Changing times (bit of a ramble)

[Aram]

A couple of Thursdays ago, I managed to head out of work in the middle of the afternoon. With the laptop docked, locked and out of my consciousness, I threw on the 'Stich, jumped on the motorcycle and headed out of San Jose and onto the back roads. My eventual destination was the coast, where some old friends live. The back roads are mostly empty on off-season weekdays, just miles of perfect twisties -- in impossible contrast to the daily high-tech, high-stress highway parking lots. As always on these rides, I stopped at Alice's restaurant for a scenic, no-rush burger. The iconic Alice's is a one-of-a-kind diner in a gorgeous woodsy setting, with the friendliest staff you ever met. I ate and talked to the waitresses, texted my daughter a photo (Alice's has memories for us), hung around a bit and generally escaped from manic Silicon Valley self destruction. Then Skyline out to the coast, and up Highway 1 for a stop in my favorite coastal town, Half Moon Bay.

I bought a bottle of wine for my friends, bungied it securely to my pillion pad, and went to see if Gallery M was still open. It was, by a few minutes. Gallery M is and has been my favorite woodworking gallery in the area. A labor of love for the owner, Andreas, the store features world class pieces from names you may have seen, former Krenov students, a phenomenal wooden clock maker, amateurs wanting a taste of a sale, etc. The shop is geared toward modern, clean pieces (I have seen him politely decline to carry a piece that though exquisitely crafted, was too ornate, too embellished to fit in). Some of the pieces have been featured in the better woodworking magazines. I even managed to get a table in there, not that it ever sold. Doesn't matter.

As he closed up shop, Andreas and I talked about motorcycles (he has a beloved stable of classic Kawasakis like they don't make anymore), woodworking, the state of the industry, and eventually the fate of his shop. He told me that pieces are not moving. It's not just him; it's all the local craft and specialty shops. The newer generation with means (which this area does not lack for) don't by art in stores. They don't seek out craftsmen. Maybe they are not educated or interested in such education, or maybe buying online is too ingrained in their lifestyles. This surprised me, as I assumed that within the newer generations, as with the old, would be those who want to learn, to know, to buy the oil painting not to have art by "A Famousguy" on the wall, but because of what they see in it. Apparently, no. As he put it, Main Street is dying. Everywhere. He told me his own plans to give it another go, maybe a year, then close up shop and move on. He didn't even sound sad or resigned, but mostly accepting and ready for something else.

I wished him the best and rode up to Montara to see my friends, a couple I have known for a long time now. She is an artist and craftsman in her own right, a first rate designer and maker of clothing, and more recently hand-dyed silk scarves. She scratches out what she can from craft fairs and the like, doing well enough to give me a hope. But I don't know.

I've looked at the College of the Redwoods site. Say what you like about Krenov (whose works I generally admire greatly, and his approach I admire even more), but I will disagree with those who say he reproduced generations of Krenovs. I've seen what his former students, some of them anyway, have evolved into. It's not all slender legs and cabinets on stands. The new head teacher is a superb craftsman, for sure. But the box handles are routed, not carved, and are just a little mechanical looking. The designs, hers and the students, seems to be moving into trendier and to my eye less balanced and less honest directions. Obviously this is and should be debatable, but whether one agrees isn't really the point. The point to me is, where will the next generation of Krenovs and Maloofs come from? Do they have a place as professionals anymore, or is up to the hobbyists to keep the craft alive?

My own guess is that these things cycle. Sure, the internet may be leading potential buyers away from high-end crafts now. But ultimately, it has potential to do the opposite: to educate, to bring potential buyers and unknown craftsmen together. At least, that's what I hope.

Just a ramble.

[Phil S.]

Sounds like it was a pretty nice ramble. Yup - the wheel turns.

[packerguy®]

Aram said:

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I've looked at the College of the Redwoods site. Say what you like about Krenov (whose works I generally admire greatly, and his approach I admire even more), but I will disagree with those who say he reproduced generations of Krenovs. I've seen what his former students, some of them anyway, have evolved into. It's not all slender legs and cabinets on stands. The new head teacher is a superb craftsman, for sure. But the box handles are routed, not carved, and are just a little mechanical looking. The designs, hers and the students, seems to be moving into trendier and to my eye less balanced and less honest directions. Obviously this is and should be debatable, but whether one agrees isn't really the point. The point to me is, where will the next generation of Krenovs and Maloofs come from? Do they have a place as professionals anymore, or is up to the hobbyists to keep the craft alive?

