The Here and Now

Jeez, it's been awhile. The only good place to be is right here and now, so I will just pick it up and continue. Right now it is summer vacation. The weather is nice, the kids are home, and we have been very busy as a family. It is not easy to get work done right now. I am trying to give myself obtainable goals each week to stay afloat. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I do not. In the end it is better to try than to just give up though.
Current projects include a shoe bench for a local client, a pair of end tables to match the cherry cocktail table that I finished last fall, a storage bench for hats and mittens for my good friend, a walnut bench that I was working on just for fun, and possibly a bar table if I choose to accept the challenge. I have many things to be grateful for.
My most exciting news is that my work is being shown at Frank Allen Gallery in Brown Deer. They are currently showing the cherry cocktail table. A good friend of mine encouraged me to meet with Frank, and even put in some good words for me. He said "you have a gift and you need to share it". I never really thought about it that way. I figured I was given a talent and I had to use it, but now I see it his way. Share your gifts, inspire others to use their talents. Keep it all rolling along.

Take a Detour, Even if it Takes a Couple Weeks!

Once upon a time, I knew someone that we will just call...Hank. Hank was very particular about his craft. He always did things a certain way, and stuck to the same theme over and over. Let's just say, when you saw his work, there was no mistaking it for someone else's. He sold quite a bit of work and I always looked up to him. I figured Hank was doing things right, and so I tried to follow his lead. I gave myself a set of rules to follow. Do this, but dont do that. Use this, but never that. After a few years, i was burnt out, bored, and miserable. What works for some just doesnt work for everyone...and that's okay. That doen't make me any less professional.
Turns out, there is a lot to learn from all that extra stuff. If I was always making hamburgers, how would I ever learn to make my grandmother's chocolate e'claires? Having new creative experiences fuels me. I have recently taken a vacation from furniture design. On my vacation, i knit a baby hat and a beautiful woman's scarf. I made a bunch of buttons and several pairs of wooden earrings. It is now time for me to get back to my "real job" and start working on a new commission. And I am going into it with more knowledge and a freshness that can't be gained anywhere else. Plus, I have a great idea for a three legged table AND a new piece of artwork. Diversions are the doorway to great things.

Baguette Board, Week 1

I spent the first couple weeks of the new year doing bookwork, really investigating where the expenses were and where we were profitable. My goal was to enter the new year more educated, with a better understanding of what products to focus on, and what expenses to avoid. That being said, 2010 was not our most profitable year, but we made some purchases that have proven to be well worth the expense.

This year, I have dubbed Mondays as "Media Mondays". I will post photos of the previous week's progress, keeping my followers updated more often with what is happening in the workshop. Hopefully, as people check out our website, they will click the blogger link and read about our most current project. So let's get started!

Last week, I began working on a baguette board. I was inspired by a cutting board that I saw in the gift shop at the Museum of Arts & Design in New York City. It was longer than your average cutting board, but narrow. I designed mine extra long, at 36", 8" wide, and about 1 3/8" thick. The ends will have a slight curve to soften the look a bit. There never seems to be enough length on a regular cutting board when making garlic bread. This new board will take care of that!

The photos show the progression from where I started through glue up. Some of the boards in this project were pulled off an old piano that was left in our house when we bought it. Using reclaimed wood might be a recurring theme this year as I attempt to cut back on lumber expenses. On the bottom of the cutting board, there are a few nail holes from the old piano that I think add character to the piece.

Questions and Answers...at Least Temporarily

I accomplished my goal for the coffee table last week, which was to get all the tenons cut. I thought that this week I would set out to mortise the tops of the legs to hold the skirt, but that's not going to happen. My kids are out of school for spring break...I won't be getting anything done this week!

I have been thinking a great deal about moving my workshop out of the house and into either a barn (which would require moving) or renting space somewhere. In the past, I have rented space, which has its pros and cons...cost being the major drawback. But it was nice to interact with people! It is definitely quiet here at home. But if I got the tools out of the basement, the kids would have a rec room and the house might not feel so cramped. Also, the thought of bringing clients through my laundry room to get to the workshop is horrifying!

Let's talk about the ideal workshop. Ideally, it would be a shared workshop where the rent would be split and the tools shared mostly. The space would be decent enough to house all the tools and at least a couple workbenches. There could be a small room for finishing, and windows for ventilation. Other than that, what else do you need? A bathroom I suppose and a microwave. I know whose studio I am describing... but even he works at home now. Such a shame. He would have made a great studio mate!

The benefits to having the tools at home, are that when the kids go to bed, I can always run downstairs and glue something up, heat is free, rent is free, and if something needs to be fixed at the house I don't have to run across town to get my drill. That pretty much sums it up. But no one can actually see the work, unless I enter a show. I should probably leave my cave more often so I can find out where the juried shows are!

I think I may have just solved my own dilemma. I need to get out and find some more shows and get myself out there. The one thing I hate, and it's embarrassing to admit this because I owned a gallery once, is that if you show your work in a gallery, you have to price it through the roof to make it on your end. Does that make sense? If a gallery takes 35%, your cute end table just went from $175 to $275. Basically, it went from affordable to iffy. So that leaves me feeling like, instead of showing in a gallery, I would rather pay for a booth and do a show somewhere. But that means building inventory. That is exactly what I am trying to do now...but it is so hard to fight the urge to get a couple pieces out there.

I need to wrap this up. Basically, what we have figured out is to keep the studio at home, and keep building inventory for shows. Stay out of the galleries to keep the prices down. We can always rent space someday when we are famous! Ha!