Over the past several days I faced a familiar woodworker's crisis: one of my favorite tools, my lathe, quit working. I had purchased an inexpensive starter lathe awhile back and put out several nice products including pepper grinders, salt shakers and French rolling pins. Now it was time for an upgrade. Woodworkers love their tools and I’m no different. Many, like myself, also love the research involved before our next purchase; then there’s the weighing of price, practicality and performance. This is where my #1 fan comes in. My beautiful wife is not only my best friend but also my greatest encourager. She knows me; she listens to me, and she pays attention. As I was wrestling through my decision...
A New Year always brings contemplation of the past and anticipation of what is to come. Like most, we find ourselves pondering all that is ahead and how we can be more productive. This past year has been a real "learning curve" for us in that not only have we expanded our woodworking, we've also had to tackle the daunting task (for us anyway:) of this website, social media, and even taking the plunge into the world of weekend markets. It's been both exhilarating and exhausting at times! If you're reading this, however, you're the reason we keep at it..... because we love the opportunity to engage with others sharing what we make, what we learn, and what we love.........
One of the common questions that came out of our first festival participation was “Where do you get your wood?” (usually posed by another woodworker or weekend hobbyist) This question sparked several conversations that led to an exchange of valuable information. It's human nature.............we enjoy sharing things we've discovered with others who share our interest. As far as wood sources go, for convenience there are the Big Box stores, but without offending anyone,they're primarily good for plywood and structure based wood (2 x 4’s, etc). Then there are lumber yards; however many of them are also focused on building materials. The places where you get prime hardwoods are specialty lumber businesses, generally to be found via online searches...
This past weekend was The Prodigal Carpenter's first experience participating in a Festival or Artisan Fair. For anyone who has undertaken one of these, we don't have to tell you the amount of hard work that goes into preparation, facilitating, and post event handling. We learned a lot from our "initiation" into the outdoor market world. 1 Nothing replaces personal interaction with potential customers. The feedback was invaluable. It was affirming to have so many folks express admiration for the quality and craftsmanship of our products and admire what we do. 2. Know your Target Market. Handcrafted items of high quality are not produced inexpensively They take time, craftsmanship and quality materials. Consequently they're not what everyone is looking...
My accountability partners have fluctuated over the years but I’m always seeking new men to add. I have to be willing to take the risk of transparency first, and although sometimes it doesn’t work out, the rewards of developing deep and trusting relationships is worth any risk. We’ve mentioned the value of starting with simple matters when we form an accountability group and growing from there as time and trust increase. We’ve also stated the importance of setting up guidelines early on which will ensure everyone involved knows what’s expected. There’s one more area worth mentioning: Many churches or organizations publish a list of “tough questions” that are beneficial to establishing an accountability group, but I don’t see them as...
