One small step for a man…

I’m pleased to announce that I have now entered the 21^st Century. 

As it turns out it’s not as scary as I had anticipated.  Truth be told, I still hold a deep seated aversion to all things that require an instruction manual to operate, at least one that is longer than a small book.  It’s also true that many things in my house have not lived up to their full potential in terms of the wizardry that they have been designed to perform.  My DVD simply shows movies (when my daughter gets it going for me) and my microwave can heat things up very nicely, and make popcorn, but 99% of the crap that it can do is a waste of circuitry.  But all of that being true, I’m willing set aside my distaste in favor of any technological advancement that aids in the communication between one person and another.  Hence, the machine that you see above now runs my life.

When our Verizon cell phone contract was mercifully over we realized (my wife did, that is) that both my daughter and I could have phone and Internet access for far less than we were paying (My wife has a Treo through work).  So, this past Monday at lunch we ventured up to T-Mobile and while my wife and the associate went over everything (and I daydreamed) all I kept saying is “I want that one”.

“That one” turned out to be the T-Mobile Dash.  From what I have since learned, I chose a very good one.  I must admit that it wasn’t hard to figure out.  It has Internet access, Wi-Fi, a camera and a nice big screen with an easy to operate keyboard.  It was smaller than all of the rest, so it wasn’t rocket science.  Even the reviews by folks who know about this kind of crap say that I did well.  Of course the phone does far more than I’ll ever use it for, but now I can answer and send emails from just about anywhere that I go.  Gee, now I can work 24 hours a day.

So, if for a while my emails seem a bit perfunctory it will be because I’m learning how to type with two thumbs as opposed to my usual two fingers.  I’m still not quite sure what to make of the instruction manual, a writing the size of a novella, but I’m sure I’ll eventually use it to find out how to access the games.

Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you. I set the dang thing so that when I get an email it makes the sound of barking dogs!  Yup, barking dogs.  I’d bet that technological wonder is thanks to the space program.  Man walks on moon…Art has barking phone.  Tell me JFK saw that one coming.

Next my daughter is going to download the “In Like Flint” ringtone for me.  Barking dogs and Derek Flint!  Does it get any better?

I love living in the future.  Barking dogs!  How great is that?

What’s next?

So, what am I working on?  Above should give you an idea.  That peice just finished up today and is, as of right now, available.  Of course it just went up two minutes ago!  It’s a 2.77 inch long Ming Arashi in mammoth ivory.  You can see the particulars here: http://www.ming-kahuna.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=921 It’s quite a piece!  I love it when I’m able to get that brown grain, but getting it is a tricky business as you are out by the bark where things get difficult.

So why haven’t you seen more mammoth pieces? The problem has been that I’ve had a difficult decision to make and have only now made it.  The issue was the placement of the logo.  I really had a  hard time justifying breaking up such a beautiful surface for the sake of a logo.  Plus, it would be very difficult for the tamper’s new owner to take care of the tamp in terms of future buffing.  Buffing a metal logo embedded in ivory results in a nasty black smear across the surface unless you know exactly what you are doing.  I do know what to do but don’t tink it’s reasonable to expect the owner of the tamp to deal with this.  And yes, I did place the logo on the tamp surface itself for some past pieces, but with all of the guys who build up cakes on the tamp surface it seemed a waste of time.  So, as I occasionally do with my tamps when the situation calls for it, the logo has been left off and will be on future ivory pieces.  That seems reasonable to me, and besides, logo or not, is there any doubt that this tamp is a Ming?

 Oh, one more thing.  Right now I’m working on a tamper that I think is going to be very, very special.  It’s made from elephant’s tusk and is a variation of my Katsu shape.  I have a feeling that it’s going to be a real event for Ming-Kahuna (knock on wood), but, it has a good ways to go.  The piece will be named “Bonito Moxie” and will be offered some time in the relatively near future if all goes well…extremely well.   

Tips for the new artisan Part 2

My first two tips to the new pipe artisan had a somewhat negative spin in that they were things that shouldn’t be done.  I almost took the entry down off the page because I like to stay positive with regard to the pipe biz.  The fact is that 99% of people in the biz get along, and between people who are technically competitors there is more cooperation and harmony than anything else.  I think that my comments were made with regards to new people coming into the business because I would like to see the business stay as it is and not become cutthroat.   Folks come from all walks of life, but they should take a good look around at the pipe biz and get a feel for it early on.

That said, on to tip numbers three and three point one.

TIP #3.0:  RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING PRICE YOUR PRODUCT WITH DEALERS IN MIND

Pricing is possibly the most difficult task performed by an artisan.  It requires one to be able to objectively step back and assign a value to ones work while accurately assessing its place in the current market.  That is no small task and may well be a make or break for the new artisan.  If one prices too high then your products just sit unsold.  If you price too low you are left with adjusting your prices upwards, and price increases always piss people off.  Compounding the troubles is the fact that the new artisan is largely an unknown who has not yet established a reputation, so mistakes made early on may have a pronounced effect.

