Meeting Blog -- May 14, 2013

   

     This will be the second part of this months meeting blog, I've already sent out the Jamie Challenge to all of you and hopefully the wheels are turning in your heads to figure out what you may design from that 2 x 4.  Fantastic turnout last Wednesday, seems as if every time I went around the room to count a few more of you snuck in!  Last count was close to 40 so you must be taking Jamie's' advice and handing out the business cards to folks you meet on your wood related outings!
     Of course, we began with the round robin introductions which I need to refresh my memory.  Then, Jamie brought up the table that I've entered in the Design in Wood competition in held in conjunction with the San Diego County Fair.  Here's a LINK to that competition.  The fair opens on the 8th. of June and runs until the fourth of July.  It's humbling to think that my work was accepted and I feel pretty honored.  On the other hand, Ali my cat, isn't too crazy about giving up her place in the sun!

Ali's Place in the Sun

     Other business brought up by her was regarding the dues of $20.00 which are voluntary and good for the year.  Internet costs and Christmas party is what the bulk of the dues go for.  Jamie also pointed out a stool that Lupe has been working on.  Hopefully you took the time to check it out and if you've ever made a stool or chair you'll know that they're one of the more difficult projects in woodworking.  It'll be great to see it complete and I'm sure Lupe will give her typical, stellar presentation when it is.  Personally, I'd like to see her enter it in next years Design in Wood competition. San Diego isn't that far away (5 hours or so) so delivering a piece is fairly painless.  Plus it's a great excuse to get out of town in June and spend a little time at the ocean.
     A final item brought up business wise was the need for presenters at out meetings.  You can contact Dennis or Ted to set this up.  Here's the view you'd have if you chose to do a presentation:

Presenter gets to see Faces!

     Not only do you see the fronts of peoples heads you also get an extra chance to score for the gift card drawing at Christmas.  Besides presentations, it would also be fun to go on a field trip to hold our monthly meeting at your shop too.
     Before I begin with Richard's presentation, we had one person bring in some of his work for Show & Tell.   That was Pete who brought in these cutting boards:

Cutting Boards

     As you can see they have quite a complicated looking pattern to them.  He uses many species of wood but these are predominantly white Oak and Wenge.  A discussion followed with how you figure out the pattern and glued them up, flipped, etc.

     Although I wasn't in on all of that discussion, here is a LINK from Joe regarding software available to help you figure this out without going cross-eyed!  Pete also sent me a number of links with information about these cutting boards but I was unable to link that on this blog.  You may want to contact him directly.

So, You want to take a picture; eh?

I'm really thankful that Richard had an extensive hand-out to go along with his presentation.  Saves me a lot of blogging time trying to recount all he shared with us.  I hope you picked that hand out up.  At the end of this blog post though is the links from the last page of it.  Rich sent that to me and it's been added so you can just click on any one of those items you're interested in rather than having to type them into your search bar.


     The talk began with the importance of good lightning.  Fortunately for us, most of our pictures can be done inside with controlled conditions.  This started a discussion about lighting in general, not only for photography but also for ways to light up our shops.  As promised, here is a LINK to the Bulbman which is where I've been getting high quality fluorescent tubes that give me the best light I can get in the shop.  Of course, depending on your age and eye sight you'll probably need some type of task lighting too.  Why I prefer them over the big box store is because they actually know what they're talking about and you can compare different bulbs.  Website isn't the greatest but they're on Cameron just south of Flamingo.

     For openers, Richard began his talk by presenting these photographs he'd taken when he was involved more with landscape photography rather than photographing our work.  He used them as examples of how to arrange your composition and the effects of lighting.

