Mike Stafford
Member
- Messages
- 2,357
- Location
- Coastal plain of North Carolina
With all this talk about zucchini I was reminded of an essay I wrote a few years back to which most woodturners can relate. For your reading enjoyment....
Wood Turnings are like Zucchini
On virtually every wood turning forum, eventually someone will ask how everyone else either sells or otherwise disposes of their excess wood turnings. It can be far easier to turn pieces of wood into useful and decorative objects than it is to get rid of those same turnings. Every wood turner has this problem sooner or later. I equate this problem to the problem a gardener has in getting rid of his excess zucchini.
Wood turnings are like zucchini. Most years we grow more zucchini than we care to eat. So, we start giving the excess away to neighbors. Initially the neighbors are glad to receive the fresh vegetables. After a few trips up and down the street our neighbors start drawing their curtains, hiding and pretending not to be at home. They will not answer the door when they see us with the vegetable basket marching down the street. They don’t even want to receive any of my wife’s delicious zucchini bread.
Same thing happens when you try to give away your wood turnings. After a few years folks do not want any more bowls, boxes, etc. It is almost like you have to move to a new neighborhood to get rid of more turned stuff. I used to pass them out at the neighborhood Christmas party. Initially people were excited to receive a small candy bowl, a box for paper clips, some candle stands or an ornamental bird house. Now we don't get invited to that event.
We live in an established neighborhood. It has been a while since anyone new moved in. But it is always nice when someone new moves onto the street. Firstly, this event provides opportunities for housewarming gifts. I can unload, I mean, give the newcomers a box full of turnings and if they have children, you can’t believe how much stuff I can give them. And secondly, for the next few years I can add to their collection. Then like the rest of the neighbors they will draw the curtains and pretend not be at home. Sometimes they will not even acknowledge you when you see them at the grocery store where they are buying their own zucchini for fear that in accepting free zucchini, they might be obligating themselves to more turnings.
Relatives can be a reliable venue through which you can give turnings. But even relatives have their limits. For many years I gave many turnings to the family at Christmas and for birthdays. One year it was decided to have a big family reunion. I took a large box of turnings to the family reunion and made an announcement that anyone who wanted a turning could have whatever was in the box. At the end of the day, I had almost as many as I started with. I got the message….and the turnings went home with me.
My wife is good about collecting some of my turnings as her favorites. She displays them in a number of places around the house. I did a count and currently there are 47 pieces on display. She has a closet devoted to her collection which she rotates in and out of the displays. I don’t know how many turnings are in there but as she adds new favorite pieces to the collection, she sometimes takes older pieces out and puts them in the giveaway boxes. Even she has her limit.
It is so quick and easy to turn dozens of pens and everyone needs a pen, right? Even pens can be difficult to get rid of after you’ve been turning them for a while. When I was selling lots of pens, I had access to two colleges and sold many expensive pens to faculty members. But that market became saturated and my sales dried up.
I also had some reliable traveling salesmen who would buy pens from me as gifts. The tax laws changed and now these salesmen cannot write off the expense of gifts. Nowadays, no one uses a pen and I haven’t turned any styluses (or is it styli?).
I usually give pieces to guests when they come to visit. Now no one wants to visit. Even the Jehovah Witnesses stopped coming when I handed them a turning in exchange for the religious tracts they were passing out. That was a great exchange because it was easy for me to dispose of a religious tract.
It has been years since I have seen any door-to-door encyclopedia or magazine salesmen, but if any drop by I have something for them. I never see the woman who delivers our paper because she does it in the very early morning. I suspect she is aware that contact with me might result in woodturning gifts.
I would love to exchange a few turnings for a check from the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol. I don’t see that happening any time soon. I don’t enter that contest.
I don’t have the heart to try and unload turnings on the Girl Scouts as their arms are usually full of boxes of delicious cookies. They will not barter for turnings either. I know, I have tried.
The Boy Scouts used to hang a big bag on the front door knob for their food drive. I started throwing in a couple of turnings along with the cans of peas and corn and dry pasta. I guess the hungry aren’t as hungry as they used to be as I don’t see those bags any more.
