More on 9/20 entry and comment.

Hey Neill, thanks for your kind words. Rather than place this as a response in the comments section of the previous 9/20/07 I’m going to offer it as its own entry.  That comment was:

Art, this is a great post. I’m one of those guys who see the fabulous pieces here – and their SOLD status – and wish mightily that they were mine. Clearly, some of your custom work would sell over and over and over again. I’ve come to the conclusion that I just have to tell you what I want and then just wait for it to be made.I especially love that white material that resembles ivory with gold or brass. It is just gorgeous….Great post here, Art. A nice set of insights!!

I really do struggle with this issue as I’m sure many artisans do.  I’m very fortunate to have incredible collectors and established customers who have supported my work for years and continue to do so.  I feel compelled to reciprocate and respond in a like manner offering them my attention and consideration.  To me this only seems right and proper on several levels.

On the other hand, one must also be working hard to encourage new collectors and customers as this endeavor is an ongoing one.  Neill, you may note that this issue mirrors a discussion that we had some time back on Smoker’s Forum which dealt somewhat with putting all of one’s eggs in one basket. And while I’m fortunate to have numerous customers and collectors who greatly support my efforts, that still does little to promote new customers down the road.  I think that there are numerous ways to promote one’s work with potential new customers.  To date my efforts have met with mixed success.

The real problem is that most people new to the pipe smoking pursuit, or hobby, are fairly unlikely to be spending $100 on a pipe, and certainly not $100 on a tamper.  Even $40 on a tamper is a bit of a stretch.  So, efforts to create lines of lesser priced tampers have been a resounding failure and have been, except for TidBits, abandoned.  Another promotional route that I see some new artisans take, and one that I really had to take when I developed this niche, is to give pieces away.  The problem with that is that no one is going to say “no” to a freebie, and the chances of further interest is vastly diminished when there is a price tag attached.  And, no matter how much of an immediate splash that flashy giveaways make on newsgroups, once the prices are back and firmly affixed zero interest (beyond window-shopping) resumes.

So, how does one attract interest to new customers?  I suppose that all goes back to offering your best work and making it available on a regular basis to as many folks as possible while balancing that with supplying your established customer/collectors with that which they require to continue the journey with you as an artisan.  I guess there should be no surprise that the answer lies in striking a balance!

A double-edged sword.

I suppose that the whole business thing associated with being an artisan (or artist, I will use the terms interchangeably as I do both)) should be a simple matter. In its simplest form it all boils down to making something, and folks can buy it, or not.  But, as is usually the case, the devil is in the details.

I’ve been doing this for about a month shy of nine years.  Actually, it’s longer than that, but that’s neither here nor there.  What is important is that the nature of what I do, and how I sell it, has changed drastically over the years, always in a state of flux.  Early on all tampers sold were general sales.  I made it, showed it, and sold it.  Then, as my work became known, special orders became more common.  So did custom orders, the ones where the customer suggests some shape, one such as my favorite example “I want a tamper in the shape of my Aunt Edna’s nose.”  Custom orders have never been particularly well received as my work is about what’s in my mind’s eye, not someone else’s.  The goal is that we share that vision.  I’ve never been fond of the notion of being a human frazing machine where someone else’s vision could be brought to life through my hands.  What I do is about my own vision, and people either buy into it, or they don’t.

That said, special orders have always been different and far more desirable.  With these orders people request that I do work that is my own, maybe tweaking size, or material, or requesting a certain shape that is part of my repertoire. I’m 100% fine with that as what I am providing is mine to provide.  The end result is a Ming, Kaze or Moxie that could have come from my hands uninitiated.  And while there was a time where my focus was away from even these special orders, today they make up the vast majority of what I do.  Many of my customers and collectors give me free reign to make them whatever I want, while others have more specific requests.  Either way they end up with pieces that represent the artistry and craftsmanship that has brought me to the point where I’m at today.  If you think about it, to be able to work on a piece that you know to be already sold is an incredible position to be in, from a strictly business standpoint.  And while any piece that I have created has eventually sold, some sooner than others, such security as a pre-sold piece is a great comfort.  And knowing that any piece that you do for general release will probably sell without going up on the web site is equally comforting.

