allen levine
Member
- Messages
- 12,368
- Location
- new york city burbs
This past weekend was the local PTA's shining event celebrating a local schools anniversary and decided to run an event in a carnival sort of spirit.
There were ofcourse plenty of dignitaries, a senator, assemblywomen, some high ranking school officials, local govt officials, and so on.
From what I understand, or at least what drips down, is that the event was an extremely successful fund raiser.
I erased the long story I posted.
To sum it all up, I offered to make two chairs, adirondack, and a small table for them to raffle off with the other small donated gifts they had, to raise money.
The PTA gladly accepted my offer, and against my wishes, put my name as the donater of the homemade chairs.
Ok, there was nothing I could do but graciously accept alot of compliments.
Not a bad thing. For a beginner like me, its a great ego boost.
I recieved a call from the winner of the chairs, how much they loved them, and so on.
then a request to build more for someones mother for mothers day.
And others have questioned me about prices.
Im not sure after spending 5 hours straight, cutting, ripping, routing and assembling, if I really want the pressure of building things for money anymore.
I love woodworking, I love to fiddle around with wood, my simple designs, my flower boxes, chairs, tables, outdoor bars, swings, its all good, its all incredibly challenging and rewarding for me.
Having to build to meet demand, the money isnt incentive, since Id never get rich doing it, and it really kills the fun of it. Killed it totally.
I finished the chairs for the womans mother.
Im giving them to her, and believe me, she can afford and has offered a better than fair price, but I cant take the money.
Its killing it for me.
The wood costs around 20 bucks, and I know the woman, and so does my wife, who socializes with her.
I cant do it, the money. I want to keep it as a hobby, something I love doing.
I believe IM getting better every time I build something.
Im learning new techniques, gaining the confidence to try different things, and enjoy doing it at any pace I want too.
Having the calls and questions, do you think youll have it ready when?, can you do this or that? Nope, I guess Ill never be cut out to be a real retailer of any of my work, even though I have sold chairs before, but not like this on order.
My charity really introduced my chairs to alot of people, but Id rather not retail anything I make out of wood, and it wasnt until yesterday, I realized this.
Im in my mid fifties, Im having trouble finding any local colleges or schools that offer what kind of classes Im interested in.
So, Im thinking about asking some local cabinet and custom woodworking shops if I can volunteer my services, no matter they need, even cleaning up, so I can get some first hand hands on experience with different machinery, design and assembly techniques, and all around basic woodworking fundamental skills that will allow me to tackle more advanced projects, similar to things I see here, or my own ideas. I believe this may be a decent approach. I have alot of free time this summer.Am I making a mistake with this approach?
There were ofcourse plenty of dignitaries, a senator, assemblywomen, some high ranking school officials, local govt officials, and so on.
From what I understand, or at least what drips down, is that the event was an extremely successful fund raiser.
I erased the long story I posted.
To sum it all up, I offered to make two chairs, adirondack, and a small table for them to raffle off with the other small donated gifts they had, to raise money.
The PTA gladly accepted my offer, and against my wishes, put my name as the donater of the homemade chairs.
Ok, there was nothing I could do but graciously accept alot of compliments.
Not a bad thing. For a beginner like me, its a great ego boost.
I recieved a call from the winner of the chairs, how much they loved them, and so on.
then a request to build more for someones mother for mothers day.
And others have questioned me about prices.
Im not sure after spending 5 hours straight, cutting, ripping, routing and assembling, if I really want the pressure of building things for money anymore.
I love woodworking, I love to fiddle around with wood, my simple designs, my flower boxes, chairs, tables, outdoor bars, swings, its all good, its all incredibly challenging and rewarding for me.
Having to build to meet demand, the money isnt incentive, since Id never get rich doing it, and it really kills the fun of it. Killed it totally.
I finished the chairs for the womans mother.
Im giving them to her, and believe me, she can afford and has offered a better than fair price, but I cant take the money.
Its killing it for me.
The wood costs around 20 bucks, and I know the woman, and so does my wife, who socializes with her.
I cant do it, the money. I want to keep it as a hobby, something I love doing.
I believe IM getting better every time I build something.
Im learning new techniques, gaining the confidence to try different things, and enjoy doing it at any pace I want too.
Having the calls and questions, do you think youll have it ready when?, can you do this or that? Nope, I guess Ill never be cut out to be a real retailer of any of my work, even though I have sold chairs before, but not like this on order.
My charity really introduced my chairs to alot of people, but Id rather not retail anything I make out of wood, and it wasnt until yesterday, I realized this.
Im in my mid fifties, Im having trouble finding any local colleges or schools that offer what kind of classes Im interested in.
So, Im thinking about asking some local cabinet and custom woodworking shops if I can volunteer my services, no matter they need, even cleaning up, so I can get some first hand hands on experience with different machinery, design and assembly techniques, and all around basic woodworking fundamental skills that will allow me to tackle more advanced projects, similar to things I see here, or my own ideas. I believe this may be a decent approach. I have alot of free time this summer.Am I making a mistake with this approach?
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