Examples of Different Focusing Techniques

Example of Composition

Rich's Kodak

     For our work our concern has to do with how we set up the subject, where and how it's lit, and controlling the camera settings for success.  Two terms to consider are the aperture (opening of the lens) and the shutter speed (how long the lens is open).  The longer the lens is open and the larger the opening is you'll get a better image that you can manipulate IF the camera is held perfectly still.  Enter the tripod.  No matter what kind of skill you employ to hold that camera still, there's no substitute for a firm tripod and either a timer or remote cable to take your shot.  This is Rich's camera which is a premium one but most cameras that you can attach to a tripod will probably work for you.  It's what referred to as a Single Lens Reflex meaning you actually see what the lens sees.  Less expensive camera's (like mine) don't allow for that, instead there is a separate view opening that is to the side of the lens.
     Lighting up your subject is important and can be accomplished with artificial or natural means.  Since you control when you're going to take the pictures it's easier than landscape photography.  For myself, I only take pictures in the morning in a room that faces west.  Light just surrounds my subject naturally so nothing else is required.  If you want additional lighting there is a brand of lighting called Ott Light.  These are very popular with crafters because they give a light that is as close to natural light as you can get.  Here is a LINK to their website, I know they're available locally from JoAnnes and Lamps Plus.  Flash photography tends to flatten the picture plus it'll create shadows you probably don't want.
     The other thing you'd like to have to showcase your work is a neutral background of some sort or another.  My own preference is burlap, my wife uses a neutral fabric, and you can also get royalty free clip art and tile them together to create a background.  Diane once needed a brick wall for a photo shoot and that's what she did.  There are a couple of you that make construction toys and if you went on line and found building site pictures you can print them out, paste them onto some mat board and that would be a cool back drop for your models!
     The last of Richard's hints had to do with how you position your work for the photo shoot.  Generally speaking, coming at it from an angle is more interesting than a dead on shot.  Be careful of how far above the work you are so that you do not create a lot of distortion.  What I mean is that if you take a picture of a table from above it, the legs will appear to angle inward and nothing is square.
     Thankfully, we no longer take a roll of film, bring it somewhere to be processed, and then see what we did.  Now you simply use a digital camera, take some shots, upload them to your computer and see what you did.  Once you tweak things around and get it to how you want it's comparatively easy to replicate that each and every time.


     Here are the links from Richards hand out so you won't need to  copy and paste the ones you want to check out:

Handy Links:

String Tripod (this is cool!)

http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-57423901-285/diy-the-string-tripod-aka-stringpod/

Natural light home studio

http://www.clickinmoms.com/blog/?p=4385

Studio quality product photography with a $12 setup

http://www.handmadespark.com/blog/studio-quality-product-photography-with-a-12-set-up-guest-post-from-via-u-photography-blog/

Notice how the lighting setup diffuses the light and creates light and shadows so the product stands out and the background disappears.

Magic Clerk Easter Chick

This has nothing to do with this presentation but it’s funny as heck!

http://biggeekdad.com/2013/03/magic-clerk-easter-chick/

Three Point lighting for 3-D rendering

http://www.3drender.com/light/3point.html

Nice little tutorial on lighting.

Studio Lighting – Really Cheap homemade DIY studio – no lighting needed

http://www.diyphotography.net/homestudio/cheap-homemade-diy-studio-no-lighting-needed

This is another cheap option.  Check out the very nice photos taken with this setup at the bottom of the page.

Elements of Composition:

http://digital-photography-school.com/5-elements-of-composition-in-photography

The Jamie Challenge --- Can You Face It?

     At our meeting last night Jamie threw down the gauntlet and challenged all 30+ of us in attendance to a woodworker's challenge.  We have until our Christmas meeting to rise to it and here's what it is.  What can you make from a standard 2" x 4" x 8' piece of lumber from your choice of big box store.  

You'll notice they flank her smirking face as they collaborate with her to drive us all nuts!

     The rules are simple,  use as much of the board as you want but you cannot add anything to it like biscuits or dowels.  Anything you can create with this single stick of wood is fair game.  The only add ons are paint and hardware.  Based on your past I can already see some cars or trucks, boxes, carvings, magic thingies, airplanes, etc. …… but the question is:

What will you do, 

              what will you do?

                          Sounds like fun!

Time Flies --- Meeting this Wednesday!

     Seems like it's been less than a month since we last met but here we are, 3rd. Wednesday of May and ready for our next meeting!  It's bound to be a bit warmer in Jamie's shop this month than last.  My unconditioned shop hit 90+ degrees before noon today which curtails glueing up anything else.
     We'll have our usual round robin introductions and then a show and tell session to share anything new in our woodworking lives with the group.  If you were at the last meeting you'll recall our Etsy discussion led by my wife Diane.  One of the points she had was that being able to take good photographs of your work is key -- after all, that's the only thing a potential buyer has to go on before hitting that Add to Cart button that brings some cash to our wallets!  Our member, Rich Daugherty, is a man of many talents.  I never knew he was into photography along with all of his other interests but he's been doing fine art landscapes for many years and will share his expertise with us.
     There are many aspects of taking good pictures including composition, background, and proper lighting.  Although it sounds like a huge expense Rich will talk about ways to properly light your work for less than $50.00.  Important too is to understand what the camera sees vs. what our eyeballs see (especially true for those of us half a century plus!) to make sure our photo's have the best quality.
     So, whether you want to photograph your work to share on Facebook, create a portfolio to show potential clients, or put it on-line to sell  you won't want to miss this meeting.  As always, the meeting will start at 7 pm and you may want to bring your own seating.

