tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post7835332439934108534..comments2024-03-01T05:31:44.635-05:00Comments on The Village Carpenter: A Question for the Non-WoodworkersKari Hultmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01224053263659415329noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-90521119324585183612011-09-09T21:59:31.190-04:002011-09-09T21:59:31.190-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Hibikihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05957343926280713702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-80242090025060960992011-09-07T15:23:39.176-04:002011-09-07T15:23:39.176-04:00I am so grateful to see all of this. It is enligh...I am so grateful to see all of this. It is enlightening.<br />We make handcrafted furniture. And there is nothing more special than giving someone what they really wanted and thought they couldn't afford.<br />I know a person who actually believes that no one buys cedar chests any more and everyone they know shops at the ikea place. Yes their furniture will melt or just fall apart.<br />WeCeline Schomerhttp://sawbarnwoodshop.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-78378569083454837772011-08-28T13:56:03.364-04:002011-08-28T13:56:03.364-04:00A few thoughts from a very amateur woodworker.
Fir...A few thoughts from a very amateur woodworker.<br />First, you are never going to get people who buy junk to pony up the bucks for handcrafted, furniture. The leap is just too far.<br />Focus on what might get more people who buy the better made, though still mass produced, furniture to move up to craftsman made.<br />Second, most of us don't have that good of visualization skills. We need Burr Shawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-29337187295800836472011-08-23T08:47:17.964-04:002011-08-23T08:47:17.964-04:00I believe in "Form Wraps Function" so we...I believe in "Form Wraps Function" so we look for an application or a "need" to be addressed, then we make it pretty. To make a decision to invest on an item, brings a level of pain ... why do this the cheap way with throw away items and force ourselves to keep replacing these items? Partly of being green is not to fill up landfills. So my approach is to add ... make this itemRoberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12014199738733327393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-43365419222293179792011-08-22T19:56:56.273-04:002011-08-22T19:56:56.273-04:00Frederico, it would be great to have a group or or...Frederico, it would be great to have a group or organization pick up the ball and run with it. With backing, perhaps we could educate people through advertising and seminars. It would definitely be fun to be part of movement like that.Kari Hultmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01224053263659415329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-89634812855365432322011-08-22T11:26:36.712-04:002011-08-22T11:26:36.712-04:00About education... it would definitely help to be ...About education... it would definitely help to be able to give people a leaflet or two with "things to consider" when buying furniture. Something that explains why wood matters, why joinery is good, why keeping the money flow within your town is better than sending it overseas.<br /><br />If we had a set of flyers that we could print as we needed...<br /><br />We can certainly gather Federico Mena Quinterohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264284104376872936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-61664046304934528602011-08-21T11:28:04.355-04:002011-08-21T11:28:04.355-04:00Thank you for all the thoughtful comments and insi...Thank you for all the thoughtful comments and insights. Your ideas can really help someone who's trying to make a living at his/her craft, so feel free to share the thread with others (copy/paste, send a link, whatever works). I really think your ideas need to see more daylight.Kari Hultmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01224053263659415329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-78865661176831171462011-08-20T10:23:55.494-04:002011-08-20T10:23:55.494-04:00I found this quote on the Lie-Nielsen facebook pag...I found this quote on the Lie-Nielsen facebook page. It wasn't made by them but a "friend"<br /><br />"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a<br />little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who only consider the price are this man's lawful prey." - John Ruskin (1819-1900)<br /><br />I refuse to deal with that type person. I have Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-83468495921394750432011-08-20T06:40:47.060-04:002011-08-20T06:40:47.060-04:00A somewhat missing component to this discussion is...A somewhat missing component to this discussion is the "Shopping" drive present in so many people. Furniture shopping I'd guess is more (perceived) need than other forms, but still the trip to Ikea because of a "need" so often results in multiple acquisitions. <br /><br />In my pompous condition I tend to look down on shoppers, or the act but put me in a Lie-Nielsen tom buhlhttp://www.tombuhl.