Ugh.

[JosephThomas]

4 hours ago, Llama said:

 I'm not against live edge... I'm against leaving bark on furniture unless you are in a cabin or you are in fact a bear. (the type that lives in the woods)... 

 

What about a llama?

[drzaius]

Live edge can be good, bark never. George Nakashima  was brilliant with it. Urban Hardwoods has also done some really nice live edge stuff.

[Llama]

8 hours ago, JosephThomas said:

What about a llama?

Llamas don't live in the woods silly. 

6 hours ago, drzaius said:

 Urban Hardwoods has also done some

Looks alright... I wish I could charge those prices though! 

[JosephThomas]

Looks alright... I wish I could charge those prices though! 

You can. You'll sell one piece every few years but you can, lol

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Eric.]

I'd rather sell half as many at twice the price and do half the work.  People who churn out bargain-priced stuff are just working themselves to death.  No thanks.

[Llama]

34 minutes ago, Eric. said:

No thanks.

Agreed! That's no way to live! People that do that are better off flipping burgers are some chain restaurant. Way I look at it, I'd rather make three pieces for a gajillion dorrah, than make a gazillion pieces for three dorrah per. 

[BonPacific]

4 hours ago, Llama said:

Looks alright... I wish I could charge those prices though! 

Meh, never really liked their stuff... Or maybe its just prejudice against any company with a "Our Story" link on their website.

I like live edge pieces, but it requires very specific character, not to much, and not too little. I don't like when its paired with black iron legs though. Overdone and just too easy.

[Isaac]

45 minutes ago, BonPacific said:

Meh, never really liked their stuff... Or maybe its just prejudice against any company with a "Our Story" link on their website.

I like live edge pieces, but it requires very specific character, not to much, and not too little. I don't like when its paired with black iron legs though. Overdone and just too easy.

I think the idea of the black iron legs is to not distract from the beautiful slab you are displaying. I can actually agree to that sort of logic, if you've got a really nicely chosen slab.

Now, when it comes to price, how much would I pay for that slab with a couple butterflies and some legs attached with screws? Probably not that much, considering the effort it would take for me or another person to duplicate the result. So I think it can look nice and still be a rather inexpensive piece.

[JosephThomas]

2 hours ago, Llama said:

Agreed! That's no way to live! People that do that are better off flipping burgers are some chain restaurant. Way I look at it, I'd rather make three pieces for a gajillion dorrah, than make a gazillion pieces for three dorrah per. 

I was just joking about how much less sales work you could do...of course it's a better life. People only do the bargain thing because they A) can't make things that nice and B ) would still have a lot of trouble selling them if they did. 

[RichardA]

I would pay board foot price for the piece, toss the legs, and go get a beer!

[Llama]

2 hours ago, JosephThomas said:

People only do the bargain thing because they A) can't make things that nice and B ) would still have a lot of trouble selling them if they did. 

C. They undervalue their work. Which EFFs all of us.

[krtwood]

4 hours ago, Llama said:

Agreed! That's no way to live! People that do that are better off flipping burgers are some chain restaurant. Way I look at it, I'd rather make three pieces for a gajillion dorrah, than make a gazillion pieces for three dorrah per. 

I do a mix of production work and things I find interesting.  I don't give the stuff away though, there's a decent margin on it.  The production work gives me a base income so I don't have to worry as much about how profitable the rest of what I do is.  If I wasn't doing the production work I wouldn't have the tools that I use to do the fun stuff.  Or be able to have a piece sit on a shelf for five years until the right person comes along.  Or be able to tell someone who lowballs me on said piece where he can stick his offer.  On the other hand my other hand is just getting over my knuckle swelling up like a grape from all the crap I was doing.  And my other other hand is sore from opening and closing spring clamps for two days straight.  So it's about having a balance between the two for me, and hopefully the older I get the more the balance swings away from the production work.  

[Llama]

5 minutes ago, krtwood said:

Or be able to have a piece sit on a shelf for five years until the right person comes along.  

My current business model is I only do custom work. I refuse to "stock a shelf" with anything that I have decent money in. For instance, I don't mind making 40 reindeer and selling 20 now, 5 later blah blah... But, for a large piece it will be made for a specific paying client.

I have the luxury to pretty much do what I want... I certainly understand the other side of it, and I'd have a real job if that were the case. I could never do this full time if my circumstances were even slightly different. I can also refuse a commission if it's something I either don't want to make, or the margin is slim. I also refuse to haggle with a client. I give a fair quote upfront, they can take it or leave it.

I'd like to keep this model up... I'd really hate to have to take on a real job!

[mat60]

Ya    I need to get a real job and have fun in the shop again.