I think that there will always be a market for flatwork. Just as there are discerning people who appreciate well made jewelry and art so too does flatwork fit in to this category.
The issue to me is being able to access this market of people.
I see it in two levels.
a) Those that are looking for custom fitted furniture like a library, home office, entertainment wall unit etc and want the item to blend in and match their home as well as theme or furniture.
b) Those that want an heritage artistic piece that will grow in value over the years and oneday become a collectors item.
There is certainly a degree of sophistication aparent in these buyers. To start with they value longevity of an object rather than built in obsolescence.
As one of my friends said to me, while we were discussing the demise of a local custome cabinet maker, in his view people in production homes are not there to stay. They just need the HD kitchen to be able to be clean and functional at the lowest price since they are either up for a change in 5-10 years or going to move to another house.
If one there examines either of group a) or b) above, it will not be sufficient to be a competent woodworker in order to reach them. You as an individual have to become a brand. There are other skills required that will go along with the woodworking craftsmanship.
Some of these characteristics that i see are:
* Design ability - Simply nailing and gluing a few sheets of plywood together and adding a purchased automatic manufactured final or leg is not going to cut it. Design (which our great Toni is an expert on) is a evolving changing element that moves with the time, cultures and moods. Its not about inginuity. Usually there is an element of something influencing the design just as in the creation of music, poetry, literature or art.
* Artistic and creative ability.- I might have had the ability to write a piece of software or design a electronic circuit, but when it comes to wwing, I am no Green and Green. However I dont intend to be able to pad my tool budget with sales of my hobby let alone make a living from it.
* Communication skills to be able to articulate the story of the wood, the story of the design and the story of the build. People need some of this background to enrich the whole process. Just take how we all follow a story such as Alex making his desk. The buyer needs elements of this info to be able to "inform" (I would call it boast or brag) visitors who inquire or remark about the object in order to affirm the acquisition or savor the appreciation (depending on their type) of the object. That said a simple onion crate aint going to do it. Thats for mass producers to make.
*Personality and character. Its no use just being a hermit and expecting people to buy thousand dollar items off a website. You have to be accessible and engaging and somewhat of an interesting character.
*Then as a final feature one has to consider doing exactly what you are wanting your customer to do. If they are not going to buy mass produced or make it themselves, ie they are going "oursource" their requirements to you, you need to recognize that you need to "outsource" some of your needs to others that are experts in their field. Here I primarily think in terms of marketing. We might all be able to learn in todays climate how to put a website together or use "publisher" (I am going to get batted for this by someone I know) or "adobe" etc But putting words on paper or screen aint the issue. Its what words and where to put them and then the whole aspect of how to get these in front of the audience we need to read them in order to generate the interest that will result in the potential of a sale. Thats a whole new world. Yet how many woodworkers do this well. We are somewhat technical and so think of ourselves as jack of all trades. Yet the other side of this is masters of none.
So sorry for the long diatribe type post but these are my thoughts for guys in not only flatwork but ww itself that impact upon the element of whether there is a market for flatwork today.
Simple case in point, there is more to picture framing than cutting a mitred joint in a piece of wood. I can do the joint but as for which wood and what background color etc I am an idiot.
Final thought, I have a friend that markets diamonds, even in tough times people are still buying them. Small ones and investment ones.
There is market for flatwork for sure.