The problem with the foregoing is that like most things in life that offer a modicum of comfort there is a very distinct downside.  Like the title of this piece implies, the sword is double edged and cuts both ways.  The very distinct downside is that when you take the comfortable route it generally precludes taking a gamble.  Of course the businessman would ask why gambling would be desirable, but the artist knows the answer well.  Art is about taking risks.  It’s about pushing the envelope, to go where you haven’t been before.  It’s not about resting on your laurels as much as it is about building upon them.  There can be no growth without risk, and, truth be told, a risk well taken can provide the rush, the high, that keeps an artist going, ever striving towards some goal that I suspect (and hope) is unobtainable.

So where does all of that leave me with what I do with you, someone who might consider buying my work?  This question is very much on my mind, and especially so after a conversation yesterday with a friend/customer of mine.  He called to talk and to place a special order for a bamboo tamper, a request that he left me to do as I wish.  In passing he said to me that he loved the work that I have been doing lately but that everything that he saw was already sold. He was right on that, and I had no good response other than to say that I try as hard as I can to keep offering pieces for sale that folks can actually buy.  With so little of what I do even getting to the web site unsold the task of providing general release pieces becomes exceedingly difficult.  On the other hand, I’m just a little confused here.  If I go to my web site I find twenty-three tampers available for sale in a fairly wide variety of shapes and materials.  No, they aren’t brand new pieces, but I can assure you that they are as good as anything new that has or may come out.  So, I suppose that part of me notes that there is a good group of tampers sitting right there for sale, so I’m really not going to sweat it too much.  On the other hand, I understand human nature and understand two important aspects of the human condition: 1.) new is always better, and 2.) folks want most that which they cannot have. Those two aspects of human behavior go a long way towards defining my predicament.  Then, when you consider the fact that if people continue to perceive that you have nothing to offer then they will lose interest and go elsewhere, you can begin to see my position, one smack dab between a rock and a hard place.

So, what’s the net/net of all of this?  I’m not quite sure and I’m hoping that some of you might offer me some guidance on all of this.  I do know that I’ll continue to provide customers with unlimited access to place special orders.  The stability that they offer me allows me to continue all of this without great monetary concerns.  I also know that folks who have not placed special orders in the past are most welcome to do so now and in the future, or to contact me about what I might have in the works.  I also know that I’ll continue to work hard to develop my craft with new shapes and materials, taking risks and pushing the envelope, both with special order pieces and pieces that will be offered for general release.  Further, I’ll work harder towards offering more pieces for general sales, but at the same time I will continue to point out that there are already great pieces constantly being offered on my web site that also represent the best of my work.  Newer isn’t always better, sometimes it’s just the same as the older stuff, just newer.  And while folks may often want what they can’t have, there is a perfectly good Plan B available in existing pieces being offered, work guaranteed to please just the same.

Bottom line?  There are several ways to acquire my work if you are so inclined.  My goal is to make each of those ways a completely enjoyable experience. Your suggestions as to how I might approach this issue are most welcome and appreciated.    

New Kids on the Block

Here are the first two new materials from a group that has turned out to be spectacular.  I’ll be introducing them here two at a time pretty much every day for the next four or five days.  Some of them are materials that I’ve had for a while and decided to add, while ones such as these two are brand new.

Folks, I review many potential new materials all of the time, and while most are rejected for various reasons (aesthetics, working characteristics, durability) Tarantula and Parrot are absolute stunners.  Tarantula that you see above is a rich pattern that harkens back to the old days of Shaeffer pens back in the 30’s.  Whoever designed this one must be a pen lover as they have deadbang captured the essence of the old retro celluloid fountain pen materials with this one.  The photo speaks well for itself showing the rich colors and the fine rusty red brown wisps that border the chips of the material.  I have been aware for some time that a chip type series of materials would be coming out, and if this is one of them then we have quite a treat in store for us.  In fact, along with Parrot, much of what I’ll be showing you in the next few days falls into this class of materials.

