When all this pandemic lockdown stuff started happening back in March, I posted a question about how this was going to change your woodworking -- either your habits or the time spent in the shop or the kinds of things you're undertaking or accomplishing. Woodworker West sat out their May issue, but now July is looming and we still want to know what you've been up to. And how have the inevitable life changes affected woodworld for you?
I'll be harvesting your testimonials early next week to meet my deadline for the July issue.
As a professional woodworker the pandemic has effected my business. My area of woodworking is art. I make artistic furnishings, lighting and sculpture. Much of it sells in art galleries. As of today, all of galleries that carry my work are closed. That may hopefully change soon.
The galleries that carry my work depend heavily on tourist customers as well as regional clientele. Even after they open, customer traffic will be much lighter for some period of time.
Insult to injury is the economy. When the economy is bad one of the first things effected is discretionary spending, like art. Understandable that it is, the art world suffers.
I look forward to seeing our nation return to a healthy state. Wellness and lives are most important. But I suspect our economy will lag behind. If so, I predict my sales will drop for a while.
Tommy, I've given up on the art gallery rout where I have all the investment in concept, material, making and finishing, hoping that someone will come along with the $$$. Due to such low interest rates, 3.5 - 4% for a 30 year loan, housing starts are up, and I'm getting more kitchen island work than I'll be able to keep up with.
Instead of a kitchen being a small room where mom would go to prepare a meal that was away from the rest of the family, now the kitchen is a part of a great expansive space. And finally most of the cabinets around the perimeter are plane and painted. This leaves more budget and design room for the island to become a focal point out in the middle of the room.
I'm just finishing up one, with another started to go out to Colorado, and my main builder friend has 3-4 more houses to start. You ought to go visit some architects and builders to find out what they are doing and need and plant some seeds for thought for what you can offer.
Sounds like you have made a successful transition. I'm glad to hear it is working out for you. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for sharing the suggestion. I'm a different breed I guess. I have done a little work in that area but I don't enjoy it much. I guess my passion is art and woodworking is my outlet for creativity. I've done okay through the galleries and I accept the terms.
That said, I have been getting a number of good commissions over the last couple of years. Obviously I make better money with those. I am not sure yet how the economy will effect that aspect of my work. Hopefully it won't have as big of an impact.
Right now I have 4 commissions, so I am staying busy!
I'm a home workshop enthusiast, not a professional woodworker. I've been using the stay at home time do do some non challengeing, no fun jobs. New ramp to get the lawn tractor into the shed. Rebuild the back 5 step staircase. Replace some damaged boards on the shed. These are the kind of jobs that should have been done years ago but just don't have the appeal of the more serious woodworking projects.
I am (was?) a semi-professional furniture maker. So far I still have a full time day job. In 2019 I completed 5 commissions. That averages almost 2.5 months to make a piece of furniture-probably an acceptable rate considering the full time job and other normal personal time commitments. Since completing my last commission in December 2019, I have not had one new commission. My shop has been idle. In some ways I am OK with that. I am working on other projects for our 100+ year old house, still attending to work for the day job-some of it from home and some I am allowed to conduct on site. I have two pieces of furniture that have been on my "personal" to list. I haven't touched either project in the last 5 months. I find for whatever reason that I function better with an almost "too much on my plate" atmosphere. My website will be up for renewal in a couple of months and I'll have to dig into my reserves to keep them floating. I turned 61 a couple of months ago. A year ago if you asked me what I would hope to see as retirement approached I would have no doubt said "Now I can turn my attention to full time furniture making." The truth is I have at this point lost that drive to put out anymore work-commission or speculation. Maybe things will change in another 6 months or a year. But I never thought I'd find myself in the position of seriously considering closing my shop.
The biggest pandemic effect on my 'woodworld' has been more time. This is not really because of work changes, as I am choosing 'exterior only' projects for clients, but because so much else has stopped (social, volunteer, church meetings, ...).
As a result I have had more shop time opportunities, and it shows in my finishing two large furniture projects for our home in a few months. That's way shorter completion time than normal for me (although to be fair, one project was mostly complete prior to March 2020).
Having a some more wood available, as well as most of the other necessary supplies, I wonder what's next.
I completely understand. The loss of your dad, the pandemic, the slump in business and other issues have taken the wind out of your sails. I am hopeful that, in time, a gust of new wind comes and renews your energy and creative spirit. For now, recharge yourself and be well.
