I wrote an article in More Woodturning about this dilemma entitled Wood Turnings are like Zucchini. In it I describe in a humorous manner (the reader will have to judge how humorously) the problem in getting rid of all the stuff we make.
After a while you almost have to move to a new neighborhood in order to find a way to get rid of all your turnings.
Good question! I know others with the same problem - one guy's house had every horizontal surface covered, added shelves covered, and the walls mostly covered. He wife was about to give HIM away!
I keep enough things to show others including students to give them ideas, to remind me of shapes, a few things I really like, and one thing I spent about 100 hours on. I also keep some things from other turners. Most of this is in a display cabinet in my shop except for a very few things in the house, mostly things we use such as platters.
I give away almost everything I make. There have been enough weddings, birthdays, and Christmases to make this work. (If you wrap it and give it they can hardly argue with you!)
Other great places to give turnings are assisted living homes, elderly and lonely people living alone, churches, personal doctors, dentists. Bowls and small platters sized for candy, envelopes, little toys for children's trinkets are best.
One thing about gifts: people rarely have room in their houses or apartments for big things to display, especially if they already have a big thing or two on display. In my own house I kept two platters, one about 20" and one smaller. We use the 14" platter often but have only used the 20" once or twice - it's just too big for most things.
Some examples (sorry, I'm addicted to photos):
I make smaller "squarish" dished platters that are far more useful for us. These are 8-10" across and make (apparently) highly appreciated wedding and housewarming gifts. I took this one to Italy and gave it to the family who invited us and gave us a private tour of the northern part of the country (the wood is from Ellis):
(I gave a similar one made from walnut burl to the grandmother.)
I've had people try to buy these but they are easy enough to make and the wood I use is easy to get so I give them away.
I sometimes make smaller things and offer them in a little game at extended family Christmas times. Things like hand mirrors, ring keepers, lidded boxes, salt and pepper grinders, Christmas ornaments, and more are always the targets of lively competition.
Conductor's batons make good presents for band directors. Gavels are good presents for clubs and your favorite judge!
I have made hundreds of small finger tops, popular with big people and other children. I've sent 50 at a time with a missionary who used them in a program at a Romanian orphanage. The kids in my kindergarten class get one each year. I carry a pocket full when traveling and have met and conversed with many interesting people - I've given them to shop keepers, woodworkers, B&B keepers, children, etc. I've met new friends that way, some pen pals, and have visited some on return trips.
Many people make Christmas ornaments to sell for charities. Our turning club brought in around $4000 the last few years to benefit the local Children's hospital. Other clubs have similar programs.
I (and many others) make Beads of Courage boxes to give to the programs that give them to seriously ill children, mostly cancer patients. This is a great way to use your talents. (http://www.woodturner.org/?page=2015Charitable)
I didn't see where you said but if you primarily make larger bowls and form for display, you might consider branching out into smaller and sometimes functional things. Some need different skills than bowl-turning but those are well worth acquiring. Smaller things have other advantages too: the wood goes further, even expensive exotics are affordable in small pieces, more species can be stored in the same space, far safer - no danger if one comes off the lathe, healthier without clouds of sanding dust, quicker to turn, less time cleaning up knee-high piles of shavings - since you can often make more smaller things you can make more people happy!
I rarely make things to sell, only magic wands and another similar spindle turning. However, some people make things just for sale and some apparently sell most of them and have to rush to make more for the next show!
BTW, the magic wands make wonderful gifts too. Lots of adults like them; I've even given some to well-known woodturners.
I sell at shows - well, I TRY to sell at shows, but Charlie Croteau helped me get connected to the Free Wheelchair Mission. I think it's a Christian organization, I'm not religious, but they do GREAT work
There are lots more organizations that would welcome your help.
I do a few shows a year. At the last one, a nice young boy and his mother cane into the booth. I SUGGEST that children handle my work (carefully). He was truly interested and handled a number of pieces.
I had a walnut triangle box that was not quite good enough to sell, so I hauled it out of the back and handed it to him telling him it was a gift.
His mother's eyes welled up and she mouthed "thank you" as if I had just given him a free college education or something.
I just gave away 100+ pen kits and probably 1000+ pen blanks to different local clubs that make pens for returning veterans (I do NOT turn pens). That felt nice, but the look in that mother's eyes will be hard to beat.
we recently moved to a fairly remote island in the San Juans (Puget Sound). With the shop finally up and running, and retirement finally a reality, the stuff is starting to pile up. We moved away from the usual sources of disposal - friends, family and the occasional social gathering gifting that kept the inventory low.
There’s an active collection of artists, painters, potters, glass makers, textile artists and sculptors here that have arranged regular studio tours on long holiday weekends. It is generally well attended, depending on the weather. I’m looking forward to participating. Got a range of stuff - from utility bowls to dust catchers.
There’s also the Empty Bowls program and a niece that is always looking for donations to their twice yearly auction to support good causes...the postage to ship stuff to California is probably more than they get at their auctions. I take it as a deduction (or at least I used too before the rules changed).
Look for a local veterans hospital. Our local VA hospital has a party twice a year where donations of many different items are given to the disabled veterans. Our club chapter's wood turned items are always a big hit with them. They can keep or give as gifts to their loved ones.
Look for an Empty Bowls charity, most local food banks have one. The food banks usually have a fund raising event where they sell and auction the bowls and raise a lot of money to buy food. One of my turning clubs donates about 250 bowls per year.
Eddie James is a good friend in one of my clubs. His wife told him it was time to clean up the inventory of turned items around the house. At a club meeting this morning he donated 48 nice bowls to our Empty Bowls charity.
Some pieces I gift, this past week I mailed about a dozen turnings to various cousins and friends just to clear space. I also donate a few pieces for silent auctions for various fund raisers, mostly typically to the Vet's Garage in Spokane WA. There is a guitar store downtown that displays pieces from various local artists so I've taken pieces there off and on, most times they sell. I do have to do something as at times the house gets a bit crowded. Maybe if I took time away from the lathe I could make a few display shelves to mount on the walls.
there is always something being posted about someone needing money. In those situations, I generally clear out a bunch of stuff getting people to donate to whatever cause. I pick up shipping, but the things that I make are small, so it's like $4 per donation.
That's a great use of turning! We even ran an ebay auction once on a platter I made. The proceeds of this and other fund-raisers went to help the two little girls of a young mother with terminal cancer.
It was this one. There was lively bidding right up until the last minute.
Hey, if the audience here was bigger than a bunch of woodturners perhaps we could run some WoodCentral benefit auctions. It's hard to sell turnings to turners though.