Below we have Parrot.  By the way, these names that I use for the materials are my own names that I have given them.  I consider a name to be very important, something that helps to convey how the material makes me feel or what it makes me see in my mind’s eye.  This one was a no-brainer.  In the…holy cow, nearly a decade…that I’ve been doing this I have never seen a material quite like this.  Many materials mix three or four colors, that isn’t all that unusual, but to layer it the way that this one does is unprecedented.  As I lay out the tamp in each bar I’m able to chose the portion of the bar that will put on the best show in terms of color.  Orange, yellow, green and brown all are in the mix and with the typical tamper I can include all in the piece.  Heck, it would be enough to just layer these colors, but each layer is made up of gorgeous chips of each color adding to the show.  The results, I think you will agree, are quite stunning.

By the way, each of the new materials being shown here will be shown in the Bluto shape.  Why a Bluto?  There are numerous reasons, the primary one being that the shape shows the materials best, the simple elegant shape not distracting one from the material.  Also, the shape is quite popular and can be produced with greater speed and ease taking less of my time from my regular production.  Plus, I know that they will sell quickly, as these two tampers already have.

Note:  These two tampers are sold, but you can count on Tarantula and Parrot pieces in the future in many shapes.  

Another blast from the past…Necron Series “Firedance”

The tamper that you see above was created right around the same time as Blade that you see in the last blog entry for 9/9/07.  As with Blade, Firedance had its own snippet from a fantasy novel never written:

“On the darkest of nights, when the moon is hidden from the world, far from prying eyes a circle of ruby flames, specters of a lost and forgotten time, dance and leap wildly upon the forest floor, casting faint shadows of muted souls.  So goes the firedance til first glint of dawn…”

The flame-like shape of the piece suggests the ruby flames, a piece made up of three laminated bars of the cellulose acetate material Blood of Kings.  The pieces are bonded at the molecular level so the strength is that of a continuous piece of the original material.  Some seams are unavoidable, but are dead minimal.  The tamper is 4.3 inches long.

Note:  Sorry, Blade and Firedance were sold years ago.  In fact, I just got a note from the owner of Blade about how well it’s doing.  Thanks for the offers to buy Blade, but it isn’t mine to sell, and the gentleman who owns it isn’t giving it up. 

A blast from the past…. Necron Series Blade in Inferno..

Each Necron Series tamp, at least the later ones that I produced back around 2002, came with a paragraph from a novel that was never written, a fantasty fantasy novel, so to speak.  Here is the snippet that was written on the back of the ownership card for Necron Series “Blade” in Inferno:

“Forged in the fires of Hell when time was an infant, the blade that would someday lay waste to legions was blasted to shape.  Formed from an amalgam of stone, steel and magic, the flames of doom did their cursed work over the eons, forever etching upon the blade the mark of the inferno from whence it came. As the world above cooled from its fiery birth, and as mountains heaved upwards towards the heavens, and the continents formed and shifted, and shifted again, and yet again, through evil design the blade found its way to the light of day.  As the blade lay waiting for the inevitable touch of a human hand, the sweet rains of a young and innocent world slowly quenched the fire of damnation still burning deep within, readying it for the gnarled hands that would someday grasp its twisted grip. It was a blade to be wielded by a man who would once again shape the world, for better or worse…”

Okay, I know, it’s really indulgent writing, but I very much enjoyed the notion of offering some prose to give the piece a background, a history of sorts, to explain its existence.  I think that it might be time to bring the Necron Series back.

This particular piece is made up of two pieces of cellulose acetate bonded together, at the molecular level, providing for a nearly seamless joinder.  I’ve always especially enjoyed this piece along with its cousin, Firedance, whose story I will share in my next blog entry.

