say. |
||||
| colour it green |
i agree with other comments here - push the local materials thing. each item description should come with 'wood providence' (i just made that up.. im so proud ..)
you know wax on about recyled wood, locally sustainably etc etc people will be willing to pay more knowing the environmental impact is less. |
||||
| earthyvirgo |
Yup, we have the same in Wales run by the Welsh Arts Council, Collectorplan. It really does encourage 'normal' people to purchase artwork that they couldn't normally afford. Anything over £50 I believe. EV |
||||
| earthyvirgo |
Well Pete, I'm sure there are plenty of us on here who would vouch for the elegance and craftsmanship of your work if you had a "What my Customers say ..." bit on the website. EV |
||||
| BethinPA |
I think Colour it Green means "wood provenance," and it's an excellent idea!
Would you do something as large as a dining room table, from reclaimed wood, with custom-turned legs? They fetch a pretty good price around here (USA, I know, not your market, but still). This may be too simple for you, but I would pay serious jing for a gorgeous and large wooden carving board. The carving boards I've seen around here are pathetically small, couldn't handle a normal-sized roast, let alone a huge Thanksgiving turkey. I have a cheap-o one, but it's developed cracks, so the meat juices end up on the countertop where I'm carving, instead of neatly collecting in the ridges on the board. Oh, and I would LOVE customized newel posts for my front stairs! And I second Cathryn on the finials, and add bedknobs. Best of luck! Truly, the items you've posted pix of are beautiful! Beth |
||||
| Rosemary Judy |
I have some wooden candle sticks I probably paid about £40.00 for a good many years ago now.
I have parents who don't know what to do with their money and give me a very generous amount each birthday and Christmas. I love my candlesticks - they are so tactile and graceful and I would buy them for gifts...... I agree you need to move upmarket a bit - your stuff is art as well as useful and gorgeous. |
||||
| Bodrighy |
I don't know what to say (and knowing me will now say too much )
I started this thread not expecting all these ideas and compliments at all. Whether any of you meant it it has boosted my confidence and made me realise that I need to see my work in a different light. Hopefully I will be getting a larger lathe in the next few weeks and then I will be able to do larger things (not as big as a round table mind) but certainly up to about 24" dia. so the carving board is possible in the future. I will definitely get my act together on the web site and totaly revamp that (thanks for the kick BB) and review my prices. Someone else told me befiore that I was undercharging for some things, perhaps I need to take note. Ironically my landlady saw me today and asked me to fix her scutching machine. I didn't have a clue what she was on about so went over to have a look at it. It's a hand made machine ashe has for thresshing flax and it's rotted in places. Fixable though so that's something else to do. It'll be nice to be busy again. Thanks again all of you, I really appreciate everything that has been said Pete |
||||
| jenn |
childrens toys are not a good idea as there are so many rules and regs that you get tied up in knots thats why my oh stopped making them years ago,
jenn |
||||
| Chez |
Of COURSE we jolly well mean it! And I agree about the testimonials thing - it's good to have a few. |
||||
| colour it green |
knickers.. there goes my rep for being a good spellerer |
||||
| Cathryn |
I looked up providence prudent management of resources as I wondered. It would work, especially for those who think you have made a mistake.
|
||||
| colour it green |
ok lets go for provident provenance
|
||||
| toggle |
most craftspeople who make children's toys label them as 'decorative only'. then it's the parent's lookout if the kid chokes themselves. |
||||
| toggle |
made by pete, wood from toggle's garden.......
|
||||
| earthyvirgo |
I still wouldn't risk it. When terrible 'accidents' happen, some parents look for someone to blame whatever the small print says. It's just a sad sign of the times I'm afraid. We've seen it happen up here when a toddler fell down some steps and tragically died in hospital (nothing to do with the fall) and the headmaster of the school where it happened went through hell. EV |
||||
| Bodrighy |
The only toys that I do at present are the tops and the wands. I don't sell them as for children. I do make sure that the finishes are safe however and I always stress with anything I make what the finish and the wood is as some can be dodgy. Please don't use a yew bowl for stews or soups however pretty it may be. Or walnut, iroko, laburnum, spalted beech (ordinairy beech is ideal).
Rhododendron and apple (from someone's garden) are still in the drying out stage. I tried a piece of the rhododendron and got soaked it was that wet inside. so it will be a while before they are on the market
Pete |
||||
| Bodrighy |
Stuttered so edited
Pete 
|
||||
| Angel |
On the tiny scale.....
Chopsticks, Hair sticks and Pinch pots for salt and pepper. I second the large chopping board idea, the shop bought ones crack atrociously. |
||||
| toggle |
what about shawl pins? |