Economic Outlook for Woodturners

[Roger Chandler]

I got word last week from one of my gallery owners that they were going to shut down by the end of February. This gallery is in a [very] small town in a rural setting.


While I got a decent check from sales over the last 2 months when I picked up my items, I was still saddened by the closing, not just because of myself, but the owners are just really nice folks, and were honest, and a joy to work with.

With the proposed changes in economic emphasis the new administration is touting, such as lower tax rates, bringing back manufacturing jobs to the USA, lowered regulations and such, I am wondering what might most opinions from woodturners be about the outlook for our craft as far as it being a viable and sustainable endeavor as the economy picks up, or do you think it won't pick up for wood turners?

If the job base does pick up, and taxes are lowered, might that put more disposable income into the mix for the arts/crafts?

I think about saturation of the craft, as so many more turners are entering the mix, and learning to turn, and wonder if that bodes well for sustainability for those who do seek to sell through galleries or shows?

What is your 2c?

[John Keeton]

Roger, there are so many "areas" or types of woodturning and that makes it difficult to assess the health of the market. If one is talking about craft sales, then I suspect we might see some increase, but I think it will take awhile to trickle down to non-essential purchases. IMO the working class folks will need some time to "recover" before they start spending.

If one is talking about art, it generally has taken a beating worldwide. Buyers of art generally are a different segment than those that buy craft or functional items. The TEFAF report comes out in March for the previous year. Last year's report showed that the US was responsible for 43% of the world art market. The report further stated "According to the report, the global art market achieved total sales of $63.8 billion in 2015, falling seven percent year-on-year from its previous high of $68.2 billion in 2014. This was the first year that saw a decline since 2011, and comes as the sectors of the fine art market that were at the forefront of the rapid expansion began to cool off."

Perhaps the art segment will recover more quickly as it seems to be more confidence related than available resources. My sales increased over the past six months in one higher end venue, but were stagnant in a venue with items at a lower price point. In the end, it is anyone's guess!

[Steve Doerr]

I think John is right on. The other thing is that the closer you are to the center of the country, the longer it takes for the change to arrive.

[Roger Chandler]

I sure hope it gets better. Optimism has a role in our perceptions, but one needs to see a healthier environment for the individual family also. If wages rise, taxes are lowered significantly, and jobs come back, then the worry is inflation, which must be kept in check. Our leaders need divine wisdom, for sure! Most woodturners sales are not becaue the consumer feels a need for the item, but because they admire the work, so a certain amount of disposable income is needed by the consumer.

[John K Jordan]

Turners I know who used to sell a lot of things, some at high prices, seem to be struggling more. Some recent roundtable discussion at an art/crafts school indicates this is all over, not just with woodturners. It appears that the number of people with money collecting art is dropping rapidly. It must be getting bad when I see an Ellsworth piece in a gallery that even I could afford, much cheaper than some years ago.

It may be more than just the economy. There was general agreement that the cutbacks in education have removed art classes from many public schools. If people are not educated in producing and appreciating art they may never learn the value and desire to buy and collect art. Even if they have plenty of disposable income it may instead be directed elsewhere.

JKJ

[Ralph Lindberg]

In many ways this is a multi-level discussion on multiple topics.
1) Shops close all the time, sometimes they go out clean and payoff the people who have sold items and return unsold items. Sometimes they close ugly with no pay-offs and never returning unsold items. While this is semi-dependent on the economy, it's not totally dependent.
2) While the economy is in general good shape with years of both employment growth and buying, wages have been stagnate and many well-paying jobs have not returned (nor will they, real economic experts in 2008 warned us that it didn't matter -who- was elected in 2008, the recovery would be slow, jobs would lag more then normal, as would wages and some sectors would never recover)
3) The latest generation appears to have a slightly lower "need" for art things (based on sales studies I've seen) then previous groups.
4) Historically it can be shown that neither excessive tax cuts, nor steep tax increases, stimulate the economy to any real degree. That is to say you can neither tax-cut nor tax your way to prosperity.
5) Concentration of wealth in a smaller base of people does not result in a commensurate increase in their spending on items of art. That is to say those with enough wealth to spend on art, do not buy more items as their wealth increases (they lack the room to display it), rather they buy tend to buy higher value items.

[John Sincerbeaux]

I've been selling my work in galleries for 16 years. Galleries are a tough business from the start. Their prices are high because they sell art work. While most people appreciate art, they rarely appreciate the degree of work and skill required to produce it? The same plight is shared by custom furniture makers.
So, for galleries to succeed, they have to have rich customers. If you're trying to succeed in a gallery, you only want to be in galleries that are in very very high-end locations where the rich live or play such as Hawaii or Ski resort towns.
I don't believe it matters for a second who the president is or where the jobs are. People who support galleries and buy your work are people that are very insulated from our world.
I sold a box in the Hawaii Woodshow two years ago to Julie Wriggly (as in gum) for $3200.00. She had me hold it for her for nearly 6 months while their home on the Big Island was being finished. A few months ago, one of my large Koa vessels was purchased by a woman who was furnishing a ocean front home in Kailua that her husband just purchased. She spent over a hundred grand in the gallery that day.
There will always be high-end buyers of fine art in any medium.

[Mel Fulks]

Not a turner. I've had to order plenty of stuff from them. The two best ones did some things like you guys show but also did stair balusters, urns for broken pediments, bed posts for cabinet makers ,columns for restorations. Lots of the architectural stuff ordered from catalogs is poorly done ,specifically some of the designs are "inspired" by what is easiest to do,way too many rounded corners etc. I remember a guy who was building an extravagant home showing me some catalog purchased stair balusters that were wretched.... but the catalog had been well done and glossy. I broke his heart showing him all the flaws and practically demanded he send them back. He ordered same design from us ,saved money and got a much better job. Turner and customer are still thanking me. I just think it's easier to widen practical scope than than sell your vision. But I always enjoy seeing art for free!!