$35,000.00 chair

This stolen from a penturning forum.
http://www.sarasotarockers.com/amboynaburl.htm
Beautiful, no doubt. But worth $35,000.00? I dunno.

Neither know I, besides the design of the rockler, looks too much alike to Sam Maloof's one, maybe the cost of the wood is about 34,000$.:dunno:

How much would cost a similar chair made let's say in oak or walnut?
I have no idea on woodworking wages/costs in US.
 
Wages and costs have little to do with this kind of furniture and this kind of wood, Tony.

It is a custom one of a kind chair with very special wood, so it comes under the "whatever the market will bear" method of pricing.

In other words, he can ask whatever he likes, and he may well have the market that knows his work and is willing to pay what he asks.

As for it looking much like Sam Maloof's work, you are right. Sam is a personal friend of mine and I used to get exercised about people copying him. Then he told me there is only one Sam Maloof and everyone else is whoever they are. Only he can build the chairs he does. The design is not that easily copied and his workmanship is suburb. And he has been getting those kind of prices for years. Don't know about this other guy. :)
 
Wages and costs have little to do with this kind of furniture and this kind of wood, Tony.

It is a custom one of a kind chair with very special wood, so it comes under the "whatever the market will bear" method of pricing.

Exactly what I thought, but not knowing who is this guy (I do not know wether is he famous or not) and looking at all the explanations he makes about how the wood is collected and so forth I had the feeling that he was justifying the price because of the precious wood used.

I feel "sane envy" of you of having Sam as a friend, it must be a really enriching experience for both of you. Please do send my greetings to him next time you meet him. I owe him more things than he can imagine without knowing me.
 
Priceless?

Greetings
Certainly it is a beautiful chair, that any old bottom wouldn't be allowed to sit in.

However I believe we often create beautiful works of art that are priceless(to the family and could never be given away) and timeless(never got around to it, it took years sitting on the shelf). At least its so unique and custom that it would be impossible to recreate. Be proud of your original art.
Cheers
Irv
 
Knock a zero off of that price and that is what Hal Taylor regularly gets for his rockers. A bit more or less depending on the wood used and the size. When I make my next one to try to sell, I hope to get about 1/2 or a little more than what Hal gets for his. But I'll be trying to sell through consignment places so the final selling price will likely be up around 2/3 or so of what Hal gets.
 
Wages and costs have little to do with this kind of furniture and this kind of wood, Tony.

It is a custom one of a kind chair with very special wood, so it comes under the "whatever the market will bear" method of pricing.

In other words, he can ask whatever he likes, and he may well have the market that knows his work and is willing to pay what he asks.

As for it looking much like Sam Maloof's work, you are right. Sam is a personal friend of mine and I used to get exercised about people copying him. Then he told me there is only one Sam Maloof and everyone else is whoever they are. Only he can build the chairs he does. The design is not that easily copied and his workmanship is suburb. And he has been getting those kind of prices for years. Don't know about this other guy. :)
I agree. The value in Sam's work is that he designed the chair. While he is a great craftsman, what people pay for is the fact that Sam originated the chair (and it has his signature to prove that he made it). The purchase is treated as an art purchase.

Any good woodworker can make a copy of one of Sam's chairs - or any piece of furniture that's already been made. The difficulty is in designing something new that's also beautiful.

Mike
 
If I had a $35,000.00 anything it wouldn't have anyone's bottom sitting in or on it---it would be behind shatter- and bullet-proof glass! That chair costs about twice the cost of my first house!!!!

I can't imagine anyone buying that for anything except the art value---certainly not for a piece of furniture to be used in a home!

Nancy
 
To me, the big question is 'where do you find people who are able and willing to spend that kind of money on a chair'?
They're pretty much everywhere. Not a lot of 'em, but you only need one per piece. These are the same folks who'll buy multi-thousand dollar watches, or cars with six-figure price tags.
 
Nice work, but I'd have to say its "priced to keep". That said, there is a lot of money in the Sarasota market - I hear Oprah has a house down there. I also thought his arms were too wide - but that's just me (and I don't have $35K for a chair)
 
They're pretty much everywhere. Not a lot of 'em, but you only need one per piece. These are the same folks who'll buy multi-thousand dollar watches, or cars with six-figure price tags.

My question remains. Where do you find these people? I have a special rifle with a $5,000.00 price tag I am trying to sell. Might be a bargain at that price. I see reports of high priced guns selling all the time but I don't know anyone that will pay this kind of money.
Vaughn, you remind me of an old song that says something about all the gold being in a bank in California in someone else's name. ;)
We have some real-real rich folks walking around my town here but to get them to part with a penny is near impossible. Guarantee, they sure don't look rich.
 
...We have some real-real rich folks walking around my town here but to get them to part with a penny is near impossible. Guarantee, they sure don't look rich.

Reminds me of a phone conversation I had with a lady at a Country Club gift shop a couple years ago. She had seen a nice cutting board that Pete Simmons and I had made (with the Country Club's name inlayed on it), and we were discussing making more for her to sell. When I told her the price, she about gagged. She said. "our members are about as rich as God, but they got that way by not spending any money."

Wish I had some suggestions for you on the $5K rifle. Something like that has a more limited market than a car (or chair), so I'm sure the tricky part is finding where wealthy gun owners gather, then pitching it to them there.
 
forums with gun owners

frank you need to spend some time looking for the forums with alot gun collectors, theyre out there somewhere then drop the hint you got that rare gun that someone needs more than you!!!! i have seen guns go for more than what your asking so dont part with it till you get some folk asking alot of questions about it then say the no.s
 
to find the people who buy furniture at that price-understand they don't buy those kind of things themselves they have someone do it for them-enter the interior decorator are as they like to be called designers-and speaking burl,these doors are rosewood burl (not veneer) in rosewood frames the cabinet is also rosewood (i have it cut out and will start putting it together soon) - how much is wood like this worth ?
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rounding off the sharp corners
alex
 
Reminds me of a phone conversation I had with a lady at a Country Club gift shop a couple years ago. She had seen a nice cutting board that Pete Simmons and I had made (with the Country Club's name inlayed on it), and we were discussing making more for her to sell. When I told her the price, she about gagged. She said. "our members are about as rich as God, but they got that way by not spending any money."


And yet... those same folks are known to buy quality work without blinking. I used to work for a high end portrait studios out of Buena Vista CA, we catered to country clubs, professional organizations etc...

our prices Started at $500 per print and went up to, 'we'll deliver that to your house and hang it for you sir' range. Gorgeous printing, fully retouched and it all started with the photographer treating the clients correctly.

I was in a club in the Hotlanta area once for several months. One evening the night manager came in and passed on a compliment to me. There had been a nicely dressed couple in my 'studio' a short time before, whom I did my usual bit on. Solo shots of both individuals then several shots of the couple, with care taken to light them just so, etc... I probably spent 30 minutes or so on the session, and I was 'rushing' as they had a dinner engagement that evening at the 'town' half of the club. (Town & Country club with same management). As it turns out they owned a major newspaper and several radio & TV stations down there in the big Peach, and they thanked the manager for having such a nice photography experience.

The sales team that followed me also thanked me for that one, as they purchased a rather Nice package when the proofs came back.

I only recall them because the manager seemed impressed that they took the time to comment on me. Evidently they were much more likely to voice a quiet concern than pass out compliments in his experience. I tried to make every client feel like they were the only sitting that day, and to give them my best sitting possible, no matter who they were/weren't.
 
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