How much does your bowl cost?

[Bryan Milham]

Oak and some fruit shavings go well to people with food smokers. Woody used to turn pens from old whisky barrels. These shavings go well for the same reason. Can you get any old Sherry or Port casks?

[woody]

Oak and some fruit shavings go well to people with food smokers. Woody used to turn pens from old whisky barrels. These shavings go well for the same reason. Can you get any old Sherry or Port casks?

And all the shavings were sold for smokers along with the barrel off cuts another good one was Camphor shavings

[arcos]

Smokers....

Now there is something interesting!

I am selling my shavings as cat litter!

Yes folks are buying it, yes it works!

I suspect if I were able to produce enough shavings I would also have a market for composting toilets too!

[Bryan Milham]

You're becoming a one man wood industry over there!

[BrianH]

Sorry if my last words sounded flipent but the point I was making ...rather clumsily perhaps...was that buyers are notoriously short on imagination. The finest work in the land is likely to remain unsold if displayed behind the counter of a butchers, bakers or barbers (say) just as a pound of sausages would be scorned if offered in a hardware shop.
On the other side of the coin a buyer might well ignore a beautiful platter displayed on an overcrowded craft stall but jump at the chance of the same piece artfully lit in the glass case of an art gallery.
Horses for courses, don't they say?
Tarra
Brian

[arcos]

Sorry if my last words sounded flipent but the point I was making ...rather clumsily perhaps...was that buyers are notoriously short on imagination. The finest work in the land is likely to remain unsold if displayed behind the counter of a butchers, bakers or barbers (say) just as a pound of sausages would be scorned if offered in a hardware shop.
On the other side of the coin a buyer might well ignore a beautiful platter displayed on an overcrowded craft stall but jump at the chance of the same piece artfully lit in the glass case of an art gallery.
Horses for courses, don't they say?
Tarra
Brian

No Brian, you are absolutely right!

For me, where I am, a LOT of 'business' is carried out in cafes! Cars. sausages, turnings, pottery, jewellery, spam ignore (did I say that?) nd  whole host of other things illicit and otherwise!

A cafe, for me, is  great place to display my "inferior" wares...

ok, ok, my last self flagellating comment as proposed by George 

Horses for courses indeed!

[bodrighywood]

Where you sell is or should be based on where your work will sell. I make things that will never sell outside a gallery but at the other end I have some things that I sell in a charity shop. As a professional turner dependent on my work to earn a living I am afraid that I cannot afford to ignore any outlet. The quality of my work, hopefully, will be as good wherever I am selling but what I sell will vary. I am not going to sell a sculptural piece for three figures in a charity shop or a market and will sell far more brooches and hair sticks in the charity shop than I am going to in a gallery. I do a lot of crafting tools as well and most of these sell online to specific buyers. If it works for you go for it, just make sure that the quality of your work is the best wherever it is being sold. Word of mouth and reputation is more important than any hype IMHO

Pete

[John D Smith]

Hi Pete, I am surprised you "Sell" some of your turnings in a charity shop for gain at our Club we often turn a lot of Mushrooms, Light Pulls etc. these are given to the Acorns Hospice for them to sell in their shop the only reward we get is the pleasure. Regards John 

[John D Smith]

Hi George, Point taken. :-[Regards John

[bodrighywood]

As George said most charity shops have at least a cabinet in them for 'new' things. I have contacts with this particular one as well as some others where I do sales and a percentage goes to the charity. Sadly I am not as well known as some of the turners on here and selling things in good galleries (yet) so need to make sales wherever I can. If I could live by creating things that are seen as works of art and sold for four figures believe me I would and happily donate to the charities I support but I haven't reached those heights yet. Like many I find the making of things far easier than selling them.

Pete

[arcos]

I don't think those 4 figure sums are far away Pete! 

I was looking at your shop and gallery... There are some really beautiful pieces on there!

A % of my sales here go to a local charity and, in reality, I make VERY little money from anything at the moment!

One day Rodney we'll be millionaires.... Just not today!