Hope to see you there -- John

   

Pass Along to All

Not sure if anyone in the group is able to refinish a piano but thought I'd pass this along just in case.  When I was 9-10 years old my uncle did a piano and I remember he gave all of us kids a piece of glass to use as scrapers to remove the finish --- we thought it was fun then!

Rex's contact information is in his message below:

Hi John!

Love your emails. You folks are great!

I have a man that’s got his Mom’s piano (I believe from the 1930’s) and he wants it refinished. Anyone in the club interested in tackling something like this? Maybe even a team project. He is willing to pay to have it done! :- )

Please Follow us on Twitter :  https://twitter.com/Toys4Smiles

Please ‘LIKE’ us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/toys4smiles

Blessings,

‘Better Together’

Rex Doty | President/Founder

Shop Phone: 702.232.8191 | Cell: 702.218.4582 | Fax: 888.349.8350

Mailing: 2251 N Rampart Blvd, Mail Box 172, Las Vegas, NV   89128

Toy Shop: 3170 Polaris Ave, Units 17 & 18, Las Vegas, NV  89102

Email: rex@toys4smileslasvegas.org |Web: www.toys4smileslasvegas.org

APRIL MEETING: Focus on Etsy

 

Introduction Time

     The meeting started right at 7:00 and we had 30 members present.  Two new faces that I signed up for the blog and hopefully I didn't miss anyone.  There were a couple of business items brought up, the first one being the collection of dues.  Twenty bucks is a bargain price for the information and connections we're able to make through the group.

Free Drill !!!

     One of the perks is that occasionally someone donates a tool or other goodie to Jamie who then offers it up for the members.  Not sure who scored on this "like new" Craftsman drill but that's an example of a really nice perk!
     Another item brought up was the class that I'll be teaching using primarily hand tools.  The class is limited to 8 students and there are a few spots left.  Here's a LINK to it for more information or to sign up.

Richard aka Photo DIY

 The final bit of business is that we had two of our members take on the responsibility of finding presenters for our meetings.  This is a huge part of the SCWW.  Ted Warren and Dennis Patchett teamed up to fulfill that responsibility, hmm could we call them the Presentation Procurement Posse? Could work, in any case they already have next month's presenter lined up, it will be Richard and since he has a background in photography he offered to give us tips and advice on how to take the best pictures of our work.



     Being able to take good photos of your work is important not only for your own portfolio but also if you decide to open up an Etsy store.  That was the focus of this months meeting and our presenter was Diane Eugster, my wife.  She began her own Etsy store which is on vacation until later this weekend.  Here's a LINK to it so you can check it out.  Admittedly, I've always been one of her biggest fans but she really investigates every venue when pursuing her artistic goals.  I've learned a lot from her about the Etsy process and owe my success on Etsy to to her.

Diane's Etsy Presentation

     There was a ton of stuff covered during her presentation and the follow up question and answer session.  I'll do my best to just cover the major points.  Etsy is a huge, on-line presence for people like us to sell our hand crafted items.  You can sell three types of things on it:

1. Hand Crafted items of all kinds
2. Supplies used for making these types of items
3. Vintage items, requirement here is they need to be 20+ years old

     Etsy charges a 3.5% commission on each sale plus a .20 charge for each listing.  You'll need to establish a PayPal account to handle the finances and they also charge a 3.5% fee for each transaction.  We discussed PayPal at length and it is an easy way to handle all of the finances.  On Etsy your photograph is what sells your work and you're allowed to have 5 per listing. The pictures you take and the search terms you use to describe them are all that potential buyers have to find and then decide to buy your stuff so take the time to research that.  Etsy calls the search terms "tags".  

