Once upon a time a long while ago now woodturning was my hobby but then it became more than that as I came to depend on it as a means of easing the adverse effects of a high level of workplace stress. Eventually the day job was lost anyway to a redundancy package but being over 50 a worthwhile alternative was not to be found, so the hobby had to grow up fast and became a small business. To join the Guild of Essex Craftsmen samples of my work were submitted and accepted so to avoid getting mixed up with now sadly degraded commercially promoted Craft Fairs I concentrate on those shows run exclusively by the Guild whose reputation for consistent high quality is now very good and spreading rapidly plus we run a fair in the village but that then attracts a high percentage of Guild Members.
My sales are mainly through Craft Fairs which are highly seasonal but my demonstrations at those fairs were very well received and led me into teaching the craft. My courses run privately all year round now in my workshop and at college for the local adult education authority as evening classes. This work peaks in the winter, nicely evening out my annual income.
I built this web-site initially in the hope of selling my goods from it but my stuff is very tactile and nobody wants to buy it from photographs. The site then evolved and grew to the point where people use it more to check me out prior to visiting either the workshop or my shows. Now local businesses are finding it and a steady supply of commercial work is coming in as with small quantities I can be very competitive but unlike big firms I can respond to urgent or unusual requirements better.
All the buttons above are live and take you to the various sections of the site but bookmark this page you probably wont get round all of it in one go!
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