One of the most common pricing mistakes is to price your product (I hate that word “product”) without considering the possibility that you may well sell through dealers in the future.  I learned this mistake from experience.  Early on Music City Marketing approached me about distributing Ming-Kahuna.  After a pleasant conversation it became apparent to me that this was not possible.  Understand that when you use a distributor you basically give up 2/3 of your retail.  You now have two mouths to feed, the distributor and the dealer.  At the time a $40 tamper would have netted me a grand whopping total of $13.30.  Heck, I’d buying for that rather than make them!  Even an artisan/dealer relationship would have only netted $20 with a 50/50 split or $24 with a 60/40 split.  Considering that I bear all of the costs of production I’d be left with about a McDonald’s Value Meal for my troubles.  All of this was caused by the fact that at the time that I set prices I did not consider the possibility of selling through dealers in the future which in this business is a probability rather than a possibility.  Fortunately when dealer UPtown’s came a calling two years later I had adjusted my prices upwards (no easy task when prices are first set too low, a topic for another occasion) and had a price structure adequate to support dealers.

If pricing is a puzzling task get advice from someone who has experienced success.  If pricing isn’t puzzling you probably aren’t giving it enough thought.

TIP #3.1:  RANDOM THOUGHTS RELATED TO TIP 3.0

3.12: TRY AND BASE YOUR PRICES ON THE ACTUAL PRODUCTS THAT YOU ARE SELLING.

While one must certainly look to the market and what else is out there, one must first determine the value of what they make.  Then one can adjust that up or down based upon factors such as competitor’s quality, pricing, reputation and market size.  One must also consider that they are new and an unknown, so that will affect a buyer’s willingness to pull the trigger and take the plunge.  On many occasions I’ve heard artisan’s say something like “Joe Smith is getting X many dollars for his widgets so I should be getting at least that much, or Y dollars for mine.”  Poppycock.  Apples and oranges.  That kind of thinking my well get you into big trouble.

3.13:  WHEN APPROACHED BY A DEALER CONSIDER WHETHER YOU NEED A DEALER TO SELL

That may seem to be common sense, but I suspect it is a question that few think to ask.  First, it is inevitable that a dealer will approach you asking to sell your work.  Dealers perform an incredibly important task in this business and are the life blood of our hobby.  I have nothing but respect for dealers so please do not take what I’m about to say as in any way negative about them.  But I would highly recommend that you not strike up any relationship with a dealer for at least a year, preferably a two years, at a minimum.  If you are new to the business you are just beginning to learn the ropes and have no idea who is who.  Take your time and get your feet wet listening (go to shows) and gathering information.  Entering into a relationship- with a dealer is a major business decision and you need adequate information to make that decision. But even beyond taking your time it seems to me that it would be difficult to know whether you will even need a dealer until the dust settles (any honeymoon periods are over) and you see where things will level out.  After a year or two you may well find that you can sell all that you can make, so why a dealer?  On the other hand after things settle you may find that you either don’t want to sell your own work, or, you really aren’t that good at it, or that there are important parts of the market that you can’t access, and a dealer becomes crucial.  Lets face it, it’s a big compliment when a dealer asks to sell your work (especially for the new artisan who is just thrilled that anyone would actually buy his work!) but don’t get all choked up and make a major business decision just because you got stroked.  Take the compliment and then forget about it directly.   Then do the business analysis. Remember, if enough time hasn’t gone by (I’d argue at least a year or two) I’d consider kindly declining the relationship leaving that door open for the future.  To much is unknown early on to make such commitments.

  

Tips for the new artisan

Over the past handful of years there has been a glut…okay, not quite a glut, but one heck of a lot of guys who have thrown their artisan hats into the ring as new pipe makers, blenders, and tamper makers.  (And lately, especially a lot of tamper maker)  And for every striving new artisan out in the open there are probably ten others still in the closet working to produce something that someone might want to buy.  Good!  More power to you.  But, the road ahead is full of possible potential errors, and some of them are difficult to overcome once made. 

So, to aid those new to the crafts I’m creating a new “New Artisan Tips” section here at ShopTalk.   This ongoing feature will enable me to pass on what I have learned over the past eight years, often by trial and error.  It won’t be marketing or technical related as each craft is different, but more business and business conduct tips to help the new artisan avoid screwing the pooch.  Some will disagree with what I have to say, so I will state up front I’m only offering what has worked for me, or other artisans that I know, nothing more, nothing less.  Sometimes just identifying the error will be enough as it will call for personal solutions that are different for everyone.  But one way or the other, addressing the issue will be a crucial first step regardless of whether a solution is offered.

