David Gilbert
06-28-2011, 2:06 PM
I really enjoyed my first AAW symposium (I've only been turning for a little over a year). Everyone was incredibly friendly and helpful. The event had too many interesting and informative demos and lectures. Everyone commented that it was tough to make a pick about which one they should attend. Each rotation had about 16 different topics to pick from. Fortunately, many of them were repeated so you could still hear them. For most of the rotations, I had 3 or 4 demos that I wanted to attend.
On Sunday, while eating lunch my cell phone rang from a Minnesota phone number. A St Paul woodworker wanted to purchase the yarn bowl that I had put into the Instant Gallery. I’ve attached a photo of the spalted beach bowl (before I cut in the yarn slot). I went down and we agreed on a price. This was the first turned object that I have ever sold so it was memorable. The purchaser needed to get some additional cash and left for a few minutes. Before he returned, Bill Luce arrived to pick up his lovely bowls that were on an adjacent table (http://www.billluce.com/classic.html). I introduced myself and asked him if he would critique my (sold) bowl. He seemed a bit uncomfortable and asked about what I hoped to hear. I told him that “nice” isn’t in a critique and that I just wanted to know how I could improve my bowls. He was very friendly and liked my bowl and also identified some design features that could have been improved. Some of these I knew about and some I didn't. Needless to say, I didn't reveal the critique results to the buyer. Meeting Bill was one of the highlights of my symposium. After exchanging the bowl for the cash, I returned to Doug Thompson’s booth and bought a small detail gouge and one of his signature handles. It was a fantastic experience and was almost like getting free tools!
Cheers,
David
199674
On Sunday, while eating lunch my cell phone rang from a Minnesota phone number. A St Paul woodworker wanted to purchase the yarn bowl that I had put into the Instant Gallery. I’ve attached a photo of the spalted beach bowl (before I cut in the yarn slot). I went down and we agreed on a price. This was the first turned object that I have ever sold so it was memorable. The purchaser needed to get some additional cash and left for a few minutes. Before he returned, Bill Luce arrived to pick up his lovely bowls that were on an adjacent table (http://www.billluce.com/classic.html). I introduced myself and asked him if he would critique my (sold) bowl. He seemed a bit uncomfortable and asked about what I hoped to hear. I told him that “nice” isn’t in a critique and that I just wanted to know how I could improve my bowls. He was very friendly and liked my bowl and also identified some design features that could have been improved. Some of these I knew about and some I didn't. Needless to say, I didn't reveal the critique results to the buyer. Meeting Bill was one of the highlights of my symposium. After exchanging the bowl for the cash, I returned to Doug Thompson’s booth and bought a small detail gouge and one of his signature handles. It was a fantastic experience and was almost like getting free tools!
Cheers,
David
199674