     What Diane suggests is to locate sellers on Etsy that sell the same type of item you'd like to market.  Successful ones have the most sales.  On their listing you can get the information they used, for example tags that worked for them.  She passed out a listing of websites and resources which will help you find tips for your success.  Etsy also tracks your statistics once you have a store on line.  I use them to see which of my items get the most views figuring that they have appeal.  Hard part is trying to figure out why and then duplicate what ever it is for new listings.

     Speaking of listings, they are on for 3 months but it pays to renew them from time to time so they show up on the first several pages of a search.  This has been successful for me.  Think about your own internet habits -- when you do a search how many pages do you look at before trying some other search terms?  If your item has slipped down to page 25, how many people will keep clicking Next until they find you?  You can also pay to promote them through Etsy for a small fee.  Another feature is that you can create coupon codes and feature your work with sales or free shipping for a time period that you select.  As an example, I offered free shipping for two weeks prior to Valentine's Day and featured presentation boxes.

     A great advantage to having an Etsy store is that you can purchase and print shipping labels from it. They're a little bit cheaper than if you purchase from the post office and you don't have to stand in line to do it.  Shipping is an area that you need to investigate as it can be time consuming and over-whelming at first.  Boxes can be bought locally (I use Box Brothers), on line, or provided free by the USPS.  The size and weight of your work will determine that so it's pretty specific to you.  Check out the free, priority mail boxes the post office has and consider tailoring the size of your work to fit in them.  Priority mail is not just for the post offices boxes, they can be used on other boxes too.  One last advantage to the Etsy label use is that they will give you free tracking and confirmation service so you know when the package has been delivered.

     I did a search for the Etsy group from Las Vegas and several things popped up.  Here is a LINK to the one that I believe we were talking about at the meeting.  Open this link and you can also see the items that Diane talked about during her presentation and recommended getting involved with if you do decide to open your own Etsy store.  The forums and teams are ways to ask questions and find information. You'll also notice the discussion panel in the center of their page which is yet another way to connect with the members of the group.  This particular group requires that your work is juried and has dues.  The ones I belong to personally aren't as organized and only require that my work falls into their category and no dues.  There is also contact information and feedback from other customers.  You can add your own website or blog on the shops pages which gets your name out there in the internet world.
     Diane suggested a book by Jennifer Lee titled Right Brain Business Plan.  My first go-to book source is always the local library but they didn't have it (they're free!).  My next go-to would be Amazon but it's currently out of stock, so the Dutch guys last resort is Ebay.  Hardly ever let me down with copies starting at $13.00!  Here's a LINK to that for you.
     To try and sum up all of the Etsy information given is difficult.  Kind of like a buffet, pick and choose what seems to be the best options for you and leave satisfied.  Find a way to make your store's banner attractive and, after checking out shops there already; develop a way to photograph your work that's easy for you to replicate and creates the visual interest you want your store to project.  Customer service -- answer all convo's promptly and ship your sales out as quickly as possible.  There's a wealth of information out there so take the time to research it.  Etsy is not a sure fire way to make a full time living, have that house on the beach, a cabin in the mountains, a Ducati for fun, and a shop full of the newest tools while sipping champagne and sucking down caviar! It is, however; a way to make enough money to help make woodworking affordable, pay for itself, and motivate you to keep producing the type of work you enjoy doing.

     On to the show and tell session.  Rich brought in this really interesting sculpture piece.

Rich's Sculpture/Stand

It features a Walnut burl mounted on a stand made from parts of an antique dentists chair and stainless steel parts from a boat shaft.  I can almost picture this as a stand up desk or lectern. The finish is a beeswax, turpentine, linseed oil blend and he did a really neat effect on the live edge of the burl as you can see here:

Paint & Sponge Work

     The other show & tell work brought in was made by Mike.  He brought in several pieces to share which included these carved wall hangings.

Sun Sculpture & Celtic Knots

    The Celtic Knots are carved out of a pieces of Quilted Maple.   There are copper pieces behind the openings and also some copper clavos.  The finish is similar to the technique he used on the boxes that starts out with an alcohol based dye.  Once the dye is set into the softer parts of the grain, the surface is sanded and the next coat is applied.  All of this is sanded down carefully and the layers begin to reveal themselves as you work it.  The sun is carved out of wood and the rays are cut from copper.  The design of them is repetitive but each layer is larger than the one below.  As you can tell, Mike also did a lot of patination work on it to add even more visual appeal.







