This is the fifth in a series of blogs about my history in the craft industry. If you missed the other posts start here.
Given the era of the early Wood That Works years, it was not a marketing priority to check the availability of our domain name but it was important to get business cards and brochures printed. The angst and cost associated with these tasks have thankfully been mitigated with new technologies but for the sake of recording a little of history we are sharing our experiences. I don’t feel old enough to be using the phrase, “Remember when,” but certain phases of business development today bear little resemblance to our options back then. It illustrates how rapidly the desktop publishing revolution (a term not coined until 1985) completely changed this process.
In the ‘70’s creating print material required error free copy (without the use of a spell checker), rub & press letters, offset printing, and large print runs. We literally cut and pasted using scissors and glue to create an original document. In order to keep printing affordable, we had to create a brochure that could be used for a long time. This, along with the impossible goal of showing motion in a still format, were our two main challenges.
The very first publishing endeavor reflected our inexperience. It was hand sketched and basic. We did have the text typeset (choice of four fonts) but as with other brochures, no matter how many times one proofed it, as soon as we got it home from the printers we'd find a typo. Oh, for the joy of a delete key!
We soon ventured into photography and made many attempts at showing motion in a still photo. Not only did we predate computers but consumer video equipment as well. Still photography was the available choice. All efforts produced photos that, although showing motion, always appeared as frenetic speed. Photography didn’t capture the rhythmic and peaceful motion of David’s work. We opted for still photographs instead although kept experimenting.
Our brochures and pamphlets went through ever-changing versions in search of the ideal presentation. David’s work has always been produced in limited editions and a minimum run of brochures lasted long after the sculptures did. Hence, 35 years later I still have stacks of original copies. I designed 3-fold brochures, 5-fold brochures, and multi-page insert brochures (a design disaster). For many years I spent evenings spray gluing colored photographs onto pages because that was the only affordable way to add color.
And then in 1984, along came a Macintosh, WYSIWYG software, soon to be followed by an Apple Laser printer. A revolution for small business was started and we rode the wave of early adoption.
A closing note: A willingness to learn new things coupled with teamwork was essential in establishing Wood That Works. David designed sculptures, I designed brochures. We learned wood working, photography, videography, computing and desktop publishing. We are still learning today. It keeps us young!
This is the fourth in a series of blogs about my history in the craft industry. If you missed the other posts start here.
The debate about art versus craft has been raging for years and it is definitely bigger than my kinetic sculptures. I have no intention of debating it from a philisophical direction here although I encourage opinions in the comments area. It did figure hugely in an early and vital business decision and one that any beginning artist needs to address. Should I market through the craft world or the art world?
I choose the craft world. Granted, it is easier to choose when creating sculpture because the line is decidedly blurry, not so fuzzy for painting. But I had strong reasons for the choice and, because we expect many fellow dreamers might bereading this to garner clues, Marji thought it important to share our reasons.
Like so many things in life, it came down to money. In the mid 70's the craft movement was emerging. Organizations like the American Craft Council, and Buyers Market were busily creating venues (just a fancy word for trade shows) that made professional and national exposure a possibility. These events brought us together with craft gallery owners from around the nation. The art side had no similar possibilities . In the art world, you lugged your portfolio from gallery to gallery searching for interest. While I would have loved to travel and show my work in Hawaii, Texas, and California, reality kept me firmly in New England. Take a moment and picture me on such an adventure with kinetic sculptures.
As impossible an endeavor as that might have been, the answer to this question for us came more from the financial organization of each industry. In the art world the norm is for an artist to provide work to the gallery on aconsignment basis. The artist gets paid a negotiated amount after a sale. In the craft industry many more galleries buy creative work outright. This meant I got paid up front or, if credit was granted, in 30 days. It was a clear illustration of the old bird-in-hand saying.
We did a little trial and error to define the best method for Wood That Works. We did test the policy of consignment at a high end gallery. Two things caused us to stop consignment arrangements. The first was that unless the gallery was local, keeping an eye on what had sold, what was being actively shown, and what was collecting dust in the storage area was impossible. It was wonderful having my work displayed and attracting attention for both me and the gallery. The galleries that had already paid for the sculptures sold far more than the ones who had them on consignment.
So, whether it is art or craft doesn't matter when it is your living. The craft world has been a wonderful place for me to show and sell my work.
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This is the third in a series of blogs about my history in the craft industry. If you missed the other posts start here.
We arrived home from the 1976 Rhinebeck craft show both elated and overwhelmed. We had wholesale gallery orders for more wall sculptures in following 6 months than I had made in the entire short history of Wood That Works. Now what?
Fortunately both Marji and I are fairly organized people. We realized that we needed to learn how to run a wholesale business including (gulp) credit checks. It seemed all of our new customers wanted something called "net 30" payment terms. (Remember I had studied Physics and Marji studied art in college, not a business course between us.) The world of business was all new to us. We had to learn about invoices, packing lists, statements and something called a tickle file. Luckily we had family resources to call on.