 

das weiner im shnitzel

Despite having an undergraduate degree from a university with one of the top psych departments in the country, my knowledge of Sigmund Freud is rather limited, more in line with that of folks with no formal training in the science. My department was heavily behaviorist, where Skinner held court and Freud was the jester.  But, despite the disdain with which Herr Freud was held by my mentors, I still understood the proposition that sometimes a cigar is far more than a cigar.  Of course, when one makes long cylindrical objects made to be inserted into an orifice, the ground is set for the raising of eyebrows, winks, and nudges to the rib cage.  Say no more.

I well recall the early days exploring my craft and the shapes that were created.  I’d proudly hold the tamp up to the light, bask in it’s magnificence, and think to myself  “Holy crap, you can’t sell that”, they’ll make you move your workshop out next to the airport by the “book stores” and nudie bars.”  So, I’d take one last look, have one last laugh, and throw the offending tamp into a big tin can where it would be sheathed until the day came that I could transform it into something else.

Since those early days I have learned to accept my shapes for what they are, and if someone should see something, shall we say, “phallic”, well, then so be it.  The engineering of the pursuit sort of sets the stage for such, and there is precious little that I can do to change that.

Unfortunately when it comes to my full size non-tamper sculpture there is no such excuse.  The task doesn’t dictate the shape.  There is no reason for there to be a weiner in the shnitzel.  A cigar can just be a cigar.  “Johnson” need only be a last name, and “Dick” only need be a first name. Funny, one of my best friends in high school’s name was “Dick Johnson.”  You get the idea, so I’ll let this part of the story peter out.

At any rate, when I began my full size sculptures, under the auspices of Ming Destiny, the first piece that sold would’ve made old Sigmund blush.  Fortunately the purchaser was a psychoanalyst who fully appreciated the underlying tones of the piece, but, since then I have been ever vigilant, sort of the pee-pee police, making sure that my shapes stay above the belt.  Then, yesterday, all hell broke loose.

The rough carved piece that you see above was four years in the planning.  The block of clear acrylic was like none that I have ever seen in its clarity.  Shape after shape came up for consideration and summarily dismissed.  I wanted to do more than a rain drop sort of shape, a shape for which I have come to be known, but by going beyond that I had the pee-pee police grabbing for their helmets and billy clubs every which way I turned.  Then, I came up with this shape, sort of a drop morphing into my Arashi tamper shape.  What could the harm be in that?

When the dust had settled the only word that came to mind was “D’oh”.  I had done it again. I even emailed a couple of friends to make sure, and the responses were unanimous:  “you’ve carved another…”

 Well, so be it.  Old Sigmund was right and I’m just not going to fight it or care anymore.  And while this piece will look a lot less reproductive once the shape is further refined and sanded and buffed to perfect clarity, it is what it is.  I’m through caring and dicking round with this issue.

Freud, was right.  Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.  That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

What the day may bring…

This morning  when I awoke I gazed out my bedroom window at the sun rising over the Blue Ridge chain of the Appalachian Mountains.  As the sky brightened I found my pulse quickening.  The beginning of the day is a treasure to me, those moments when the realization comes to my clearing head that I will be free to make whatever I wish, beautiful things that will become part of someone’s life.  Those moments are priceless to me and often bring the inspirations and thoughts that will define my creativity for the day.

Yes, there are dozens of special orders that will demand my attention, and each of them will have their own time, the exact right time, but I always allow time for my creativity of the moment to be expressed unchecked.  Creative inspirations are like dreams.  They become more diffuse as time passes, like fog melting away in the warming sun, eventually vanishing, returning to some cerebral reservoir, never to be seen again in their present form.  They are an opportunity that if not taken will be squandered, never to be duplicated, as unretrievable as the delicate crystalline form of a single snowflake.  

As even a slight breeze will change the pattern of the world around us, the unavoidable intrusions of the day disturb the balance of the moment.   Faced with the impending day, that time upon awakening is sacrosanct, incredibly fragile moments when the intangible is given bedrock and form so that it can come to be, and find its way to my hands, then to your hands, and the bowl of your pipe.

In its simplest form, that is the essence of what I do.