1 hour ago, Grandpadave52 said:

but the consumer is the one who has changed.

They have Gramps, but I'm telling you guys, the ones who appreciate great work, and hand work, are out there, there are plenty of consumers who appreciate our work, you just have to build it, and find them. If you are only building and not getting out and mingling, you'll never find them.

If you are building, and going out on the town and mingling at the shows, the gallery, the music fests, and plugging in, you will find where the niche is, and you'll get connected. But you gotta leave your home, and you gotta be in tune with the culture of independent work, independent music, independent art, ya gotta be plugged in, if your not, if your only on the internet with a website store, if your a grouchy angry ol bird (not you Gramps!) who doesn't like people, you'll never make it.

I'm telling ya guys, they are out there, and they want your work!

7 hours ago, John Morris said:

 

If you are building, and going out on the town and mingling at the shows, the gallery, the music fests, and plugging in, you will find where the niche is, and you'll get connected. But you gotta leave your home, and you gotta be in tune with the culture of independent work,

Or, relax. Enjoy life. And, make stuff for the fun of it. 

38 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

Or, relax. Enjoy life. And, make stuff for the fun of it. 

That too! Whatever floats your boat!

Some people need cheap throw away furniture.  Some of the furniture that comes to the Restore looks as though it has spent five years at a frat house.

25 minutes ago, HandyDan said:

Some people need cheap throw away furniture.  Some of the furniture that comes to the Restore looks as though it has spent five years at a frat house.

If it wasn't for cheap throw away furniture, my wife and I would have nothing to sit on when we got our very first studio together. It definitely has its place! We can be snobs sometimes for sure. There are many folks who could never afford great furnishings.

10 hours ago, John Morris said:

 if your a grouchy angry ol bird (not you Gramps!) who doesn't like people, you'll never make it.

 

Another reason for me to stay out of it........

17 minutes ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said:

Another reason for me to stay out of it........

Ditto.

11 hours ago, John Morris said:

They have Gramps, but I'm telling you guys, the ones who appreciate great work, and hand work, are out there, there are plenty of consumers who appreciate our work, you just have to build it, and find them. If you are only building and not getting out and mingling, you'll never find them.

If you are building, and going out on the town and mingling at the shows, the gallery, the music fests, and plugging in, you will find where the niche is, and you'll get connected. But you gotta leave your home, and you gotta be in tune with the culture of independent work, independent music, independent art, ya gotta be plugged in, if your not, if your only on the internet with a website store, if your a grouchy angry ol bird (not you Gramps!) who doesn't like people, you'll never make it.

I'm telling ya guys, they are out there, and they want your work!

 

mingle?   ewwww......

 

i'm not looking to start a profit making business with all the attendant hassles.  so trying to find customers for a business that does not exist is pointless to my purposes.

 

now....if some rich guy or gal (women have money these days!) found me through some word of mouth (think 6 degrees of Bacon idea), and contacted me with a request for something special, i'd hear her out, get an idea of the scope of the project, and if it involved enough $$$$, then maybe i'd start up a business.

 

but otherwise, pass.

Working mostly on newer furniture, I have come to believe that average life now is about 7 years.  Either it's junk and will look terrible or for the high end stuff, they redecorate because they are tired of it.  I think when my father died in his late 80s, two years after my mother, he still had most of the furniture that they got shortly after being married.

 

 

Looking for a new car, it's funny that the new ones last much longer than the ones I grew up with.   It was rare for a car to see 100K miles and you needed a tune up and plugs and distributor work every year, oil changes every 3mo or 3,000 miles, mufflers every few years.   And they'd start rusting in about 5 years. 

 

Cars lasting  much longer; furniture lasting much less.

Edited August 24, 20178 yr by kmealy

we watch these "home" shows, and we are constantly amazed at people.  "oh, we'll have to rip out the kitchen/bath/fireplace..... before we move in.  and the pictures show a perfectly functional space.  maybe not the colors that you like, maybe older materials and styles, but I assure you, you could make some good Mac and Cheese on night 1 and not starve. (you are too broke for fancier food).

 

they tear out good cabinets, good appliances and get new just because.  and worse, they don't try to save the old stuff and donate it to someone who could use it.  we put old kitchen cabinets in the garage, work great for holding stuffs.

 

but they don't want to spend serious money on handcrafted furniture that they may grow tired of in a few years.  so just head to Ikea, it's only designed to last 6 years, and it's priced that way too.  mostly dust and glue.

 

sad.

 

but then they have no money leftover for anything else that is important.

Two things that used to amaze me about the HGTV type shows (but in a few episodes, I've come to expect them).

1. Everything gets smashed out -- sledge hammer and Sawzall.  Only to find "surprise!"   a hidden serious defect that needs to be fixed.  Those "house flippers" that are 9 months and triple budget over what they thought was  4 week flip and sell for a giant profit.  Lambs, meet the butcher.

 

2. If it's done by the homeowner, maybe with the help of some professional working in a tent in the driveway, they never show close ups of the handy-work.  For example that "chalk paint" on a vintage dresser, built-in bookcase from MDF, etc.

 

 

They did one of those "build a home in a week" shows near here a couple of years ago.   Yes, it got erected in a week, but there was lots of planning, lots of pre-fab components and 24x7 work that went on.  Having worked on Home-a-rama in the final week, you can't move your work area or you'll find a plumber, or an electrician, or a painter set up where you were half-through your job.

 

 

1 hour ago, DAB said:

 

they tear out good cabinets, good appliances and get new just because.  and worse, they don't try to save the old stuff and donate it to someone who could use it.  we put old kitchen cabinets in the garage, work great for holding stuffs.

 

They will put new cabinets in the garage.  It is on the to do list. 

the point being, it's the same mindset that's being sold.  'we have a new style!', ergo, all old must go!

 

and what is wrong with what you have presently?  nothing, it's just not new.

 

throw away society.  furniture, houses, even people.  sad.

 

 

9 minutes ago, DAB said:

even people.

The innocent, we should protect the innocent. Woops, slippin into politics and morality, see what you did now @DAB!

nothing wrong with morality, if you have it right.

 

37 minutes ago, John Morris said:

The innocent, we should protect the innocent.

 

Just change the names, right?   

I would suggest anyone who wants to start their own business to first work for a business. I had my cabinet shop two years and profitable till the economic crash.

You got to find out what the people want.

You got to find out what whats easy to make.

You got to find out what whats cheap to make.

You got to find out what you enjoy doing.

I found my market...

 

 

 

In almost all cases it is NOT mass produced. Custom one of a kind pieces are not cheap too make. Plain and simple.