Like any craftsman I always have mixed feelings about selling any of my work. Each piece is lovingly created by hand and takes many hours. It is not duplicated in any way. Other than the initial roughing-out there is no machine involved in any part of the process. So its very personal. I cannot help feeling somewhat attached to each piece!
After I had been carving for a couple of years my wife said to me “you cannot just keep all these spoons – you should try selling some” This evoked quick and harsh feelings – a sense of panic even. How could I sell them? What would folk think? What if I am ridiculed? How would I even go about this?
Well to tell the truth – it started very slowly one spoon to a friend, a month or two later another also to a friend. In my mind – were they just being kind, or did they really like them? Then a friend of the friend – then it seemed to be pretty regular that someone heard about my spoons “from a friend of a friend”
My son was very encouraging and suggested that I post regular photos. This I did though Facebook initially and then I started an instagram account and try to post a photo there every day. This has found a good deal of interested followers and it seems to grow daily.
Then my son suggested I launch my own website and perhaps do a blog and this is the result. I have to say it is now hard to keep up with it all and still hold down a regular job. This past week I have sold 4 spoons to England – and some visitors bought six! My stock is depleted. Now that’s a good thing but I still feel a serious sense of attachment with each spoon that departs my home. The overriding saving grace though, is that it is a validation of my craft and art.
Thank-you to all the purchasers for that.