Greta de Parry Interview with Cosmopolitan and Wood Talk online mention.

[Vic]

John, that IS the goal if marketing. Creating a perceived added value. She is doing that and it's a good thing.

[G S Haydon]

Hey, anyone want to talk about making something  ? Anyone keeping tabs on flairwoodworks  chair in a tree ? Can't wait to see how that turns out.

[Joraft]

John, that IS the goal of marketing. Creating a perceived added value. She is doing that and it's a good thing.

 

I have no doubt that it's working good for her, but that brings us back to Marc's question, is her approach helpful to all women in woodworking?

 

Such an approach can also backfire.

 

Several years ago, there was a guy who set up a website selling his own online woodworking tutorials. I think he was doing pretty good until it became known that he was actually a newbie himself. He had bought bunch of video tutorials, watched them, and just repeated what he had seen.

 

The actual value of his tutorials didn't go down (they were pretty good), but the perceived value sure did. Interest in his site seemed to dry up over night. Apparently, a lot of people felt they had been duped.

[Joraft]

Hey, anyone want to talk about making something  ?

Wouldn't that be off topic for this thread?

 

[Vic]

Well, then he didn't do a very good job of marketing. As far as Greta, she's been working with some highly skilled people and I believe she does in fact have good chops. As far as whether her approach to marketing is good for bringing in women to woodworking, I don't care so much. I love that more and more women are involved, but I'm not one if those that worries that good quality work will sooner or later go by the wayside. There will always be people who see value in quality. I'm in this to create and making money will be an added benefit.

[Vic]

Hey, anyone want to talk about making something ? Anyone keeping tabs on flairwoodworks chair in a tree ? Can't wait to see how that turns out.

Chris is a very talented guy. I love talking design with him.

[Joraft]

Chris is a very talented guy. I love talking design with him.

He's fun to hang out with too.

[Joraft]

 

... I'm in this to create and making money will be an added benefit.

I'll never make money with woodworking. At least I hope I never do.

In the past, I took the fun out of a couple of good hobbies by turning them into businesses.

[Vic]

I'll never make money with woodworking. At least I hope I never do. In the past, I took the fun out of a couple of good hobbies by turning them into businesses.

I've enjoyed every job I've had. But, I'm one that believes, "If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right."

[krtwood]

 

 

Okay, I think we may be able to agree on something.

From what I've seen of Greta's work, the design and structure tends to be pretty simple, and there's not much chance to show off advanced woodworking skills (and not much need for them).

 

 

What's wrong with that?  The success or failure of a project is based on whether the design intent was acheived and the quality is there, not whether the person has made the project as complicated as it possibly could be.  In fact I would argue that what makes someone a good artist is knowing when to use what.  A great singer doesn't have to constantly be using their entire range just to prove they have it.  I don't watch American Idol in large part because you've got a bunch of people trying to prove what good singers they are rather than performing songs.  A good woodworker knows how to make a project come together and doesn't feel the need to prove anything.

 

Let me give an example of one of my pieces:

 

https://www.etsy.com/transaction/74199608

 

It's basically just a box hung between two slabs on rails.  How are those rails joined to the slabs?  Pocket screws.  The sort of Greene & Greene inspired angled bits on the rails are actually covers for the pocket holes.  Does the fact that I didn't use mortise and tenons there make me less of a woodworker?  If you think so, I don't really care.  The pocket screws are plenty strong for the application.  I shipped it via UPS from new england to alaska and it didn't break, that's as bad of a test as it's every likely to get.  I would much rather do it the faster way and sell the piece for less than spend a whole lot of time laying out for mortises.  Someone else might get a great deal of satisfaction from doing it that way, and I can understand that.  But I think figuring out how to do it an easier way so I can move on to the next thing is just as valid.  I think it's just as valid to be considering how to make the piece more affordable without compromising the quality as it is to be designing it to be the best it could possibly be.  I guess the problem arises when someone has designed the piece to be simple to make but they are setting pricing as if it were not.

 

But I'll say again, that miter tooth bench of hers shows some skill, unless you think she cheated and just cut it across and then glued a piece of the offcut back in.