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Wordy musing about errors of commission.
We turners make many errors, some by what we omit, some by what we
commit. The prayer book has me confess mine and warns "there is no health in us", but I'm wondering about confessing errors of a different kind of commission today. What has been the experience of those of you who take (took) work on commission? Good deal? Lucrative? Loss of time? Waste of material? Unhappy customer? Never again? Big part of my work? Good deal? Everyone is pleased & proud? Somebody will want anything? What?, but more importantly, why? I'm not talking about work that you are involved in decisions re time, material and design or about standard architectural or restoration turning, but about a 'one off' that you agree to make according to another's concept. I once made a commissioned Billy Club for a guy... to my chagrin, it ended up looking like a phallic symbol. :) Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings |
Wordy musing about errors of commission.
Hi Arch
If you are turning wood for the joy of turning, as a hobby, don't take on assignments unless you are able to look in someone else's mind so you would be able to see what his/her idea or expectations are. I have been asked before if I would make this or that something and people where surprised to have me tell them "NO I will not, however I might make something like that for my self and if you like it I might sell it to you". Last sunday a client came up to me at the craft show I was attending and asked me to turn a bunch of canon barrels for some model sailing ship his father had started and he wanted to finish, again the answer was no, however I did give him the time and place of our turning club's meeting so he can get someone who is willing to do a bunch of repetitious spindle turning, I'm just not interested in that kind of work. Having worked with people as clients before I do know from experience that people are first of all not able to express what they have in mind for you to make, if they even do know themselves, unless like I said before you are able to look into their head, don't think you know what they want. It goes like this, Oh I like that bowl, when they see it's sold already, then, could you make me one like that??. If you say yes and make one like that, it is very likely that the bowl is not to there liking, it'll go something like this, the grain is not the same or it glows not like the other one, it just looks different, it's to dark or to light etc. I just don't bother, life is to short and I like to enjoy what I do and keep it that way. O by the way Arch I am making a bunch of birdhouse ornaments they are fun to make and people like them a lot, also Ruth's SS bottle stoppers are much appreciated, and no I am not going to be responsible if they drink to much or get the stopper stuck in their ear or some other place they better know that if they want to do stupid they better be tough G Here's a link for some ornament ideas, some of mine are at almost the end. http://www.woodcentral.com/newforum/ornaments.shtml Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo Arch wrote: We turners make many errors, some by what we omit, some by what we commit. The prayer book has me confess mine and warns "there is no health in us", but I'm wondering about confessing errors of a different kind of commission today. What has been the experience of those of you who take (took) work on commission? Good deal? Lucrative? Loss of time? Waste of material? Unhappy customer? Never again? Big part of my work? Good deal? Everyone is pleased & proud? Somebody will want anything? What?, but more importantly, why? I'm not talking about work that you are involved in decisions re time, material and design or about standard architectural or restoration turning, but about a 'one off' that you agree to make according to another's concept. I once made a commissioned Billy Club for a guy... to my chagrin, it ended up looking like a phallic symbol. :) Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings |
Wordy musing about errors of commission.
Leo began: "If you are turning wood for the joy of turning, as a
hobby, don't take on assignments unless you are able to look in someone else's mind so you would be able to see what his/her idea or expectations are." ********************** Leo, and Arch, I totally agree. Althought I do a lot of spindle reproduction work, it's not the same as taking a commission to make "a bowl just like that one". I can reproduce any spindle for chair, bed or porch, I can turn a hundred porch spindles that will look identical to the eye. A customer asked if I would turn a set of 4 salad bowls this high and this big around........... I had to turn 13 bowls to get 4 that looked like a set! Oh, it wasn't that I can't turn bowls, it was that I tried to get them "perfect". I've tried a few other small commission items and it's always the same; I try too hard, make dumb mistakes (as opposed to smart mistakes!) and I get stressed. Like Leo, my policy now is "I won't take orders, I'll make it, if you like it, you buy it". Less stress. By the way, Leo, there was a discussion on Woodcentral about liability and, as you might imagine, it went off base a tad. It was mentioned to put disclaimers or warnings on candlesticks, pens and ornaments (you might poke your eye out!) and hollow forms (getting your finger stuck in the opening), but a "stopper stuck in their ear or some other place"?!? I don't want to know! : o Ruth www.torne-lignum.com |
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