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Looking to chat with woodworkers and/or cabinetmakers.
Especially pros. I am a professional Cabinetmaker and would like to talk shop / business with others, hopefully without ego or attitude. There is so much of that in this biz because everyone is so competitive right now. Anyway, let's talk wood.
Yup, 35 yrs in finish work here. Running work now as my body is worthless for installing anymore. Having fun with my friends on a Nordstrom job.
I love to carve when my hands are not too cramped. I took years of classes to make carving knives, shaping blades and tempering. Mounting blades in exotic woods for handles. There are always more to learn. As my dad said when you quit learning you are close to dying.
adicted to woodworking here.wish i could make a living at it. i've tried many times but always had to go back to trimming houses to pay off my debts from trying.sometimes your love cannot pay the bills. i always win champion at the county fair and leave every craft show with a box full of compliments but no money. but i still do it out of the love. mostly Intarsia and wood carving
I love working with wood...I was making pepper mills by laminating layers of exotic woods and turning them...and selling them on the internet...Not that I was making a living at it but it was nice that someone was willing to pay me $150.00 for an eight inch pepper mill that I handmade..
I also have made yo-yo's and the old throw spinning tops..
On the tops I would get old pallets and plane the wood and laminate it then turn them..Makes for some interesting looking tops...
I was surprised that most kids did not even know what they were..LOL
I would just like to learn from those in the know.
It takes decades to learn and hours to forget.
It really is a bit like playing a guitar, you get a memory in your fingers and hands and let them do the work.
If you have any questions, ask them here I'll try to answer them if anyone else doesn't first.
A friend of mine teaches woodcarving classes at tool stores at this time of year. He teaches a one day class on carving Santa's. He is a retired college teacher who taught jewelry making, woodcarving, knife making and other classes.
I've been employed mostly by others for my career, and now ( of all times) am thinking about striking out on my own.
My initial observation is that there are not currently ( that I'm aware of , and by now I'm pretty knowledgeable of what's around) any shops in STL that target exclusively custom furniture ( not kitchens) , reproductions, consignments, etc. , for the "elite" and affluent , as well as the "yuppie" crowd. Plus, the midwest being the midwest, there are very few guys offering anything in the way of "green", sustainable, and reclaimed material for Fine furniture and woodwork. I make the distinction of 'Fine' because I believe there are plenty of guys making crafty stuff, but not actual furniture.
Right now , I'm finishing up a porch swing for a Doctor in an 'exclusive' neighborhood and am giving her much more than she is paying for. Not that I want to screw myself, but I told her $200 for the making the swing plus materials. After sinking my teeth into the project, I thought it could be a sort of display piece , as it is quite nice and can be seen from the street. I also have a veneer job to look at this week and am in touch with a very popular antique store here to offer repair work and possibly reproductions, if needed.
I really want to stick to cabinetry and furniture and am willing to do a bit of "anything and everything" within this arena. I guess to start, I want to establish a reputation.
I've been employed mostly by others for my career, and now ( of all times) am thinking about striking out on my own.
My initial observation is that there are not currently ( that I'm aware of , and by now I'm pretty knowledgeable of what's around) any shops in STL that target exclusively custom furniture ( not kitchens) , reproductions, consignments, etc. , for the "elite" and affluent , as well as the "yuppie" crowd. Plus, the midwest being the midwest, there are very few guys offering anything in the way of "green", sustainable, and reclaimed material for Fine furniture and woodwork. I make the distinction of 'Fine' because I believe there are plenty of guys making crafty stuff, but not actual furniture.
Right now , I'm finishing up a porch swing for a Doctor in an 'exclusive' neighborhood and am giving her much more than she is paying for. Not that I want to screw myself, but I told her $200 for the making the swing plus materials. After sinking my teeth into the project, I thought it could be a sort of display piece , as it is quite nice and can be seen from the street. I also have a veneer job to look at this week and am in touch with a very popular antique store here to offer repair work and possibly reproductions, if needed.
When you get your pricing in order, you could carve out a nitch for yourself (all pun intended.) The wealthy will pay. You need to market to them properly---and never make the same thing twice. They want one of a kind. I know a woman who designs and tylors one of a kind clothing for the wealthy women in my city---all through word of mouth. She always often sends them something extra separately. For instance, approximately a month after an outfit is delivered, she'll send something that goes with the outfit with a thank you card. They LOVE opening the gift box and finding a matching scarf or poncho. They feel like it's free! They'll get so excited that they'll immediately call her to thank her and they schedule an appointment for another design! It's very smart marketing because she's not really giving anything away for free since her prices are so over the top. She's just simply withholding an unknown portion of the outfit to mail later with a thank you note. Brilliant when you think about. They tell ALL of their friends.
I've been employed mostly by others for my career, and now ( of all times) am thinking about striking out on my own.
My initial observation is that there are not currently ( that I'm aware of , and by now I'm pretty knowledgeable of what's around) any shops in STL that target exclusively custom furniture ( not kitchens) , reproductions, consignments, etc. , for the "elite" and affluent , as well as the "yuppie" crowd. Plus, the midwest being the midwest, there are very few guys offering anything in the way of "green", sustainable, and reclaimed material for Fine furniture and woodwork. I make the distinction of 'Fine' because I believe there are plenty of guys making crafty stuff, but not actual furniture.
Right now , I'm finishing up a porch swing for a Doctor in an 'exclusive' neighborhood and am giving her much more than she is paying for. Not that I want to screw myself, but I told her $200 for the making the swing plus materials. After sinking my teeth into the project, I thought it could be a sort of display piece , as it is quite nice and can be seen from the street. I also have a veneer job to look at this week and am in touch with a very popular antique store here to offer repair work and possibly reproductions, if needed.
I really want to stick to cabinetry and furniture and am willing to do a bit of "anything and everything" within this arena. I guess to start, I want to establish a reputation.
Thoughts?
There was a guy not to far from me that made lawn furniture and he would sit it beside his house (he lived on a corner lot that was on a major thru street) with for sale signs... I don't if he made money at it or not...I'd just see it when I went by.. I don't go that way any more so I don't know if he still does it or not.
Something to think about is to find a sawmill close by and buy your wood from them if you can...
I made a cedar chest for my daughter and the cost of the cedar local (rough sawn) was a little over $3.00 a board foot. I bought the wood from a sawmill and paid $.90 a board foot for the same cedar.. It cost me about $40.00 to make the chest...had I bought wood local it would have cost me $120.00 for the same amount of wood.
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