Could you whack an inch off?

[SonomaProducts.com]

I spend hours getting my Stickley reproduction designs as exact as possible= , measuring from eBay photos and Stickley catlogs. I did a run of very smal= l round tables, in Cherry (not classic). Something you might use as a plant= stand. I exercise exacting detail. I did an oil finish (tried and true) th= at took a few weeks to complete. I give one to a dear friend for his birthd= ay.

His wife says "Hey great, we can use it as a stool in the shower!" I help t= hem understand maybe it won't hold up to the use in a wet environment.

Now a few weeks later I get an email. "Hey I want to give one of your stool= s to a friend. Do you have another one? Could you whack an inch off of the = legs and add some adjusters to the bottom in-case they have an uneven floor= ?"

Maybe I can get him something from Ikea. He won't know the difference. :-(

[Larry Blanchard]

There are entirely too many people out there like that! Next time give him a board with a recess routed in it and call it a picture frame. You could even mount a picture of your table in it :-).

[Swingman]

his birthday.

Welcome to the world of discerning craftsmen operating in an increasingly fickle culture. To make a living at it, you must give the customer what they want, and not reason why ... whack away, Bubba!

[cedarsonny]

And now your buddy wants you to modify parts of the design, for someone else. Only for a hefty fee, if at all!

Sonny

[Bill]

measuring from eBay photos and Stickley catlogs. I did a run of very small round tables, in Cherry (not classic). Something you might use as a plant stand. I exercise exacting detail. I did an oil finish (tried and true) that took a few weeks to complete. I give one to a dear friend for his birthday.

understand maybe it won't hold up to the use in a wet environment.

to a friend. Do you have another one? Could you whack an inch off of the legs and add some adjusters to the bottom in-case they have an uneven floor?"

I'm sorry to read your sad story. I like Sonny's idea--it may help him appreciate what he had been given.

Bill in iN

[Lew Hodgett]

RE: Subject

Due to present workload, the following schedule applies:

Delivery: 1 year, $10K, paid in advance 5 years, $5K, paid in advance 10 years, $1K, paid in advance

Just a thought.

Lew

[Richard]

his birthday.

What the customer wants is a stool from Ikea...

[dpb]

...

You doing art or trying to make a living from woodworking here?

--

[Larry Kraus]

measuring from eBay photos and Stickley catlogs. I did a run of very small round tables, in Cherry (not classic). Something you might use as a plant stand. I exercise exacting detail. I did an oil finish (tried and true) that took a few weeks to complete. I give one to a dear friend for his birthday.

understand maybe it won't hold up to the use in a wet environment.

a friend. Do you have another one? Could you whack an inch off of the legs and add some adjusters to the bottom in-case they have an uneven floor?"

Keep in mind that the whole Arts & Crafts (Stickley) thing was supposed to be about simple functionality. A stool is meant to be used, not admired in an art gallery.

Whack off a leg instead of an inch. Three legs will be stable on that uneven floor.

[Han]

"SonomaProducts.com" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

When I had a broken lef I bought one of these (sorry if it wraps)

[Swingman]

Then don't give up your day job ... a _custom_er getting what he thinks he wants, even if it's "whacked off" legs and stained puce pink, is what keeps him away from Ikea, and paying you instead.

[SonomaProducts.com]

Stickley reproduction designs as exact as > possible, measuring from eBay = photos and Stickley catlogs. I did a run of > very small round tables, in C= herry (not classic). Something you might use > as a plant stand. I exercise= exacting detail. I did an oil finish (tried > and true) that took a few we= eks to complete. I give one to a dear friend for his birthday. > > His wife= says "Hey great, we can use it as a stool in the shower!" I help > them un= derstand maybe it won't hold up to the use in a wet environment. > > Now a = few weeks later I get an email. "Hey I want to give one of your > stools to= a friend. Do you have another one? Could you whack an inch off > of the le= gs and add some adjusters to the bottom in-case they have an uneven floor?"= > > Maybe I can get him something from Ikea. He won't know the difference.= :-( Welcome to the world of discerning craftsmen operating in an increasin= gly fickle culture. To make a living at it, you must give the customer what= they want, and not reason why ... whack away, Bubba! --

I don't build-to-suit. I build what I love and if people want to buy it tha= t is nice.