Marji's father had quite a collection of old furniture including some ancient wood filing cabinets that were just what we needed. My mother had been an executive secretary for years. She taught us how to handle invoicing, billing, correspondence and filing techniques. My sister was an accountant and helped us set up a bookkeeping system. These seemingly mundane functions were critical to starting and running a business. The critical office equipment we had to buy included a typewriter and a calculator. I remember it as equal in difficulty to purchasing a computer today!
Marji and I had learned early on that although we loved working together we were far better off each having our own domains to control (too many bosses). I became design, production and shipping. Marji gravitated towards finance, scheduling, and marketing. Of course to make this work there was, and still is, a lot of overlap. Marji is my essential design critic and teacher. Without her, "That's nice, but have you thought of..." suggestions, my work would be far less than it is! I like to think I help in similar areas of her domain but she's probably just being polite...
The shop, all 200 square feet of it, had the tools I needed - bandsaw, drill press, router and sander. What needed to be developed were new production techniques so I could make multiples of the same design accurately and in a timely fashion. This involved a lot of invention, experimentation, trial and error but every month I discovered new tricks. There were few books and of course no Internet, so I made a lot minor mistakes, and some disasters, like when I forgot an entire production run of parts outside for the night and it rained...
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This is the second of a series of blogs about my history in the craft industry. If you missed the first post start here.
The craft community of the '70's was an amiable, chatty group and although the early craft fairs may not have been a huge financial success, we were among friends trying to make an alternative living. We shared experiences and knowledge and a fellow crafter mentioned that we should investigate exhibiting at Rhinebeck. Rhinebeck was a juried show that was quickly becoming the premier craft show in the country, and we had never heard of it (Remember those days with no Internet?). The American Craft Council initially brought the show to the fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, NY in 1973 and it combined both wholesale and retail opportunities for the growing craft industry in America. (For more information and a funky history of Rhinebeck check out the articles here and here).
Our early display. It was precariously balanced on scrap wood when we set it up in the tent on lumpy ground at our first ACC Rhinebeck craft show in 1977.
WTW first applied to Rhinebeck for the June 1976 show with the line of executive playthings and was rejected. It was a humbling experience. It also pointed to a problem that we faced until the advent of the internet - how to show motion. Jurying was limited to five static slides. It was very difficult to convey how the pieces moved or operated in a photo. Makers of musical instruments faced similar problems. I've always assumed that we finally made it through the jurying process because one or more of the jurors (mostly fellow craftspeople) had seen my work at one of the small shows and could explain it.
Like many things in life the set back turned out to be a good thing. Over the next year I developed the wall sculpture concept and expanded my woodworking skills. We got the "fat envelope" the next year and Wood That Works as a fledgling business was born.
The new category presented by the wall pieces opened the door to Rhinebeck and the national gallery scene. Luckily Rhinebeck was located in neighboring New York state which made our participation possible. In June I loaded up the second-hand pick-up truck emblazoned with red and yellow flames on the sides and headed west. Marji had to remain home because school wasn't out for the year and she was still earning the bulk of our income teaching high school art. Instead Larry, my roommate from college, was riding shotgun.
Establishing a business is always easier with a little help from your friends!
In some ways Rhinebeck was similar to other tent shows that we had attended. It took place at an agricultural fair ground which brought its own set of challenges. In warm weather it smelled like a barnyard and in bad weather it was a sea of mud. But in other ways Rhinebeck was a very different affair. On the opening evening there was a wine and cheese gala where the artists exhibited their work and mingled with gallery owners and buyers. This was a "no sales" event allowing gallery owners to see everything that was available prior to the initial day of the show. There was a lot of excitement around the WTW booth. The wall pieces were a new genre in the craft world - it wasn't pottery, weaving or glass and this was exciting for the gallery owners. Many owners said they would be back the next day to place orders.
Larry and I were stunned that first morning to find gallery owners lined up at our tiny 10' x10' grassy booth waiting to place orders. The orders started rolling in. After an hour or so of taking orders, Larry turned to me and asked how many pieces I had in stock and how many I could make. I wasn't sure - this had not been a problem before! Larry, always a creator of charts, set-up my first production schedule on scrap paper so that I didn't over promise myself.
A database before computers! It is amazing the stuff one saves.
I would have been hopelessly over-committed without his input. That first day we sold to many galleries around the USA including in Texas, California, and Hawaii. Many galleries from that first group showed my work for years but only one is still with us. Gregory's of Salado, Texas has been showing my work since the beginning and still shows it today!
At the end of the day I called Marji and told her that we could go ahead with the planning phase of the new house/studio we had been dreaming of building. In fact we needed to go ahead with it, I was going to need more (and warmer) space to work!
The original shop was so tiny all finishing took place in the lean-too shed outside. The ventilation was supurb! During the early years I did have one part time employee, Lisa, working above.
To continue to part 3:
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