where to move

[Ernie Cassady]

hello,
I recently lost my wife and will sell here in FL and move. In order to make a modest living at turning, I'm asking for input on where to go. Considerations should be, climate(tired of the heat and humidity here), local woods available,
artistic atmosphere or flavor of the community, shows, and any other thoughts you might have. I'm 55 and would also love to meet a lady turner who might want a friend.

Thankyou, Ernie Cassady

 

[Bill Boehme]

You might think about the Hill Country of Central Texas. Places like Fredericksburg, Weimer, or Kerrville plus numerous other small towns cater to tourism with lots of small shops with all types of things ranging from art galleries to antiques, crafts, food, junk, etc. It is still fairly warm in the summer, but much less humid than FL. There are lots of beautiful country and an abundance of many types of wood. And, of course, there is MESQUITE -- the Holy Grail of turning woods. Take sevral vacations to places that you might be interested in moving to see what they are like in different seasons. Snow is not a problem in Central Texas -- winter lasts for about a month or less. Spring and Fall are incredible.



Bill

 

[dkulze]

Hi Ernie.

First of all, condolences on your loss. I can understand the need to relocate and start fresh.

As far as making a modest living as a turner, that may be a slightly rough proposition. From what I've seen, the folks who make a living as a turner usually do it by teaching or by being famous enough to travel for demos. If you rely on sales, you limit yourself to the economy, tastes of the time, and needing to do lots of basic, production turning of nickle and dime stuff.

You can also do custom turnings for homeowners. To do that, you need a community with a large number of somewhat historic or antique homes such as Charlotte, Baltimore, etc (not overly familiar with gulf coast but I'm sure you get my drift, around here it's Salem, Marblehead, and other port towns north of Boston) that can supply you with a steady need for custom ballisters and finials (excuse the spelling).

Now classes, on the other hand, are a steady income. Establishing yourself as a professional with several local Woodcrafts or craft centers will allow you to have a steady stream of classes in such basics as pen turning, basic turning techniques, bowl turning, tool sharpening, etc, with your sales of pieces being gravy.

The one other option is making sure you're in an area with a steady stream of county fairs and well established craft/art festivals. This lets you make the circuit on a steady basis and get an established reputation without having to tie all your pieces up in galleries and wait for sales. I've a friend who is doing this and, basically, is breaking even after a year and expecting to not make a significant profit for at least 2 more years.

Otay. Hope this was helpful and look forward to folks chiming in who have more personal experience with this.

Good luck,
Dietrich

 

[john lucas]

Ashville, North Carolina. Great turning club, good artistic community, Your get good prices for your turnings. Fantastic views and fairly inexpensive if you live out away from the city. John C Campbell folk school is just a hop skip and jump from there if you want to take some classes.
I was in my shop this weekend and freezing. I decided I'm going to marry either a glass artist or a ceramics artist so I can have some heat in my shop. I spent the afternoon photographing a glass artist and it was so nice and warm in there. Rather hot in the summer probably.

 

[Jeff Jilg]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

Before you move, you might want to draft up a business and marketing plan. For example, what items would you turn (pens, bowls, bottle stoppers, vases, etc, etc). Are you going to do volume work, or 20 pieces a year. What markets are available to consume your product? Are you going to do sales thru weekend craft shows, galleries, internet, or what?

There are a lot of factors to consider when creating a new business. Location is only one of those factors. The success of many businesses is independent of location. This also applies to many turners. For example, there are professional turners living in nearly every state of the union. Florida actually has a lot of neat woods which can be used for turning - just speak with any of the Florida chapters!

While I am located in central Texas, I do not consider it to be an advantage or disadvantage. But if you are looking to get away from heat, you need to go north regardless of the business you intend to start. Texas gets a lot of 95-100 degree summers.

 

[Elizabeth Woodturner]

The business of Wood Turning

Wood Turning is a VERY difficult business. I don't advise anyone to try to make a living at it. I've been in the business since 1992 and have finally taken a job with the County of Los Angeles to support myself!. I'm still in the turning business and talk to my customers on my breaks. After work I meet with the turner to discuss lumber and orders. I've tried to stop it but it is completly addictive and I'm thinking of starting a Woodturners Annon. I now have a few really good customers and can support one and a half full time employees but usually don't make enough for myself. We are making very high end things but it is a constant battle. Probably, the best way to start is to get in touch with small furniture manufacturers so that you can do small runs of 2,4,8 etc.,. Don't forget that if you do go this route it will involve doing glue ups and that can be very challenging.
Good luck to you.