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Thread: the dream job....do I want it????

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
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    Laguna Beach , Ca.
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    the dream job....do I want it????

    One of my best clients that we are building a modern home for has asked me to make all the furniture for her home....First I gave her addresses to the top furniture stores in Los Angeles....B &B Italia, Modern Living, Holy Hunt, Espacio, cassina, Herman Miller, Dakota jackson,.....Well it didn't work she came back 2 weeks latter and was even more convinced that she wanted me to design and build it! I have done a few pieces for clients ....not too often any more....never an entire house! The list , after talking her out of a few pieces is still long...Dining Table and 8 chairs, 2 Coffee tables, Master Bed and side units, Master bath Bureau, Queen bed , 2 night stands, Another queen platform bed , 4 barstools ...She wants no veneer only solid wood. That was where the designer stuff didn't compare. so I gave her high prices .....she is fine with them
    So the house is just starting framing and I have time to get a jump on it....I guess..The woods....wenge whenever possible, cocabola, walnut for the dining chairs. I can't even find wenge now....I have a wood broker shopping for me...he just found me 100 bf of Burmese teak for a sofa I am building for my friend Ed Lorbach....it will be similar to the Schindler Kings road sofa...I tried to design something, but that was what Ed wanted...so my hobby that I enjoy doing as a relaxation has officially become work now I need a hobby to relax from my other hobby...what about hang gliding?
    "All great work starts with love .... then it is no longer work"

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Lewiston, Idaho
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    Mark........that's a hard decision!

    Is there any real craftsman nearby that would work with you. You could design the furniture and they could build it?

    Good luck!
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    Collin County Texas
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    Mark, see what happens when you get to be really good at what you do.

    Your last sentence hits the nail on the head. Is wood working a hobby or a business? That is a decision that only you can make. Being the successful professional that you are, I would lean toward keeping WW a hobby.

    If you are looking for a new hobby, go get your private pilots license. Lots of fun, but the sky over LA is just about as crowded as the highways.
    Best Regards, Ken

  4. #4
    There has to be some positive things in taking on the project...being able to do something you've never done before, or wanted to do but never had the opportunity? That, and making a good profit (read more new tools ) makes it a tough decision.

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    Ken had the same thought as I did--can you design and have someone else do at least some of the production? Or even a skilled helper that can do some of the rough work and/or tedious work?

  6. #6
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    Mark, from pictures that I think I remember, hang gliding would be an option considering the cliffs that you have close by.
    There's one in every crowd......and it's usually me!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
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    Sterling CT
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    hi mark
    I am not sure I understand the post. it seems from the title that you are questioning this offer, yet from your last sentence in the body of the thread it appears that you have made the decision already. Are you still in the "considering it" phase, or have you really made the switch?

    Lou

  8. #8
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    Mark, quit whining and start cutting! Sheez!!

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Laguna Beach , Ca.
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    "All great work starts with love....then it is no longer work"

    My signature line has come to get me! I lied love of work does not keep it from being work...its work...I have always enjoyed almost everything I have done....as an Architect , a builder and furniture maker....love yes...work yes too! It flipped on me and all the love in the work will never make that much work not work...I love it as much as most things I do...I can maybe just stretch it out and take a break in between pieces....I love the opportunity to design and build original pieces..
    If I had another crafstman do them she would not accept them...she collects art and that is that. Solid wood and I must build them...it adds value in her mind...
    She has flexibility on the schedule and I am almost done with the Balboa house...so the timing is good. My guest house furnitre can wait...I just need to get away for a few weeks and I will be fine...
    "All great work starts with love .... then it is no longer work"

  10. #10
    I agree with the advice already given. You should design it and have it built by craftsmen whose work you respect. Anyone who has had the training and sufficient experience can build from plans. But design ability is not given to everyone. I'm sure that's the reason the client wants you to build the furniture - not because you do good joinery.

    But even with that advice, I might hold one or two items back for myself to build - items which really appealed to me either because of the design or the wood to be used.

    Good luck!

    Mike

    P.S. If you can't subcontract the work out, you could hire one or more competent people to work in your shop, under your direction, to help build the pieces.
    Last edited by Mike Henderson; 06-11-2006 at 9:40 PM.

  11. She seems to have plenty of confidence in you.
    That leaves only two not necessarly related questions

    1.) do you have the same confidence?

    2.) What do you want to do, build houses or design & make furniture? Odds are doing one may prove to exclude the other.

    My 2 cents: Build houses for money and make furniture for passion. There are some arty furnitore makers who sell pieces for up to $15-Grand a pop & just for a table & chairs too. But like boxing it's not everyone who gets to be champeen but everyone has to pay the dues.

    If you are building houses for a living you have already paid that set of dues.

  12. #12
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    Mark, I recall talking with you about this on my most recent visit. I think the biggest factor to consider is that of time...you would need to stretch it out so it doesn't interfere with the business(s) as well enjoying friends and family. Trust me, I truly understand that balance issue right now! But even then, I almost think you would need to acquire a helper to get all that furniture done in a reasonable period of time. That's a LOT of stuff to hand-craft...and a lot of splinters to dig out considering the wenge specification...
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  13. #13

    Smile Dream Jobs

    Mark,
    Personal experience here, I hope it makes sense......
    I was always really good with my hands and loved high horsepower engines and fast cars. This love shaped most of my early years, including my major in college and career choice. I've worked as a ASE master auto machinist then as a ASE master auto and diesel mechanic, then finally moved to supervising a medium sized fleet. I sold my last "fast" car 3 years ago. I really just lost interest. I worked a little over 20 years at my "love" and finally just plain got burned out.
    So.... my advice would be to take a long look at your other obligations in life and decide how much time you are willing to devote to this project.

    "Farming out" some of what you design might be a good idea, if you know people that can build up to your standards.
    Having "employees" is a whole different ball of wax, though. That will make "work" out of your "love" very quickly.
    If you can devote enough time to totally do this project yourself without feeling "guilty" about the other things you put on hold, then go have a blast!!!
    BUT, if you are going to stretch yourself too thin by doing too many things at once, you had better rethink......
    Just an opinion from someone who knows about being stretched too thin!!!

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    Round Rock, TX (near Austin)
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    What a heck of an opportunity . Does it have to become an everyday thing, a second career? Perhaps not. How many furniture pieces do you normally make in a year, or a year and a half? Can you just make this your "hobby" production for however long it takes to do it?

    I know the pressure to deliver will be on, but you said that she will work with you on time. If she is tuned in to fine art I bet she will give you the time you need.

    After the smoke clears from this commission, then decide if this is what you want to pursue. I vote for doing it. You will have fun, make some bucks, and have a pretty darn good portfolio of you want to pursue it further.

    -- Kevin

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
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    Carlyle IL
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    That new jointer planer needs a work out and SMC'rs need more furniture building documentaries.!

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