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-69892769864730933702011-08-19T20:01:18.464-04:002011-08-19T20:01:18.464-04:00"what would encourage you to consider hiring ..."what would encourage you to consider hiring a craftsperson who makes his own products rather than head to a discount furniture store? "<br /><br />My answer to the question is "design". You have a specific place, need or preference and you have the money to go to a craftsman whose work you like. Places like the Philadelphia Furniture Show showcase the woodworkers skill and Chod Langhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07206960212993351590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-2576419787652919882011-08-19T19:20:19.753-04:002011-08-19T19:20:19.753-04:00When I made the horse care tote on my blog for my ...When I made the horse care tote on my blog for my wife, she asked how much it would cost if any of the other horse owners at the barn wanted one. I just laughed. <br /><br />I said the cost would be way more than anyone would want to spend on such a plain functional item, when they could go to Wal-Mart and get a plastic tote for $5. Granted, that plastic tote wouldn't last generations or Steve Branamhttp://www.closegrain.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-89557625110489841222011-08-19T14:04:13.765-04:002011-08-19T14:04:13.765-04:00Cheap.
Sorry to break it to you - but someone can ...Cheap.<br />Sorry to break it to you - but someone can always make something superficially similar for less. It may not last nearly as long, but at the precise moment in time when the wallet comes out, their stuff will be cheaper.<br /><br />Easy to buy.<br />You can get cheap stuff from the shops - which is where you traditionally go to buy stuff.<br /><br />Values.<br />A lot of people like to Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14191262506975234138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-54801265999448206652011-08-19T14:00:29.001-04:002011-08-19T14:00:29.001-04:00The current wood craft movement has roots in the d...The current wood craft movement has roots in the do-it-yourself fad of the 1950s and the fine woodworking renaissance of the 1970s. The questions you’ve posed have existed for a long time.<br /><br />Generally, fine woodworkers don’t have showrooms, don’t mass market advertise and they don’t have shops near walk-in foot traffic. Often as not, woodworkers tend to have other woodworkers as willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15590217997145761582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-41973983061936138692011-08-19T12:20:36.449-04:002011-08-19T12:20:36.449-04:00Kari,
I've asked that same question for many ...Kari,<br /><br />I've asked that same question for many years and the only answer I came up with was to re-educate the client. I hated it when some one would walk in my shop and hand me a printout of a web page from a big box unfinished furniture company, “can you build this for less” they would ask. I'd say 'no' but I can design and build something a lot better then you can Donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18369966343689887450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-60885934188299989392011-08-19T07:37:33.418-04:002011-08-19T07:37:33.418-04:00After years of hearing "hey you do woodworkin...After years of hearing "hey you do woodworking can you fix...." I usually tell them that its cheaper & easier to just go buy new!<br /><br />At one time I was asked to quote a price for a piece of furniture that I was doing for free (giving my labor for free) & when I went through the numbers for lumber & finish I was told "hell I can go to "X" & get one Davehttp://creatingsawdust.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-37404509340281979392011-08-18T22:59:43.269-04:002011-08-18T22:59:43.269-04:00Kari, brilliant question, and one that I'm sur...Kari, brilliant question, and one that I'm sure more than just you and I and the others who have commented here have wondered. I shared your post on my facebook wall and am conducting a poll (Hey, I'm new to the whole social network deal, but it seems like a good non-woodworker forum to ask it) Hopefully, if there is a decent response, I'll post the results here, either in a commentMansfield Fine Furniture - Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02820965377802823749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-83842595126159962172011-08-18T21:07:40.974-04:002011-08-18T21:07:40.974-04:00Gidday, Kari.