This wall panel is carved out of a piece of Basswood.  As you can tell, Mike is pretty good with his painting and faux finishing as this piece actually looks more like aged and woven leather than it does of wood.











     These are two of the boxes he brought it as well.  Both are Quilted Maple and again, the finish work is what sets them apart from others you may find.  Good item to put on Etsy!

Quilted Maple Boxes

     This looks like a good picture to end the blog with --- Mike and the sun:

 

 May it continue to rise for and shine for you for many days to come !!

Etsy Meeting -- Learn How to Set Up Your Store

     On more than a couple of occasions the subject of ETSY will come up during one of our meetings.  This is usually followed by lots of comments and questions.  Some members haven't heard of Etsy before, many others have but aren't sure what it's all about, and others just want to know how to go about setting up an Etsy Store of their own.  Could be wrong, but I think is was Johnny Carson who said: "all will be revealed" in some of his skits and that's the goal for tomorrows monthly meeting.
     Diane Eugster will be on hand to share her experience with  Etsy and tell us the steps she's taken to sell the hand crafted dolls featured on her WEBSITE .  I know first hand that she's spent a lot of time doing research, visiting forums, and being involved in activities Etsy offers to get her store successful.  Diane will present that portion of the Etsy experience along with a hand out of on-line resources that you could use too.  She'll explain how to open up an Etsy account and what it means to add listings, the value of good photography, some ways to promote your shop, etc. 
     Jamie and I both have Etsy stores as well and we'll add to her presentation.  I opened my shop after a box show I had to make my woodworking addiction be self supporting.  I'll share my experiences as well, I've had a number of special orders and will tell you how that process works.  The presentations will be followed by a question and answer session so bring your questions and so that you can leave the meeting knowing how to start your Etsy adventure.  Etsy is currently one of the best ways for selling your work online - you set the price, and you control how much or little presence you want to have on the site.  It's the largest market of hand crafted, one of a kind items you'll find.  If it's a complete unknown to you, take some time to check it out, I think you'll find it fascinating.
     Besides the Etsy presentation, just a reminder that dues are still being collected.  It's a voluntary $20.00 yearly cost.  We'll also do a Show & Tell session but hold it at the end of the meeting so we can keep the focus on the Etsy presentation.  After my email asking for someone to take over the responsibilities of lining up presenters for the meetings I'll be happy to introduce both of them to you before the end of our meeting.
     Same time, same location --- see you there!

Forget Uncle Sam --- SCWW NEEDS YOU !!

We need a Program Director ----

 IS IT YOU?

     I'm asking for one or more of you regular members to step up and take on a responsibility for our woodworkers group.  We've enjoyed phenomenal growth over the four years we've been in existence and with growth comes a bit more work.  We all enjoy the camaraderie and the regular things like the show and tell sessions of our latest work
     However; I'm sure you'll agree that one of the important features of our meetings is having a key speaker to demonstrate a process, explain a special project, share a class they attended, or something else that we can all benefit from and enjoy.  The way this has always worked in the past is that usually Jamie would be the one lining that up for all of us to enjoy or else a member would volunteer to be the speaker/presenter for a particular meeting.  If you know how busy Jamie is between running her school and taking on custom work I think you'll understand that this is getting to be an over-whelming part of her 24+ hour day!
     Please think about taking on this responsibility for the club.  Looking back over the presenters we've had, most come from within our group.  Jamie has been able to line up manufacturers and tool reps so if any of you are in the business you may have some contacts in that area.  They're always interesting and besides being able to explain their business or tools they have the opportunity for personal gains as well.  Before you think that maybe I should take it on I'm busy enough with the blog, I tried to talk Lupe into it but she is busy too by being the photographer for our meetings.
     Here's my bottom line and request.  I'd love it if one or more of you would either email me or come forward at our next meeting, which is a week from tomorrow; April 17th. and tell me you're on.  Ideally you would commit to doing this for at least a year so we have consistency.  It could be a committee if or two of you if that works out better.
     The second thing is that I'll be asking for either volunteers to present at a future meeting and also some ideas about what would be interesting to you in terms of a "keynote speaker".  Keep in mind that if you are a presenter you get an additional entry into the end of the year raffle drawing.