Chriz Schwarz Dump-On Site

[Greg Jones]

You could add Rob Cosman to the list. However, lack of time could also be one of the reasons why business people decide not to take part in forums. We all know forums aren't as effective as other social media like FB, Instagram, etc. as a sales tool...

Rob is not a forum person, he did away with the forums on his own subscription web site as he admitted he could not get motivated enough to participate. He is very social, preferring to be live and/or in front of a camera, and he does post a fair amount of content on YouTube.

[Admiral]

Rob is not a forum person......

Anyone who runs a business, be it Rob, Chris or Rob Lee, have to be circumspect in participating as it takes away from their primary business focus, most have their own blogs, fora, social media, etc. and youtube has exploded with the younger folks.  While I find most of the youtube content to be of questionable value, there are talented people that put out good content, but imo are in the minority.  I think Rob Lee has struck the proper balance of participation as he will pop in with a relevant comment from time to time and add some value.  I'm sure most drop in from time to time to take the pulse around here.

The more I think about Chris' cracking wise with the "complaint dept" reference, the more I appreciate his sense of humor.  That being said, I'm not enthralled with the plywood chair idea, he even admits it might be a stupid idea.....

[Jim Waldron]

Jim, You fit into the typical fan club profile, seeing things only the club leader wants you to see.


Where did I ever mention about forced marketing? I did mention that I haven't been to his blog for a long time. Before his blog became commercially oriented (the PWW days), I found woodworking topics that were not mixed with marketing pitches. Those were the days. Nothing wrong with Chris's move to building and selling his ideas and products...I just have bought enough toys (and books), and are staying away from marketing blogs.

Simon

You mistake my point.  My fault for being unclear.  (I'm far from a "fan-boy" and cast a leery eye on most of his ideas.  And I think it stupidly Quixotic to style one's self as any kind of anarchist in today's world.  While it may be historically true that American anarchism has been more benign and far different from European anarchism, that distinction is eroded in today's political climate.  I think he should move clearly away from that notion.  As should we, to avoid introducing politics here.  Mea culpa.)  

What I intended was to comment on your "active" vs "passive" marketing.  An entry on a blog is inherently passive, in that it does not force itself upon you, like spam or etc., and is only marketing to you if and when you choose to visit his site.

[Handplanesandmore]

to style one's self as any kind of anarchist in today's world. 

Chris buys ink by the barrel, and he knows what he writes and why he writes so. In other words, he knows exactly what messages he is sending out. He brands his work as anarchic not because it's really anarchic (there's nothing anarchic there). He did so as a selling label for his ideas and books...but unfortunately, many followers thought doing work by hand was part of some kind of anarchist movement. Sellers never calls his builds or ideas anarchic; in fact, he keeps reminding his readers that things he makes or techniques he uses have been around for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Simon

[AHill]

Chris buys ink by the barrel, and he knows what he writes and why he writes so. In other words, he knows exactly what messages he is sending out. He brands his work as anarchic not because it's really anarchic (there's nothing anarchic there). He did so as a selling label for his ideas and books...but unfortunately, many followers thought doing work by hand was part of some kind of anarchist movement. Sellers never calls his builds or ideas anarchic; in fact, he keeps reminding his readers that things he makes or techniques he uses have been around for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Simon

I don't think Chris labels hand tools as anarchic.  He didn't come up with the label until well after he'd established himself as a hand tool aficianado.  The anarchist part was him trying to pare down his traveling toolbox to a minimum set of tools required to do basic joinery using hand tools.  He received a lot of grief from certain camps for suggesting one could live with such a meager set of tools.  But, as we are aware, there are parts of this world where entire pieces of furniture are made using maybe only 2 or 3 tools.  Maybe not fine furniture, but furniture nevertheless.  There are extremes to everything, and the extremists tend to garner more attention than the normalists.  For example, take the Studley Tool Chest compared to Schwarz's Anarchist's Tool Chest.

[Handplanesandmore]

 The anarchist part was him trying to pare down his traveling toolbox to a minimum set of tools required to do basic joinery using hand tools. 

Even with that notion, what's being anarchic about paring down? Paring down has been a concept adopted in other areas such as lifestyle, travel, etc., sometimes referred to as back to the basics. I'm not aware of people labeling theirs as anarchism.

Regardless, woodworking and anarchism sound like an odd couple to me.

Simon

[Admiral]

If Chris is watching, he is loving all of this discussion!

[Tony Z]

If Chris is watching, he is loving all of this discussion!

If he is watching/reading, I don't really pay attrntion to the technique speak or the tool selling, but, keep up the publishing work! May LAP be the legacy!

[AHill]

Even with that notion, what's being anarchic about paring down? Paring down has been a concept adopted in other areas such as lifestyle, travel, etc., sometimes referred to as back to the basics. I'm not aware of people labeling theirs as anarchism.

Regardless, woodworking and anarchism sound like an odd couple to me.

Simon

Definition 2a seems to fit.  From Merriam Webster:

Definition of anarchy


1a: absence of government
b: a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of governmental authority  the city's descent into anarchy
c: a utopian society of individuals who enjoy complete freedom without government

2a: absence or denial of any authority or established order  anarchy prevailed in the ghetto
b: absence of order : DISORDER  not manicured plots but a wild anarchy of nature— Israel Shenker

[Greg Jones]

Schwarz has written often about what (aesthetic) anarchism means to him. One example linked here and a google search of “aesthetic anarchism schwarz” will find others.