My own guess is that these things cycle. Sure, the internet may be leading potential buyers away from high-end crafts now. But ultimately, it has potential to do the opposite: to educate, to bring potential buyers and unknown craftsmen together. At least, that's what I hope.

---

I think its easier to make a living making what catches people's eye, rather than trying to force something down their throat.

Sounds like a good day non the less.....

[Humanbackhoe]

[blockquote]Aram said:

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The point to me is, where will the next generation of Krenovs and Maloofs come from?
....., or is up to the hobbyists to keep the craft alive?........





From scanning over much woodwork on the internet ....the next generation is already here, just don't expect to see the designs that captivated us....
those have been done and redone....

Enjoy the new diversity....

Andrew

[Robert Adams]

Yup main street every died 50 years ago just no one has told them yet and they still try to make it work and think they can bring business back but it's a lost cause.

[bennybmn]

I had an interesting conversation recently with my brother-in-law's mother-in-law at my nephew's football game (ya follow? ) about craft shows and things like that. She's into quilting and knows I'm into woodworking. We both agree that there are people willing to pay for actual hand crafted items, but it's also unfortunate that tough times have affected a lot of people economically. So sometimes they just can't... I also thing that said group of people is spread out. The internet helps bring us together, but it doesn't put people in your friend's shop's parking lot. Then there's the google-fied folks, myself included, who's attention span has degraded. We want the answers to our questions laid out in order of relevance with key words in BOLD. We don't all appreciate an old fashioned 8X10 colored glossy print with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was. Point is, there's no one thing to point a finger at, but I do think, and certainly hope, that the ebbs and flows of things will bring an appreciation for our craft back more into the forefront of things. My woodworking club just had our annual show last weekend, and it was VERY well attended, with lots of people asking good questions and having great conversations. Many folks saying they were glad to see "young guys like me" involved. And people who get into the DIY scene sometimes migrate into woodworking. So there's hope!

PS What kind of bike do you ride? Triumph here...

[EricU]

pretty interesting ramble. I think that for high-end stuff, word of mouth referrals have always been the best source of work. Unfortunately, that can be slow, for various reasons.

[John Mihich]

I do cut outs for a lady that paints them. They are snow men of varied sizes. I cut out about a hundred a year. She sells them all. These go for close to$50 each. Not what you call high end but these are only used a month a year. I think they are expensive.

For the most part it's where you sell your stuff. I live in an upscale (?) town and there's money here (not me, but other people). Arts and Craft shows here do extremely well.

She does one show where the items being sold have to have x% hand done. I don't know the % but she says that does well also. She does extremely good work. Some one complained about her painting of faces - they accused her of using computer generated decals. She doesn't she's that good.

I do a lot of custom stuff - all word of mouth. It's also nice to have a brother that is a cabinet maker. I get things he doesn't want to do. He's not into the smaller stuff. So I get a call.

Word of mouth is a good way for craftsmen to do business.

A close friend is an artist - she did one of the Governors portraits a few years back. She's in her 70's and just now decided to start selling on the internet. She's just selling prints on the internet.

[Dagon]

If I can put my grain of salt... There used to be a craft show up here in Canada that was very popular. After 13 years of existence, it was cancelled in 2009. I remember asking the people selling their stuff if they were doing well... Most of them were eating their shorts even though the cost of the booth was under 250$. Nobody was buying, but those same exhibitors were making thousands in the same show just few years before... That tells a lot.

People here can see it the way they want, but the younger generation is hardly interested in the stuff we liked ourselves. Sure, there will be a few young guys making and selling their own craft stuff, but it will rather be the exception that confirms the rule.

Times are changing fast, and the world is changing too. If your crafted item doesn't specifically fill a need so to speak, then you are competing against the entire planet to grab someone's attention. The younger generation is simply elsewhere, buried in their iPhone and computers.

The good days may come back one day, but until then, I won't hold my breath though... I'm just enjoying my own woodworking, hope to build furniture for my son one day, and until then, I have no other expectations or wishes. If the younger generation gets into it again, I'm pretty sure it will be with CNC machines, rather than with the huge collection of tools we have gathered over the years. It will be different for sure.

[AHill]

I think the "changing times" has more to do with the economy than people's tastes. John Fry, a member of this forum, used to produce world class furniture for an upscale gallery in LA. He no longer does this. While the employment rates are getting better, with so many out of the workforce, that means a single wage earner in the household. That affects the wealthy as much as the not-so-wealthy. College of the Redlands and other such schools' enrollment ebbs and flows with the times. If the economy improves, some of those craftsmen will come of the woodwork (no pun intended), and new ones will enter the field.