Meet Mr. Happy (New Artisan Tip #677)

Meet Mr. Happy. It looks like someone rained on Mr. Happy’s parade.  Truth is his problems are his own doing.  Years ago he started out to master a craft for the fun of it.  It was about the pure joy of the craft that kept him going early on when the going was toughest.  Then, after a time, he sought to sell his work.  He’d alway said that he’d just make a few for himself and his friends, but if he were to look back with perfect honesty he’d have to admit that his goal all along, if only deep, deep down, was to sell his work and be known as an artisan.  He knew that selling was the ultimate thrill, so sell he must.  That someone would actually buy what he made would be the test.  That was what he really wanted.

As time went on Mr. Happy was rewarded with sales.  Folks actually liked what he made and were willing to spend their hard earned money to obtain it.  That made Mr. Happy really happy, but as time went by merely selling his work wasn’t enough.  While he would have told you that the thrill of just selling his work was still the ultimate thrill,  much of the thrill was gone.  In fact, now his goal was to charge even more and more for his work. That would really make him happy.  Luckily for Mr. Happy people liked his work enough that they kept buying Mr. Happy’s work despite the fact that it was now downright expensive.  But buy it they did and Mr. Happy found himself amazed at how much money people were willing to pay and how much he made from his craft.  For a long time Mr. Happy was very happy indeed.

But, as time went on Mr. Happy found that money just wasn’t enough.  He’d tell you that the fact that folks were willing to spend so much of their hard earned cash on his work was thrill enough for him, but in reality the thrill had faded.  Mr. Happy wanted something more.  Mr. Happy wanted to be the very best at what he did and he swore that he would be just that no matter what it took.

So, for a long time Mr. Happy worked hard at being the best.  In fact, some who watched him would have said that he was obsessed with being the best.  It consumed Mr. Happy. Happliy for Mr. Happy, as before, he got his wish, and it was good to be the king.  But just as it was in the past, the thrill faded with time, leaving a hollow feeling.  As you might have guessed, Mr. Happy was no longer happy.  His work hadn’t suffered, but who knows what might have been.

Finally it got to the point that Mr. Happy was forced to realize that he was no longer happy.  Something was missing, and it was something big.  He had mastered his craft, but that wasn’t enough.  People paid him lots of money for his work, but that wasn’t enough.  Most anyone would have said that he was the best at what he did, but that wasn’t enough.  Mr. Happy had it all, but it wasn’t enough.  Rather bewildered Mr. Happy went on for a good while after that, not happy at all, trying as he could to make sense of it all.

Thankfully, one day Mr. Happy found the secret.  He sat down one Saturday afternoon in his shop and out of the blue a very simple question popped into his head.  He asked himself “Why am I here?”.  He looked around his shop, at the world that he had created, looking at much of his work laying about, taking in the result of his hard work, and he had his answer. He was there because he wanted to be there.  He loved what he did.  Mr. Happy understood that what made him happy was the pure joy of his craft.  It was about the thrill of creating, and the pride of craftsmanship.  It was about the passion, the pure passion for what he was doing, and the little world that he had created.  As he felt these wonderful feelings that he hadn’t felt with such force for so long, he realized that over the years he had allowed himself to become sidetracked, and what really mattered had never really left him.  Quite simply, he had just come to ignore it. 

So, Mr. Happy is very happy again.  In fact, he is doing a veritable “happy dance” as he has learned a very valuable lesson. 

 The lesson is: if you don’t love what you are doing you are wasting your time. The pure joy and passion of the pursuit will keep you going in the beginning, serve to take you ever onward, and be there for you in the end. Never take it for granted or lose sight of it.  It is everything.

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.