[SonomaProducts.com]

y Stickley reproduction designs as exact as > possible, measuring from eBay= photos and Stickley catlogs. ... ... > Now a few weeks later I get an emai= l. "Hey I want to give one of your > stools to a friend. Do you have anothe= r one? Could you whack an inch > off of the legs and add some adjusters to = the bottom in-case they > have an uneven floor?" > > Maybe I can get him so= mething from Ikea. He won't know the > difference. :-( You doing art or try= ing to make a living from woodworking here? --

Today I do it for love. I love building this stuff. I do it as a side-job/h= obby. If I can sell what I make it helps buy more wood and tools. I do sell= most of what o build pretty quickly.

[SonomaProducts.com]

Stickley reproduction designs as exact as possible, measuring from eBay pho= tos and Stickley catlogs. I did a run of very small round tables, in Cherry= (not classic). Something you might use as a plant stand. I exercise exacti= ng detail. I did an oil finish (tried and true) that took a few weeks to co= mplete. I give one to a dear friend for his birthday. > >His wife says "Hey= great, we can use it as a stool in the shower!" I help them understand may= be it won't hold up to the use in a wet environment. > >Now a few weeks lat= er I get an email. "Hey I want to give one of your stools to a friend. Do y= ou have another one? Could you whack an inch off of the legs and add some a= djusters to the bottom in-case they have an uneven floor?" > >Maybe I can g= et him something from Ikea. He won't know the difference. :-( Keep in mind = that the whole Arts & Crafts (Stickley) thing was supposed to be about simp= le functionality. A stool is meant to be used, not admired in an art galler= y. Whack off a leg instead of an inch. Three legs will be stable on that un= even floor.

I agree that utility is a key component of the style. The things I make are= beautiful and useful. However, this particular piece would fall apart if t= hey used it in the shower for very long. Oil finish would not stop water pr= oblems that would eventually kill it. I did use pinned tenons so it would h= ang on for a while but would give up the ghost eventually. Also, people pay= for some of my stuff like art when I have something beautiful enough to ch= arge like that.

[tiredofspam]

Along the same lines, I built something with beautiful highly figured wood and gave it as a house warming gift to a friend and his wife.

She said, didn't you have any better wood. I explained that the beautiful figure was highly prized and treasured. She said it would be better if it were just plain brown.

[Dave]

On Tue, 2 Oct 2012 12:30:51 -0700 (PDT), "SonomaProducts.com"

So you build basically for enjoyment, not to earn a living. I'm sure there's many who would envy you.

[Richard]

Stickley reproduction designs as exact as> possible, measuring from eBay photos and Stickley catlogs. I did a run of> very small round tables, in Cherry (not classic). Something you might use> as a plant stand. I exercise exacting detail. I did an oil finish (tried> and true) that took a few weeks to complete. I give one to a dear friend for his birthday.> > His wife says "Hey great, we can use it as a stool in the shower!" I help> them understand maybe it won't hold up to the use in a wet environment.> > Now a few weeks later I get an email. "Hey I want to give one of your> stools to a friend. Do you have another one? Could you whack an inch off> of the legs and add some adjusters to the bottom in-case they have an uneven floor?"> > Maybe I can get him something from Ikea. He won't know the difference. :-( Welcome to the world of discerning craftsmen operating in an increasingly fickle culture. To make a living at it, you must give the customer what they want, and not reason why ... whack away, Bubba! --

BIG plus 1

[Dave]

On Tue, 2 Oct 2012 19:04:32 -0400, "Mike Marlow"

We all aspire to be the valued artist ~ the one that gets paid $$$ for whatever we make and no matter how it turns out.

[Larry Blanchard]

And since I do it as a hobby, I can be as arrogant as I wish :-).

But yes, when I do something for someone who's paying for it, I either do it their way or not at all.

[Larry Blanchard]

And since I do it as a hobby, I can be as arrogant as I wish :-).

But yes, when I do something for someone who's paying for it, I either do it their way or not at all.