Artfire - small business or artisan business - pricing stuff...

The point:




My supplies are inexpensive (not cheap -which implies less then stellar quality) because most folks don't really seem to know where things come from anymore. I can pick them up and sometimes even charge folks to have me take it away. Wood come from trees - but folks leave them laying all over the place.

Meat comes from animals - I have never seen a field of nicely wrapped pork chops in Styrofoam plates..but let the supper market disappear and I'll show you a mess of folks that will be looking for 'em.



I think folks are spoiled by the availability of things produced in the "lowest cost supply chain" and don't really plan on having heirloom items, or worry much about actual quality. Thinking instead about the fact that they can simply throw it out when they are done or bored with it, and get a new one at next to nothing in cost. They don't realize how much it actually costs - I.E> them buying items over and over again, the extra load on resources and places to put all the throw aways.



I shop at wally world. I can get consumable items (food, trash bags, etc) there for cheap. I have also purchased tools from high-end wood working tool stores.

Here's the deal... I can get a plane that works -OK, for a little while but requires a lot of tuning and re-sharpening, from the big box store for 32.99. I have also seen planes at the high end store (and as soon as I can afford one I'll buy it) that are made from much higher grade materials to really tight tolerances and they will last forever,and work hard with less maintenance, and they cost 320.00 (a price factor of ten). The high-end plane is desired because I can get more done over time with a tool I can keep forever and get very used to the feel of, that works better. That is value and worth the 10x greater price.



Relating that to Artfire:

     My items are made from what some think is junk - but the truth is most trees that are taken down around here are older then the trees in the commercial forest and have a much more interesting tale in the grain then the stuff (that is still too expensive) that they call fine wood at the big box stores.  I turn, plane, and mess with the wood. I cut it not for the best profit margin, but for the showy grain. It is the production vs. crafted difference that makes these items have more value to the people who own them.

I think there are thousands of other Artfire sellers that think the same way about whatever it is they make/assemble/print/throw/turn/embellish/sew/knit/ .... insert your thing here...........and need to price accordingly without a fear of having to compete w/cheap supply chain stores.


Then there are folks that just do stuff they like with whatever they do ... and they sell at cost or below only to support doing more and not have stacks of 'em all over the house... OK - but my guess is they will not have the investment in machines and else that I do, and unless they are buying the wood from me (or specialty wood stores) - they won't see the same grain cuts etc. So I actually don't compete with them either...

Neither equates to "garage sale" - and neither should price that way.

Earth Day

  We beleive that using resources wisely is part of making the planet better for all.  We are glad to provide the following link to others that share our passion for making use of the trees in our urban, suburban, and rural areas (not just our forests). 

See more at http://www.urbanwood.org/

Recycling wood found in my area.

  At Wolf Creek Millworks we are concerned with environmental issues.  To us it makes no sense to purchase wood cut from living and healthy trees when there is an abundance of it laying around in the local suburbs and semi-rural areas of Michigan.  We mill this "found" wood into slabs /blocks etc which can be used to make beautiful objects.
  The invasive species EAB (Emerald Ash Borer) is killing ash trees by the millions in Southeast Michigan.  Wasting this timber in landfills makes an environmental problem a waste problem as well.  We never move timber into currently uneffected areas.  If we are cutting far from home we will mill locally and transport only clear lumber from the area. This is true for firewood too.  If you are going camping please buy your wood locally close to the area in which you camp.  More information can be had at http://stopthebeetle.info/

Visit our website at http://www.wolfcreekmillworks.com/  to see our process and link to our Etsy shop for beautiful wood turnings, shelves and oil-candles.

Needing a little inspiration -

This site helps - have a look.   Copy the URL -  http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=962a828f2b5f87cae6712a2fe&id=33fa3ecc03&e=2010d34eac

New item soon to come - Etsy

OK, we found a couple of windows.  Yep, windows that is what I said.  Old storm windows make a cool canvas for my paintings.  I paint on the back -you view from the front. 
Admittedly this can be ....difficult.  One must paint in reverse order and backward to the image view left/right, but I discovered I can do it...so.....

I will be posting the result late this week on my Etsy shop.  In the meanwhile visit my shop to see items I have made from "found" wood laying all around my local area.

So why do you do what you do - (Art wise)

All of us have something we do. Or actually several something(s) we do. There is the everyday thing -like work- which we may or may not love (or like even). There are the things we do because they simply must be done which are often called chores, and there is what we do because - well - sometimes just because. Last year at this time, I was doing that work thing, and thinking and preparing to do the "because" thing at some undetermined future date. Work however , decided to upset my apple cart and leave me with nothing to work on. Lay-off - one word, made from two, which can make you totally freak.

So now I look for a replacement "job" which will be the thing I may do but do not really love, while I work on making my little business start-up become my job. I have always loved wood, loved its grain, texture, multiple colors, feel, and working with it. I loved printmaking once too (Thanks Bob Dufort - 1983-84), I loved working on my car, but time and availability of materials and a press slowly distracted me from printmaking. Owning one for more than a few years stole the "fun" from car repair. So as I grew, my interest and my "because" thing I do, changed with me. I still however had things I just plain enjoyed; wood grain, and drawing /painting, and music. I had started to collect tools to work with wood before the lay-off. I collected more when they told us the plant would be closing. I chose to make one of the "because" things my work thing so that I could be doing something I love, and add more "because" things later.

I wonder if this will become the future?



Will many of the people either on the unemployment lines, or past the point of eligibility for it, find that they have time, and then maybe even need, to turn the "because" into the "full-time"? Will they in the process create a new world where there is less of the stuff the multi-national corporate giants tell us to buy, and more of the things we want to buy because we love them. Will the magic of the web allow us to have the reach of global corporate giants, with the responsive and amazing customer service and product diversity of the local sole-proprietor?



Time will tell, but I am banking that doing what I love will be more rewarding eventually then was all the time I spent working at something I tolerated.  See and purchase items made by me at http://www.wolfcreekmil.etsy.com/

Crafting - Supplies cost/savings

I read a very interesting article today. http://artbistro.monster.com/news/articles/10357-15-things-an-artist-should-never-say

I wonder how many of these things we really thought about? Especially concerning: affording supplies, networking, promoting and business acumen. It is a wonderfull gift to be creative no doubt, unfortunately unless you are very successful and possess name recognition and can price based on that most of us cannot afford to hire someone to do the business processes and leave the art to ourselves.


Getting supplies for nothing (or next to nothing) is covered in the "15 things.." article linked above. I have invested several thousand dollars in making sure I can get my media - specifically dead and down/"waste" timber available locally. I also ran out of paper or canvas and I do like to paint as well...the need drove the solution....recycle old windows and paint on the glass. The glass is suffeciently large, smooth and blank. Finding paint that not only sticks but allows the effects I wanted was trail and error, but in the end worth it. I now have two media that cost very little or nothing. The little box pictured in this post was made from "free" supplies. It only took a little research to find the equipment necessary to harvest the local wood that would otherwise have been left to rot, and a little desperation led to the window idea.

Challenge yourself - maybe you can reduce the cost of your supplies, maybe even find alternative supplies that cost nothing because you'r recovering them from what would other be waste?