On Wed, 16 May 2007 16:46:10 -0400, (Arch) wrote:

Yesterday I went to the local Target store to buy some two cycle motor
oil. They don't sell it so I took a look at their imported wooden bowls.
The built up layered ring bowls with their straight sides and wide flat
bottoms were tacky and no competition at any price, but the large acacia
bowls got my attention. Some were over 12 X 7 with 1/4 in. walls that
sported smooth fair curves nicely fading into rounded bottoms. The
finish wasn't much to write home about, but at less than $20,00 for a
not bad, large acacia salad bowl do I hear footsteps?

That's the #1 reason I don't even *try* to sell turnings. I've had a
few offers on various peices, and people always want me to compete
with Walmart and Target. While it is easy to explain the vast
difference in quality between a hand jointed piece of furniture made
from real hardwood and a crappy particle-board IKEA style piece
whacked together with knockdown hardware to a potential customer, I
can't figure out a good reason why they *should* pay me what I'd like
to get for a turned item, other than I spent a lot of time on it and
could use the money. While it'd be nice if that was reason enough for
people to pay me, that's just not how it works!

So, stuff from the lathe remains gift material. There are a few
things that I will sell, but only on commission, and only if it's
something that isn't generally availible.

Maybe we should consider veering away from the simple workmanlike,
unadorned, maple work without that much to be avoided plastic shine, the
kind of salad bowl we turners favor, and consider adding more coves,
flourishes and glossy finishes. Perhaps we should employ a wider range
of beautiful timber even for the things we turn for use. This frou frou
is sure not my cuppa tea. I like a plain maple bowl, but then I don't
sell many. What's your take?

If you need to sell the stuff that comes off your lathe, you need to
cater to your target audience the same way you would with anything
else. In most cases, that's going to be people with money they can
afford to burn- an occasional look at some of the high-end home
decorating magazines, like American Bungalow and similar, should be a
good indication of what is currently popular. It's a sort of fickle
market, and a maple bowl with a coat of wax might be the big thing one
day, while a carved lacewood hollow form polished to a mirror-like
shine is the only thing anyone wants the next.