I’m told that November and December were really rockin’ months for the bazaar because people were shopping for Christmas gifts. Makes sense. What about birthdays and anniversaries? Graduations? Promotions?

Do people only think about handmade gifts at Christmas-time?

With the number of people whining about how the Chinese are taking away our jobs it seems that the demand for factory made knick knacks and ‘crafts’ would be pretty low but is there too much price sensitivity? I mean, generally speaking the prices for handmade in the USA goods are going to be higher than factory made in China simply because none of us can live on $350 per month nor can we knock out 100 of the same item per hour. As an artist I can tell you that I’m frequently stunned by the artificially low prices I see at craft fairs and farmer’s markets because I know something about how labor intensive some of these things are. I have to make allowances on my prices because if I set the price to match the amount of labor that went into certain pens there’s no way I could sell them.

And think about this – as an artist, I am self-employed. That means that in addition to the income tax you see taken out of your paycheck, I get to pay both halves of the social security bite. Also, in my particular case, if I’m at the bazaar, I am actively not making any new product to sell. So for every hour I spend there, at least one more hour is spent in the shop. Usually more than 2.

People tend to make a value judgement on a ‘craft’ item based on what they believe the materials cost to be – Someone looks at one of my quilted clay fountain pens and thinks ‘Oh my god? $75? There can’t be a dollars worth of clay there’ True. There were, however, about 6 hours labor getting from buying clay to displaying a pen. Since the hardware cost me $6 I’m looking at a gross of $68. You’re going to pay with a credit card which costs me another $2 and I get to pay tax on the $66 that’s left so I actually get to keep $51. My effective labor rate is now down to less than $8 per hour. Oh, wait; I also pay for the space at the bazaar (even on days that I don’t sell anything) and I get to pay for the fuel to get back and forth. And the shipping charges that I paid to get the materials delivered to me to begin with….. And I had to buy the tools. I lost material (and therefore $$’s) to practice and perfect my skills… It goes on and on. In reality, about 50% of the posted price goes towards actually paying my bills.

So the next time you’re in a craft fair or farmers market, do me this favor – Imagine yourself making the item you’re looking at and multiply the time it would take to make it by $12.50 per hour (remember, as self-employed business people we pay a higher effective tax rate so that only puts $8 in my pocket) and then make your value judgement.

Rose’s rant http://rosescauldron.com/

Redmond’s Bazaar http://www.redmondsbazaar.com/

This is a ‘Raw’ pen. The acrylic blank, brass tubes that line it, the tip, center ring, clip, insert and the transmission (extends and retracts the insert when the top part of the barrel is rotated)

After deciding what material to use with a specific combination of hardware, the next step is to cut the blanks to the appropriate length.

Pictured here are one slimline (both top and bottom are the same length) and four ‘Designer’ blanks which have a longer lower section.

After being cut to length they are drilled to accept the brass tubes which is then glued in place.

I try to do this process in small batches – I will select the materials for 5 or 6 pens and prep all the blanks at once.

24 hours for the glue to dry and we’ll move on to the next step in the process….

….which is to mount the blanks on the lathe so they can be shaped. These are 3/4″ square pieces of Bethlehem Olive Wood – 3/4″ square is the most common ‘cut size’ for blanks because they can be used for any style pen. If I am cutting my own blanks I will reduce the size to 5/8″ because I seldom do oversize pens.

Ready to get started with the turning

Once the blanks are mounted they can be roughed out….

Turning the blanks from square to round

The bushings at each end of the blank sections provide guidance on the finished size required so that the transitions from wood to hardware are clean. The blanks will be turned with a skew chisel until they are very close and then the final dimension will be achieved in the sanding process..

Shaped, sanded and ready for finishing

Now the blanks are pen shaped and ready to be polished and assembled. Note the tenon cut on the right hand end of the left hand blank – this is where the center band is seated when the pen is assembled…..

The finished pen

An assortment of wands

An assortment of magic wands

Another fun product – Magic Wands are available unfinished for decoration or sleek and shiny for more immediate use. ‘Party Wands’ are made from Poplar and are cut with a more generous profile – similar to the Mahagony wand pictured here (second from top). The larger profile makes it easier for the kids to hold onto them, gives them more surface area to decorate and allows for a blunt tip. If you have a little boy you’ll totally get why that’s important….

All my wands are turned freehand so there is a fair amount of variation. I’ve got some cool ideas that I need to make up blanks to turn so keep your eye on this space…..

All my pens are handmade and are turned freehand – no duplicator. So while you may see material and style combinations repeat, every pen is a unique creation.

I have a permanent booth at Redmond’s Bazaar if you happen to be in Central Oregon and want to stop by and chat.  http://www.redmondsbazaar.com/

I’ll be building out the store during January and I will be adding new items as frequently as I can create them.