Its like photography. I used to do lots of photography and got really
good at it. I could look at a photo I took and see all the defects, all
the things I wished I could fix. I used to throw away grocery bags of
slides several times a year. I also looked at a lot of photos taken by
others.

As the artist/craftsman you tend to be more critical of your work. You
are also much more familiar with what is good and what is bad. The key
to being an artist is being self critical about your work and continuing
to try and improve. The key to being a salesman is not telling a buyer
what is wrong with it and selling it with a smile. If the buyer is
happy you have succeeded.

Every time I'm not 100% happy with the result (which is still more often
than not) I tell myself that wood is organic. It is not supposed to be
perfect. Scratches and nicks are part of the material. It shows that
it was hand made.

Ted wrote:
I used to photographs weddings and portraits. Own my own part time
studio for about 17 years. I found that lots of people liked my
photographs even though other places in town did better work. BUT lots
of places did really bad work. Every customer has there own comfort
zone when it comes to buying something they like. I've met some real
good photographers that had terrible personalities and couldn't work
with the public. Lots of people would rather buy from a nice guy they
can talk to and relate to even though the work is a little less than
perfect.

I've been turning for 3 years now. I am doing my first ever craft show
in about 3 weeks. I have sold a few bowls here and there but never
spent a whole day at it. I have looked at a lot of bowls over the past
few years. Lots of people can turn thinner and better than I can.
But...I when I saw some hand turned bowls in a fancy store the other
day I couldn't believe what I was looking at. The price tag was high
and the quality was low (very low). The stuff was crap. But people
were buying it. I new then that it was time to start selling instead
of giving the stuff away. Hope this helps.

Good Luck,
Ted