Tip #1: GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE.

Unless you have the enviable position of having created your own niche, someone else will have provided you with guidance, either as a model, or by way of actual advice, or both.  And even if you have created your own niche there will be those people out there who have helped you greatly in handling yourself in the business and in the manner that you conduct your business.  Give those people credit every chance that you can.  Most often it will be very obvious who has influenced your work or provided your business model.  You may think that no one can tell, but it is often glaringly apparent.  If you have used someone’s signature shapes folks will know.  Pretending like it isn’t the case will only compound your problems.

When years ago my good friend pipe maker Todd Johnson began making some heavily Lars Ivarsson inspired shapes he even paid homage to Lars by calling or describing the pipes “Lars” or “Lars inspired”.   This allowed Todd to begin to work with the inspiration of Lars Ivarsson towards his own shapes while deflecting criticism.  The same could be said for Wolfgang Becker who started out with heavily Lars inspired pipes, but like Todd he has taken that inspiration so much beyond that the resulting shapes are his now own.  But I’d bet dollars to donuts that both Todd and Wolfgang would acknowledge the inspiration and offer their thanks for it, and have already done so.  And while credit should be given where credit is due, feel free to describe how you have modified the shape, or tweaked it, beginning to make your own version.

Of course this advice also applies to help offered in the way of technique and materials.  For example, if someone like Trever Talbert was greatly helpful to you in the learning your craft, give them public recognition for all that they have helped you.  The hours that an artisan has helped you, either directly or by offering information on the web, is precious time that could have been spent more profitably.  Say thank you when possible with public recognition. It seems the polite thing to do and will show that you are a kind polite person rather than an ungrateful lout.

Of course the same goes for those who offer business advice, especially if they are a competitor.  That person didn’t have to spend the time or effort helping, probably in the end against his own interests, so acknowledge the assistance. 

Tip #2:  DO NOT TEAR DOWN THE WORK OF COMPETITORS TO PROP UP YOUR OWN

To do so is a huge mistake.  It’s even more of a huge mistake if you are the new guy and the work that you are attacking is that of an established artisan.  Word of it will inevitably get back to the established artisan and if he has a mind to he probably has the reputation and connections to do you more harm than you could imagine.  And don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because the artisan isn’t at a pipe show that this gives you carte blanche to attack the other artisan’s work while you are there.  There are many ears at a pipe show and what is said there rarely stays there.  It will get back to the person being trashed.  Note, while I’m using a strong word like “trashed”, I’m talking about any criticisms of any competing artisan.

Looking at this in a more positive spin, promote your work based upon what you do and not based upon what someone else doesn’t do.  The first part, what I do, is a positive message that properly showcases your own personal twist on the craft.  But when you go to the second part and start to talk about what someone else does or doesn’t do in that regard, to prop up your work, you go too far and it becomes a message of negativity and criticism.  There are always differences in how people do what they do, but when you say/suggest that how you do it, as opposed to how they do it, is superior, then you have crossed the line into negativity.  Stay positive and showcase what you do.  While most people in the pipe biz seem to get along just fine, from time to time you will see a new artisan who sees attack tactics as a quick fix in dealing with their perceived competitors’ established position in the market.  REAL BAD IDEA.

Duck, duck…..

Here’s a big wet Bronx cheer to the Chicago City Council’s prohibition of foie gras.  Get a life so that the citizens of Chicago can live there’s free from your embarrassing meddling.

 The nation is laughing at you.

Two new materials.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a material that amounts to something totally new.  That recently changed.  Above are two materials tentatively named Siesta (top), and Fiesta (bottom).  This is an art amber type of material (in composition) that is basically a red and dark blue matrix with tiny flecks of a whole myriad of colors suspended within.  These photographs are pretty bad and don’t convey the richness of these materials with the blue Siesta looking far more purple than it really is.  BTW, these two pieces aren’t even buffed yet and are only sanded.  On some buffed pieces I have seen what it will look like in finished form and it is really a fun pair of materials.  They really put on quite a show with swarms of rich colors suspended almost like a super rich star field.

Whether Fiesta and Siesta will come to be part of Ming-Kahuna remains to be seen.  I’d love to hear your opinion.  They are certainly not conservative materials, and I would be tempted to pass them off as “too glitzy”, but they are extremely well done and actually a wonderful look, especially with more simple shapes.  So, thumbs up or thumbs down?  Feel free to answer here or drop me a note at mingkahuna@aol.com.

At the very least I’ll get a couple of tampers out of it, two Jakes just carved today soon to be seen here.

