Re: A Studdy Ingrain - "The Tilted Pot Story" by Mike Messer
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 1:34 pm
tell us howP.S. Somebody, stop me!
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tell us howP.S. Somebody, stop me!
For the record, this is exactly the approach I have used and it is working well. I am at about the one year mark of part-time pipemaking and have sold about 25 for an average of 120 or so and plan to go up a bit in January. Happy, repeat customers spreading the word and getting your name out there is what it is all about in the first few years, along with fully understanding the fact that there is still much to be improved upon. I am just pleased to be breaking even more or less quickly, and happy to have some happy customers. Mostly, I look forward to the next pipe, pleased that it will be smoked somewhere most likely unless I sand through to the bowl or otherwise screw it up badly. For me, as basically a hobbyist, I just want the option to make some money sometime in the future, and a slow build I think is how you get there. Very hard to come straight in at the top, and (no offense intended) egotistical to think you might be able to do so.DMI wrote:On the price side of things I have taken the opposite approach. I started selling my pipes after I had made only five, the pipes were sold as the early pipes of a new pipemaker and I have kept my customers up to date on new methods I was using and how my work was improving. I took my customers on the journey with me and they have stayed.
As of now I have sold 96 pipes, the most expensive being a commission pipe that went for $140, my average selling price is $70,which even my customers say is below their worth. But I have 82 very happy customers who are spreading the word. In January I’ll be raising my prices because my pipes are now that much better, it won’t be a big increase though.
I edited your critique and added reference numbers and my responses below.Sasquatch wrote:...
..(1) The lines of the shank fudge out (top and bottom) as they approach the bowl, and if you compare that with the hard (measured even) lines of the stem, it's a contrast without purpose, and any pipe maker and more importantly any pipe collector is going to see that, and in this case, the net effect is a pipe with
...(2) "amateur" shaping tendencies.
...(3) The thickness of the bowl, the thickness of the shank (especially at the bowl), and the way the piece presents, particularly given that it is
...(4) JUST enough asymmetrical to kind of throw a guy.....
...(5) I'll be honest, when I look at that pipe, that's exactly the kind of thing I am currently trying to get beyond as an artist. I'm not saying I could do a better pot. In fact, lots of my pots look a hell of a lot like that, bowl shape (pick your side) shank size, everything, and the reason for that is that I'm NOT a very good pipemaker. Maybe I underprice my stuff a little bit, but when I look at what a guy can buy for $200.00 bucks or $300.00, damn, you can get a fucking serious pipe for that kind of money. If you are careful, you could get a couple. Mastro de Paja makes nice pipes for 150 bucks.
...(6) Price yourself against Cavicchi, perhaps - http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/c ... t_id=67261
That's a helluva a piece of briar for 330.
...(7)That's the reality. I notice that your other pipes are still for sale, and I'm not saying this to spite your or throw something in your face, but having pipes for sale and having pipes sold is a difference that you seem not to have a great deal of appreciation for.
Thanks, Todd, for the critique. I honestly think you are a great pipemaker. I value your critique, and have a great deal of respect for you, except when I'm being an ass, and then I am just, ...being an ass. I'm trying to cut down on that a lot.ToddJohnson wrote:
(1) Actually, "mouthpiece" or "stem" are terms used by all pipemakers.
(2) Nonetheless, I realize you're a free spirit, a non conformist, an innovator, a true original, and I don't want to do anything to stifle your rogue creativity.
(3) Regarding the pipe, I think it very nice for a beginner's effort, but it's tough to say without knowing the Shore D hardness. The stem looks to have straight lines and sharp edges--the saddle looks nicely cut in--and the finish looks smooth and shiny. Overall though, I think it's too chunky to seem elegant, and too diminutive to have any real masculinity.
(4)There are tool marks on the face of the stem, and the face of the shank looks overworked and
(5) out of round.
(6) The story about how it tilts, and therefore must be compared to fine works of art is complete nonsense. This is why I hate to see people comment on their own work.
(7) When you make a wonky pipe, either fix it or just say "Aaw fiddlesticks," and sell it to a buddy.
(8) I also checked the price, and while I'm all for carvers getting a good wage for their work, this simply doesn't have the lines of a $700 pipe. I think if you dropped the price by about $450 you would be in the right neighborhood. Pricing is tough, though. It's tough for me, it's tough for Lars, and it's tough for everyone here who's ever made a pipe they're proud enough to sell. The likelihood, though, of someone dropping seven hundred dollars on a wonky pot by a guy they've never heard of isn't good. Perhaps you don't care about getting your work out into the marketplace, and that's fine, but if you do, you might want to rethink some things.
I hope you've found this constructive. Please do get me that Shore D hardness.
TJ
cutebregolad wrote:tell us howP.S. Somebody, stop me!
I think this is probably the root of your problem. The single biggest improvement you can make, is to figure out how to be incredibly efficient with your time, and very fast with your tools.Mike Messer wrote: (8) I will probably make no more than 25 pipes a year, and I'm working full-time with overtime. I just can't sell them cheap.
Im inspired. My pipes are now 1 million dollars a piece. Eventually the collectors will realize what they are missing, and when they do I will soooooo be laughing at all you morons who tried to follow a typical/logical business model. I think I'll use my first million to buy all of the pipes each of you make so I can run them through my garbage disposal. That'll teach you.RadDavis wrote:Good Luck with that.
You are awesome.
Rad
You should feel comfortable, now that you are aToddJohnson wrote:Mike, I think we can all agree that you are an idiot and an asshole. What's really fun, though, is to take bets on whether or not you are for real. I've seen enough psychological train wrecks in my life to believe that someone like you could indeed exist in reality. It's fun to read your posts in the same way it might be fun to check back on a molding cup of coffee day after day to see what foul, grotesque filth it's spawned in one's absence. After a few days, though, it just gets old and disgusting. At that point, it needs to go into the trash for good. I'm just sayin' is all.
TJ
Well, I used to have it "cornered," but then Weaver has started eating into my market share. Plus, there's Rad. His middle initial is "A," and I think we all know what that stands for. Unfortunately, there are already several insane pipemakers, so that shtik isn't entirely available either. Now that Random seems to have crawled back under his rock, perhaps the "Unapiper" moniker is once again free. Marketing is so tough.wdteipen wrote:Besides, Todd J. has the market cornered for a-holes that make and sell high grade pipes so that angle is covered.![]()
One thing that Todd has over you is that he actually makes high grade pipes (and he's actually not really an a-hole from what I hear.) You can't just be any ole a-hole that makes pipes and expect to succeed.
Oh My God.ToddJohnson wrote:... I've seen enough psychological train wrecks in my life...
But No, forget Simeon.SimeonTurner wrote: ...it may double as my medication wears off (or on, depending).
Simeon has some kind of sick anal fixation. Ick.SimeonTurner wrote:...Im also now selling my own turds. It's an art, you see...:
I don't think it's disrespectful to defend your work with rational discussion and explanation. The criticism gets a bit harsh, sometimes.wdteipen wrote: disrespect and lack of humility in receiving honest criticism from folks that have more experience than you...