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Thread: Medallion and Acanthus leaves

  1. #16
    20 years? Wow.

    And I can so relate to trying to price work... IT's hard to formulize, because of course there are so many variables, and customers are all so different. But I had a guy the other day want me to carve a panel for a chest he was making, and when I told him the price ($350) he about fainted, and thought he could get it for about $50. And I'm thinking to myself, "Um... gosh mister, how much do you make per hour? I hope it's more than minimum wage."

    So do you do all your own designs or is it a mix?
    CarveWright Model C
    Stratos Lathe
    Jet 1014
    Half-a-Brain

  2. #17
    Yeah Jim,, 20 yrs. Just the thought of it makes me quake. I just wonder,,,, HOW?,,,WHY? ,,, WHO ME? And especially in this economy to be busy carving,,, full time? It's not like I'm making bread that everyone could be a customer. This is not your every day necessity , this carving stuff.

    But for 99 percent of the time it's my own designs. I get prints from Architects and where they want a carving they circle the area with a cloud and a note that says " to the discretion of the carver" . I have to submit drawings of what I think would compliment their piece and get their approval. I guess their CAD systems can't do everything for them. Meaning,,, come up with a design. From actual "designers" I get cut outs from magazines with something they think would look good taped all over a page. Heck,, they get paid for looking through magazines , cutting out pictures and call that designing? And their clients pay them for this???? big bucks too!
    Oh,, don't get me started on someone wanting me to make something for them. Ever get the client that saw something at Ikea and wants to know what you'd charge? Yeah,, you're looking at Ikea and you look to me to try and save some money with a custom one off piece where they probably have 2,000 in stock from a mass production run at some stupid dirt cheap price. You want that,, go buy it at Ikea. Just the materials alone will cost more. Dingbat !

    Then at the other end of the spectrum you see guys at some sites, making widgets ( some gnome, santa, etc.), selling at church bazaars , wondering why nobody will pay them $300.00 for their time to whittle a 3 inch piece that they think is worth it. " Ahhh,, nobody is willing to pay for hand made pieces,,,"

    And you have your guy who almost faints at $350 for something that in all probability should be worth twice that. I just completed two 5 inch circular relief carvings that went for that. Go figure! Calculate the square inch cost in those terms.

    It's the market you need to cater to that I believe can make you or break you. Back when I started just making ducks, song birds etc. as a hobby some would say,, "I saw one just like it at K-mart" for 25 bucks.... others that I catered to said " two grand is a decent price for this".

    There you go.
    Last edited by Mark Yundt; 01-05-2012 at 9:28 PM.
    The Woodworking Studio

  3. #18
    I can really respect that you do a lot of your design work. And work is the right word. I like to come up with original ideas, but it's nearly impossible not to have someone's work influence the process. And getting an original composition that works and flows well is very difficult.... and time consuming. I did some door panel work that was mostly original, but the design time well exceeded the time to machine it. Does it ever get easier?

    And boy you do meet some... interesting designers don't you? Wish I made half the money they do...
    Last edited by Jim Underwood; 01-05-2012 at 9:35 PM.
    CarveWright Model C
    Stratos Lathe
    Jet 1014
    Half-a-Brain

  4. #19
    How much though today is truly original? Don't we merely stand on the shoulders of those who went before us? With this in mind how original is an Acanthus leaf design. Sure, way back when the first guy decided to use it it was. But since then hasn't a multitude of people just make variations of it? Yup! That's how it gets easier. You don't always have to reinvent the wheel.
    Steve Jobs didn't invent the cell phone, or music players.. he just integrated them into another form. Gates didn't invent the computer,, he just made it more user friendly. Everything just morphs into another form. Lets face it,, haven't leaves, grapes, egg and dart etc. been done before? Are Corbels, Capitals, Brackets anything new and have been done before? Yup.
    Have Elephant heads been done? Yes,, I just turned them into Island legs. Take ideas that have been proven and use them in your designs. Knowledge of these old designs are easy to find and learn. That's my stock in trade of what I'm paid to have access to.
    Need to fill a space? Use an Acanthus leaf design. You can pull 'em, twist them and curl them to your hearts content and they always look great. This design is a variation of some I did for my own house. I showed the client what I had done,, and it became a variation of that. Same thing only different. Different how? Well I knew what I had to work with and just modified it to fit the requirements. Add shells, medallions, flowers ( how many variations are there?) and you have a 'new' design.
    Look at it this way. There are 26 letters in the alphabet and how many words can you make from these? Lots!
    Learn a few design elements and you can combine them in an endless variety of forms and shapes.
    You must learn them,, and have them at hand and know them well and how to use them. Once you do the design aspect takes care of itself. It's a bag of tricks. Pulling them out , dusting them off,, and showing them to a client makes you look like a genius.
    I call it my Dog and Pony show. Gets them every time.
    And remember this,, the designs only go so far. There are plenty of guys that can carve me under the table. You are selling not so much the design and your talents,, but yourself. This they buy every time.
    The Woodworking Studio

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Chatsworth, GA
    Posts
    2,064
    Great looking work. Very teadeous work.

  6. #21
    this is an example of fantastic work that I can only Dream of ever doing! Great job!

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