Screw Elmo

They say that we are a throw-away society.  I tend to agree with that.  Just look how people are with cars.  Heck, just look at the divorce rate.

Today we seem to be far less likely to invest in the long term and more likely to be looking for the quick fix.  We run hither and yon looking for the next thing, searching for that which is new, or new and improved, and hoping to be the first to try it.  Just look at the “it” Christmas toy that we have every year, be it a video game or Elmo doll, that bring people to part with thousands of dollars for a toy that can be had a month later for $3.99 in the budget bin.

But no, we’ve got to have little Elmo and we’ll pay dearly to get him.  In fact, we’ll part from all reason and sanity and pay a hundred times what he’s worth to get him.  Okay, so it’s Christmas and people get stupid at Christmas, but is that really any excuse?  What if we conducted ourselves that way the rest of the year?  Well, I fear that to a degree we do just that.

As I was saying earlier, everyone seems to be running to the next new thing, be it Elmo, bellbottoms, or Beamers. It’s no longer a matter of keeping up with the Jonses, screw them, let’s just crush them.  So hop on the bandwagon bright and early and be one of the first to own what others will later covet.  Times a’wastin’, so if it’s “new”, or better yet “new and improved”,  it’s for you.  Hurry, hurry, they won’t last long and you don’t want to be left standing in line.

Okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating just a little, and maybe this is just the artisan in me,  but for every Elmo lusted after and fought over in the aisles I can’t stop and wonder about the Flexible Flyer sitting unwanted and ignored on the shelf.  Here’s a company that has been quietly and most competently making everything from sleds to swing sets to wagons since 1889, and they go unnoticed.  Over the years far more Flexible Flyer products have been under Christmas trees than Elmos will ever be, and have served us well during childhood, but today all we care about is a toy that will be relegated to the bottom of the toy chest by this time next year, if not next week.  Despite this, the good folks at Flexible Flyer in West Point, Mississippi just keep doing what they do, and extremely well at that, understanding that quality and craftsmanship is timeless, and that trends are just…trends, here today, and gone tomorrow. New isn’t always better, and new and improved is a pretty tall order to fill.

This all reminds me of a very good friend of mine.  He’s an artisan, and one of the very best in his craft.  In his chosen niche he is hands down the best.  He created a “product” that serves its users better than anything else out there.  This isn’t just me talking, just ask any of his many satisfied customers.  He is successful and very much deserves that success.  Unfortunately success attracts attention and is often the case some of it is in the form of others who throw their hat into the ring offering what they perceive to be similar products.  That’s the way that it has always been, and in a free market it’s the way that it needs to be.  I have no problem with that.  Where I do part ways is with these folks drawn to the “new” like moths to the flame.  They are so enamored with the newness, and being on the cutting edge, that they begin to minimize the tried and true.  Their lust for the new and improved, a lust driven in large part by novelty, causes them to lose sight of the fact that the old was state of the art as it was.  The newness blinds them.

So, my friend goes on making the finest that there is, and yet people rush hither and yon looking for something new, something that has already been available to them for years.  They’ll tout the fact that the new ones have bifurcated muffler bearings, but they won’t be aware that my friend tried bifurcated muffler bearings years ago only to find them to be inadequate for the job.  They will discount the years spent by my friend in perfecting his craft in favor of the newness of the new offering, and will go to great lengths to justify their choice despite all evidence to the contrary.

So, my friend plods along each day making the best that there is, amazed that some will be drawn to the new, whatever it is, merely because it’s new, while taking comfort in the fact many will always recognize quality for what it is, and chose accordingly, immune from trends, glitz and bright lights, doubting promises (no matter how well-intentioned) that will never be kept.

Sometimes new is better, sometimes not.  One thing is for sure and that is that newness is no guarantee of anything.

Screw Elmo, make mine a Flexible Flyer.  

Kaze’s future is in the past…

No matter how much you plan things never seem to work out quite as you might have thought.  Such is life, and such is KazeTamp.

When KazeTamp was first conceptualized a handful of tampers were begun and were to be the first pieces offered.  Well, along came Bali, quite unexpectedly, to say the least, and years of planning went right out the window.  Other than Genesis, the very first KazeTamp, those first pieces which were to have been offered have laid unfinished on my shelf for far too long.  So, it is now time to go back and begin to offer what I had planned in the first place.  The cart has been in front of the horse, but that will soon be corrected.  Really, in many ways, the complete KazeTamp has yet to be seen.

So, next up is to finish the KazeTamp in Caneel that you see in somewhat cloaked form above.  The piece is tentatively called “Angry Beavers”.  If you’ve seen that marvelously funny cartoon you might recognize why I have given this piece that particular name.  I hope to have this tamper finished yet this week.  After that I will go back and finish “Sky Captain”.

Jaws may well drop.