bowl turning thread

[Pan]

How Much? Now there is a good question and one that I've been pondering on myself, perhaps you guys on here can help me out.

 

I've recently been to a few local art/craft galleries with a view to selling my work. It seems the going rate for commission around here is 50/50 or if your lucky 60/40 (This is in the South East).

 

So you have the price of your wood - in this case nothing (my own arb waste) but sometimes I do buy in wood, so a burr this size perhaps £15 -£20.

 

Time - Now I'm not a very fast turner as I only get time at weekends so I guess this piece took me a day to shape and hollow out. I then had to season it for 3/4 weeks as it was green wood. Then when dry sand it, including the inside which took forever (you wouldn't need to do this on a piece that didn't have such open voids). Then multiple coats of oil and wax over a few days - So the total time spent would be a minimum of 1.5 days.

 

The gallery want their cut - I know it seems high but I don't have a shop front to sell stuff from. I could go to a local farmers market or sell online on a cheaper bases, but I don't think you get the same sort of people wanting to spend the same sort of money compared to a gallery.

 

So what sort of price do you put on all of that?

 

The older I get the less I want to be swinging around in the trees, and the more I think of diversifying into selling this sort of work. Probably just a pipe dream - I know!.........but I guess dreams have to start somewhere.

 

What do you folks think?

[se7enthdevil]

unless you can find a really good kind gallery or shop that will only take a small portion of the cut (unlikely) then i recommend you cut them out and sell straight to the customer.

 

i sell at local craft fairs and tend to sell my work for what i can get for it so start high and work down from there.

 

if i were to turn that field maple burr i would be asking £150-£200 as a start. if i still had it a few months later the price comes down a bit.

 

never be afraid to ask lots for excellent work...

 

i recently sold a 20" brown oak bowl for £200 so just remember that if you don't ask you won't get...

[treesrus]

there is a lot of competition out there from imported stuff from afric and the east, not good quality but cheap, and also a lot of retired blokes knocking stuff out to sell at craft fairs, again much of it poor quality and cheap. for quality, unique turnings from locally sourced timber, you have to ask at least for the work you put in and some. as 7 said, get to the craft fairs or wood fests, and don't expect to sell loads. you could also offer to turn something for the customer from whom you got the wood.

[slackbladder]

Picture Of two latest pieces , both in walnut

[se7enthdevil]

that bottom one is very interesting steve, like it alot.

 

is this from your big burr log?

[slackbladder]

No Steve

It's from a piece of rotten hollow walnut I had lying around. The top one is a piece of the burr

[se7enthdevil]

top bit looks just like the stuff that clive gave me to turn just no burr amongst it. fair amount of ripple and black lines though.

[Pan]

Hi all - here is the second Maple burr that I turned. I have left this one a little thicker than the last as it was a bigger burr. I quite like a bit of weight to the form rather than it being too wafer thin. This one measures approx. 14" x 8".

 

I have sanded the inside again, as it had such a large void in the side and everybody I show it to keeps wanting to put their hand inside!

 

Does anybody have any news of any burrs available yet?

 

Regards Pan

[Dan Earp]

Great job Pan. I hope to turn as good as all the fellow turners on here 👍👍

[Pan]

Hi Dan

Thanks for the positive comment. I look forward to seeing your work on here shortly. Have you got your new DVR-XP set up yet?