Odie,
There was someone selling turned objects at the Museum of the Rockies and another selling through a "Made in Montana" store at our mall. The pieces at the museum were oddly shapped and not really appealing. The ones at the mall looked OK, but when you looked at the bottom, they weren't even sanded there. Your work is vastly superior to these 'professional' turners and you deserve to be well compensated. What 'well' means is up to you. If you are happy selling your work at a price that merely covers your heat and materials, that's terrific and your customers should be extremely pleased. If you are going to have a line of 'inexpensive' bowls that you sell at a lower price than your 'artistic' bowls, then you're a production turner like Glenn Lucas and you may want to learn and employ production methods to do them quickly, like Reed commented. (5 minutes, Reed--are you serious? Is that outside, inside and bottom? Sanding? Amazing!) At the Rocky Mountain Symposium, Glenn commented that early in his career he knew he had to choose either art or production, he couldn't really present himself as both, and he knew himself well enough to pick production. Which would you feel most comfortable being characterized as?
Hello Dean......
I would rather be on the artsy side of turning, rather than the production side......but, many times I purchase wood that doesn't live up to the promise the bowl blank projected. For these, I generally spend less effort, because I know that the artistry of the finished product is a joint effort between the excellence of the wood, and what I can do with it. For the best pieces of wood, I will spend much more effort in making the bowl, than a plain piece of wood. So.....whether I'm a production turner, or a lathe artist, pretty much depends on how promising the wood is. I'd rather be the lathe artist, but the wood is the key to whether that's possible, otherwise it will become a production piece. The size of the bowl blank is a piece of that puzzle, as well, and I'm limited to the size of the pieces that are available to me.
If I could rely on getting the most spectacular pieces of wood, at the biggest size I can handle on my lathe, all the time.....that would be utopia for me. This just isn't possible, though......because I am limited to what wood is available to me. I mostly purchase wood by a photograph, and I have to make decisions based on what I see. I am often wrong, and buy bowl blanks that are a disappointment. I guess you know all of this anyway......
My philosophy for the present, is to build my reputation, and making money is secondary to that. If I can manage to become known, then I can ask prices that will allow me to pay bills, and maybe buy a few things that aren't absolutely necessary (like a new lathe, or a new car)......but, not until the reputation is solidly established first. For now, my intent is to make as many sales as I can, with as many satisfied customers as I can.....until I reach a point where I can gradually raise my prices, because my reputation will allow it.
ko