And whatever you do don’t drop any turnings in a child’s Halloween pumpkin. Almost certainly the police will pay you a visit and want to know why you are giving kids wood instead of candy.
I always give a turning to my mailman for Christmas because he is kind enough to deliver my mailed wood purchases directly to my shop. But I fear that eventually he will want to move to a different route to avoid being given any more dust collectors, er, wood turnings. The UPS and FedEx folks deliver packages to the front stoop, ring the door bell and run back to their trucks before I can give them something.
I used to sell in two galleries but I don't want to get into that rut again. Both galleries are at the beach and cater to tourists. The best part about tourists is that they represent a shifting population that changes somewhat each summer so you have a completely new market for your work. As long as the stuff you offer is small and easily packed with the dirty laundry in their suitcase they seem to be interested. Larger items that have to be shipped don’t seem to sell as readily. But I feel bad when items don’t sell and the gallery owners have to dust them (not that bad really). At this point I am unable to produce enough work and deal with getting it to the galleries to make it worthwhile for any of us. I still believe this to be a good outlet but I just can't deal with it anymore.
I have an ETSY shop where I sell turnings tailored to needlewomen such as ort (waste) bowls, needle cases, laying tools, etc. I even manage to sell a few boxes, bowls and birdhouses on this site. This has been very successful because of my wife's connections and standing within the needlewoman community. But even that seems to be reaching its saturation point. I don't know how much longer I will be able to sell in that venue.
I send pieces to my online woodturning friends as Christmas gifts. So far, I have not had any pieces returned. I did have some close calls this past Christmas when the mailman delivered some packages that were in the same boxes in which I sent my gifts. Before opening one of those packages, I wrote to the person whose return address was on the box and told him that I did not accept returns of gifted items or offer cash refunds and that he was going to have to keep what I sent him. He informed me that he was re-using the box to send some of his excess turnings. I sent him one piece of work and he sent me two so that was a net gain of one to my turning inventory. The same thing happened with a couple of other turners this year so even the long-distance gifting ploy has failed. I may have to move so they can’t send me any more turnings. I cannot afford to double the number of wood turnings in my home. But at least I have some nice wood turned art to add to our collection.
Wood Turnings are like Zucchini
Wood turnings are like zucchini. Most years we grow more zucchini than we care to eat. So, we start giving the excess away to neighbors. Initially the neighbors are glad to receive the fresh vegetables. After a few trips up and down the street our neighbors start drawing their curtains, hiding and pretending not to be at home. They will not answer the door when they see us with the vegetable basket marching down the street. They don’t even want to receive any of my wife’s delicious zucchini bread.
Same thing happens when you try to give away your wood turnings. After a few years folks do not want any more bowls, boxes, etc. It is almost like you have to move to a new neighborhood to get rid of more turned stuff. I used to pass them out at the neighborhood Christmas party. Initially people were excited to receive a small candy bowl, a box for paper clips, some candle stands or an ornamental bird house. Now we don't get invited to that event.
We live in an established neighborhood. It has been a while since anyone new moved in. But it is always nice when someone new moves onto the street. Firstly, this event provides opportunities for housewarming gifts. I can unload, I mean, give the newcomers a box full of turnings and if they have children, you can’t believe how much stuff I can give them. And secondly, for the next few years I can add to their collection. Then like the rest of the neighbors they will draw the curtains and pretend not be at home. Sometimes they will not even acknowledge you when you see them at the grocery store where they are buying their own zucchini for fear that in accepting free zucchini, they might be obligating themselves to more turnings.
Relatives can be a reliable venue through which you can give turnings. But even relatives have their limits. For many years I gave many turnings to the family at Christmas and for birthdays. One year it was decided to have a big family reunion. I took a large box of turnings to the family reunion and made an announcement that anyone who wanted a turning could have whatever was in the box. At the end of the day, I had almost as many as I started with. I got the message….and the turnings went home with me.