Interesting to see such a response t...Gidday, Kari.<br />Interesting to see such a response to this post. It is territory which is very dear to my heart. <br /><br />Here in Australia we have a real problem with too much timber going into landfill. Not only is this a tragic waste of a wonderfully renewable and recyclable material, but it also does not bring honour to the trees which produced the timber originally. Importantly, it Greg Millerhttp://www.gregdmiller.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-67498102747373388702011-08-18T19:45:26.602-04:002011-08-18T19:45:26.602-04:00I pay our morgage by teaching at a department of m...I pay our morgage by teaching at a department of management sciences but look after my mental health by designing and building furniture in my home shop... in other words I have ask those very questions many times around. I always come to the conclusion that woodworkers (I've observed the same thing with potters) are terribly mislead about the marketing value of the "it will last for Mannihttp://www.crcbsl.org/membres/emmanuel_guy/?z&l=gnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-56902112403181691392011-08-18T18:16:52.250-04:002011-08-18T18:16:52.250-04:00While I'm at it, I have a question for some of...While I'm at it, I have a question for some of you. I understand the need/desire for man-made materials, plastic laminates, etc. You all know, the stuff that isn't wood, but is a picture of wood. It would cost just as much to take a picture of a nice piece of wood as a crappy one, wouldn't it? Why take a picture of wood with several finger-jointed laminations, when you can take a John Cashmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-23488805578130657142011-08-18T18:09:49.307-04:002011-08-18T18:09:49.307-04:00There is another level to this as well, and I thin...There is another level to this as well, and I think education is key there also. I know someone who could afford nice furniture, and went out and paid quite a bit of money for a couple of pieces. It was solid wood, with mostly good joinery -- a few pocket hole screws too many, but otherwise well made and solid. But although it was solid wood, a twenty-inch wide piece must have had a dozen narrow John Cashmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-18834279294017622011-08-18T10:45:31.617-04:002011-08-18T10:45:31.617-04:00Here's another thught for you,
My last employ...Here's another thught for you,<br /><br />My last employer o/o a 50 seat French restaurant. It was difficult to use the employee's john because it was crammed with Ikea chair parts! All 50 seats were Ikea softwood chairs. Every week the employer would cobble together a replacement chair from the broken ones, and every month he'd buy a few new chairs to replenish the broken ones. IAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-23393085436804423682011-08-18T10:32:46.871-04:002011-08-18T10:32:46.871-04:00I am a hobbyist woodworker, but I'll throw in ...I am a hobbyist woodworker, but I'll throw in my two cents.<br /><br />It seems as though it comes down to priorities. Custom made furniture is expensive, and money is "tight" for a lot of people. Now, why is money tight, and what are you willing to spend your money on? Most people wouldn't blink at spending $1000/year on cable TV, and what about the average size of homes today?Kevin Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03135959778834052632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-88405728917221443432011-08-18T10:16:11.708-04:002011-08-18T10:16:11.708-04:00I'll just add in that buying cheaply made furn...I'll just add in that buying cheaply made furniture often weighs less too. For people who do not own their own homes, the ease and convenience of being able to move themselves pays off in owning lighter furniture.<br /><br />Overall though I'd say money is the biggest factor.Catnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-53002421658555346092011-08-18T09:32:39.349-04:002011-08-18T09:32:39.349-04:00It's a matter of education. People don't ...It's a matter of education. People don't know what quality woodwork is so they go by looks and price. As a society, we've just become inured to buy it use it while it lasts, expect it to fail, throw it away. I don't think there IS any hope.Bubba Squirrelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16667020895257875999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8128369950831173916.post-58676362498327059442011-08-18T09:29:32.669-04:002011-08-18T09:29:32.669-04:00I am a professional furniture designer / maker - a...I am a professional furniture designer / maker - and of course want the highest-quality best-made stuff in my own house as well. Unfortunately I have 3 small kids who tear things up, and as they grow, they need new / different sized furniture. I could make everything (it would last the abuse) - but it would take me quite awhile and they'd be out-growing it. So, in the meantime my wife and Mortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10167317950868566497noreply@blogger.com