Big Bowls

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have a question. Does anyone else have trouble selling big bowls? I am talking anything larger than 14". I have a couple of cherry, a maple and a couple of walnut bowls that were in the 16" to 20" range. Haven't sold in 2 yrs. Really nice bowls. So I gave them away as gifts. My sister likes hers because she fills it with popcorn when they all watch a movie at home. I have a 16" that we fill with popcorn when the wife and I watch movies at home. 14" and smaller sell great but any bigger they just sit. Just curious.

[Dewey Torres]

My guess is because of the limitations on how much you can cram into a cabinet or the depth of shelves. My cabinets for one can't handle another large bowl like that. The one I have is plastic though...just a thought.

[Bruce McElhaney]

The bigger the better is my motto. Had a deep 17" figured elm bowl that sold very quickly last year at my first art show for $350. In fact, there were two different people looking at it and they both wanted it. Wish I had two of them. Still have a smaller bowl from the same tree that didn't sell. Go figure!

[Rasmus Petersen]

i have the same issue.. but sometimes its the bigstuff that sells and other times i make mony on stoppers, pens tops and shrooms... Go fiugure...

[Gary Max]

I have very little luck selling monsters---of course mine have monster price tags on them also.
The good part----when I sell one----the wallet is happy and I run home and replace it with 1/2 dozen more monsters.
You can see that the math doesn't work.

[Rasmus Petersen]

LOL ! i do the same.. make mine from impossible pieces of wood burls with rot and holes.. and hope to sell one at some point ....

but the price is the problem.. noboddy wants to pay for the art and the hours that we put into such a monster

[Mark Placek]

In the past few years I've made some huge bowls and they do sell.
I found making them shallower gives the client the ability to hang them on the wall.
The market here in Niagara Falls and Lewiston with the tourist traffic it receives, gives me the opportunity to sell a wide range of bowl sizes.

Having my work in various venues; hotels, gift shops and galleries, also provides a lot of exposure.

[Phil St.Germain]

At every show that I do, someone always picks up the largest bowl that I have and asks if I have anything bigger. 14 to 18" seems to be the best size for my area.

[Jeff Nicol]

Bernie, I have sold some and not others. It seems that if it is a big simple bowl without wild grain or extra embellishments it takes a while to sell or not at all. The ones that sell for me best are around the nice salad bowl size 12"-14" with no blemishes or knots etc. I think people believe it will fail if it has an imperfection. The biggest I have sold were made shallow as already stated and I turn a deeper dovetail recess so a nail will hold it to the wall without an extra hanger. Not many people want to pay over $150 for a big bowl no matter how nice it is. It takes the right person with the want for one to come into your gallery or to your show at the right time to get the big sales. If we could have our turnings in a setting where all the people were rich movie stars, sports stars and trust fund babies we could get a name and sell everything.

Good luck with the big ones!

Jeff

[Bernie Weishapl]

Thanks for the info guys. My best sellers are from 10" to 14". Like I said it seems anything over 16" just sits. Of course out here in Kansas we don't have much for tourist traffic and mainly Agriculture. Oh well I would rather sell a dozen 12" bowls than just one monster bowl. I have even lowered my prices on these big monsters from the $300 to $350 range down to the $150's. Still no go. Thanks again.

[Tom Hamilton]

Bernie, I put two large cherry bowls in the Critique Session at our last club meeting. Both the full-time professional turners who critiqued the pieces commented that large sized are hard to sell. Large being over 14" or so. Storage space is one thing, size whenon display in the typical home and the necessary price for a large bowl, are all part of the reason according to the judges.

But I still like turning the large pieces.

Best regards, Tom

[Reed Gray]

16 inch bowls are the biggest that I normally make. That is kind of a size limit for general 'family' use. Any bigger than that, and it is for people who entertain a lot. Less than 12 inches seem to be small family, or individual salad bowl size. I would guess that dollar wise, I sell the same amount of bowls from 3 inches to 16 inches, and it varys from show to show, and year to year. Some times meal/personal size bowls sell best, some times bigger bowls for weddings or familys sell best. You never know with show business. Off to Seattle this weekend to see how sales go up there.
robo hippy