My wife is good about collecting some of my turnings as her favorites. She displays them in a number of places around the house. I did a count and currently there are 47 pieces on display. She has a closet devoted to her collection which she rotates in and out of the displays. I don’t know how many turnings are in there but as she adds new favorite pieces to the collection, she sometimes takes older pieces out and puts them in the giveaway boxes. Even she has her limit.
It is so quick and easy to turn dozens of pens and everyone needs a pen, right? Even pens can be difficult to get rid of after you’ve been turning them for a while. When I was selling lots of pens, I had access to two colleges and sold many expensive pens to faculty members. But that market became saturated and my sales dried up.
I also had some reliable traveling salesmen who would buy pens from me as gifts. The tax laws changed and now these salesmen cannot write off the expense of gifts. Nowadays, no one uses a pen and I haven’t turned any styluses (or is it styli?).
I usually give pieces to guests when they come to visit. Now no one wants to visit. Even the Jehovah Witnesses stopped coming when I handed them a turning in exchange for the religious tracts they were passing out. That was a great exchange because it was easy for me to dispose of a religious tract.
It has been years since I have seen any door-to-door encyclopedia or magazine salesmen, but if any drop by I have something for them. I never see the woman who delivers our paper because she does it in the very early morning. I suspect she is aware that contact with me might result in woodturning gifts.
I would love to exchange a few turnings for a check from the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol. I don’t see that happening any time soon. I don’t enter that contest.
I don’t have the heart to try and unload turnings on the Girl Scouts as their arms are usually full of boxes of delicious cookies. They will not barter for turnings either. I know, I have tried.
The Boy Scouts used to hang a big bag on the front door knob for their food drive. I started throwing in a couple of turnings along with the cans of peas and corn and dry pasta. I guess the hungry aren’t as hungry as they used to be as I don’t see those bags any more.
And whatever you do don’t drop any turnings in a child’s Halloween pumpkin. Almost certainly the police will pay you a visit and want to know why you are giving kids wood instead of candy.
I always give a turning to my mailman for Christmas because he is kind enough to deliver my mailed wood purchases directly to my shop. But I fear that eventually he will want to move to a different route to avoid being given any more dust collectors, er, wood turnings. The UPS and FedEx folks deliver packages to the front stoop, ring the door bell and run back to their trucks before I can give them something.
I used to sell in two galleries but I don't want to get into that rut again. Both galleries are at the beach and cater to tourists. The best part about tourists is that they represent a shifting population that changes somewhat each summer so you have a completely new market for your work. As long as the stuff you offer is small and easily packed with the dirty laundry in their suitcase they seem to be interested. Larger items that have to be shipped don’t seem to sell as readily. But I feel bad when items don’t sell and the gallery owners have to dust them (not that bad really). At this point I am unable to produce enough work and deal with getting it to the galleries to make it worthwhile for any of us. I still believe this to be a good outlet but I just can't deal with it anymore.
I have an ETSY shop where I sell turnings tailored to needlewomen such as ort (waste) bowls, needle cases, laying tools, etc. I even manage to sell a few boxes, bowls and birdhouses on this site. This has been very successful because of my wife's connections and standing within the needlewoman community. But even that seems to be reaching its saturation point. I don't know how much longer I will be able to sell in that venue.
I send pieces to my online woodturning friends as Christmas gifts. So far, I have not had any pieces returned. I did have some close calls this past Christmas when the mailman delivered some packages that were in the same boxes in which I sent my gifts. Before opening one of those packages, I wrote to the person whose return address was on the box and told him that I did not accept returns of gifted items or offer cash refunds and that he was going to have to keep what I sent him. He informed me that he was re-using the box to send some of his excess turnings. I sent him one piece of work and he sent me two so that was a net gain of one to my turning inventory. The same thing happened with a couple of other turners this year so even the long-distance gifting ploy has failed. I may have to move so they can’t send me any more turnings. I cannot afford to double the number of wood turnings in my home. But at least I have some nice wood turned art to add to our collection.
