Celebrity woodworking

[Christopher Johns]

AJB Temple - that was a competitor, so it looks like this is happening across the industry
Doctor Bob - definitely not the same company, where I worked you could get a kitchen for the price of that desk haha

 

[Inspector]

I’ll come in and welcome you to the forum and hopefully you post advice to peoples questions and put up threads with pictures and how/what/the way it was built, not just links to YouTube content. The reason I express this is because watching YouTube pretty much drives me nuts. I can’t stand watching most people so I tend to fast forward and jump along to see if there is anything worth watching. Sadly few are and I split. Hopefully you are good and develop a following but I doubt I’ll be among them. I get my fix from reading and looking at pictures.

Pete

 

[shed9]

It's all good, it's a forum not a fan page. It helps to have opposing views, be that marketing the work or making it.

I know a lot of people here are purely interested in the woodwork aspect and little else but the real world reality of translating that into paying the bills depends on an ability to sustainably sell it at profit and many people (and large companies it appears) struggle with that.

As noted before, good luck and look forward to your input Christopher.

 

[HOJ]

Welcome Christopher, I am curious to know what your route to a market is, are you relying on taking your "contacts" with you, and have you established an equipped workshop to be able to supply the expected demand.

Good luck.

 

[Christopher Johns]

taking contacts with me is something that I couldn't do technically speaking. However clients have my phone number. The company has shut down so one would hope that they would call me.
As far as workshop goes, I am starting from scratch. The garage seems to be the easier option to start with. I am happy do go around the country doing snagging work and small bits but any larger projects I will have to either rent space or do a joint project with people that I know.

 

[adidat]

where are you based?

im in taunton

Adidat

 

[doctor Bob]

Doctor Bob - definitely not the same company, where I worked you could get a kitchen for the price of that desk haha

Are the celebrities and royalty Z list? You can spend that on fridges and still not have enough for the wine cooler.
Good luck with it all, I worked on many "celebrity kitchens" for a previous employer, when I started on my own it counted for nothing, 15 years later and we have done a quite a few "celebrities", but our main clients are city guys. There are many clebrities who have an image and no dough, there are not many city guys with no dough.

We did a kitchen for probably the most famous Jockey (housewifes favouite), he gave the workshop a tip, we all pooled a load of money and put it on the nose, came in 5th......................

It's all good fun, I hope it goes well but honestly don't expect any phone calls from previous companies contacts

 

[Trevanion]

So you've basically started this whole thing up on the ASSUMPTION that you're going to have all this royalty and celebrities ringing you up asking for YOU specifically to do their work?

Let's get this straight, You've not really got a workshop up and running yet... You've got a youtube channel with no content at all... And you've technically got no work at all lined up and you're purely relying on the fact that these people will eventually call you up? I've really heard it all now. I wouldn't be surprised if most of these "celebrities" have forgotten what the company was even called, let alone remember who you were. Even if they did remember what the company was called, they would find out it had been closed down and would search for another one, more than likely the new LTD company that you mentioned earlier.

It takes years, decades even to build a company to the level at which you wish to start out at even with all of the marketing nonsense you wish to push.

 

[Ttrees]

The topic headline makes a good thread, regardless whether or not the business venture is in motion.
Yes Christopher could have wrote something in a better fashion, that would come across as a bit less something or other,
as it seems its got some hard working folks a bit peed off.

So Christopher wants to shoot for a niche, maybe he has other specific reasons/needs to do so, maybe not.
This topic especially suits for folks who want to pursue this for the former reason, I'm happy to read on.

So to try and steer this thread in a more constructive fashion, here is my take on this niche, not that I am in the game or anything,
but quite interested in this area, regardless of whatever these more than likely pretentious folks whom wouldn't pee on you if you were on fire, these probably make up the majority of the folks who would be your clients, but not all of them.

Maybe I'm being a blanket labeller, I have no experience in this field BTW, so probably talking out my rear end.
I probably wouldn't qualify to be a candidate for the folks whom are in this majority I'm on about.
These folks want an exclusive brand, combined with a flashy car and not a bicycle #-o

From what I've read before is, these people love to boast...
The majority of these folks want something with a story, and probably wouldn't want something from any scruffy peasant like me.
The great thing with the internet is, the platform to be a contender in the game, to have a chance.

Therefore, even if you start at the bottom of the ladder, if you can say you've done work of someone of "importance"
that will stand for you on this journey.

I have some unobtainable exotic CITES timber from a historic building in town, and will hold onto it, if I ever get the chance to
be in this position, it may well be the foot in the door to having some sort of possible career in this niche that suits my circumstances, as I wouldn't be able to do the hard work that plenty of folks here do on a daily basis.
I just wont tell'em I doobie diving in dirty auld skips to get this precious gold.

Good luck in your journey Christopher
Tom

 

[Chip shop]

So you've basically started this whole thing up on the ASSUMPTION that you're going to have all this royalty and celebrities ringing you up asking for YOU specifically to do their work?

Let's get this straight, You've not really got a workshop up and running yet... You've got a youtube channel with no content at all... And you've technically got no work at all lined up and you're purely relying on the fact that these people will eventually call you up? I've really heard it all now. I wouldn't be surprised if most of these "celebrities" have forgotten what the company was even called, let alone remember who you were. Even if they did remember what the company was called, they would find out it had been closed down and would search for another one, more than likely the new LTD company that you mentioned earlier.

It takes years, decades even to build a company to the level at which you wish to start out at even with all of the marketing nonsense you wish to push.

Whoa Whoa Whoa sweet child oh'mine

All the guy is doing is a bit of marketing. Someone has told him to hit social media then forums (fora yada yada) like this.

I bet he's a bloody good woodworker and could help loads of people with stuff.

I think we all need a cuddle.

 

[Doug71]

...and said the same thing to anyone else who will listen, that woodworking is easy. Dead easy. What is difficult is selling the stuff you make, and then making it in a time efficient manner.

I'd have to take issue with the ''woodworking is easy. Dead easy'' Mike.

Mike is right (again).
Anybody who has spent time working in a traditional joinery shop will have no trouble making anything you throw at them, it's just how quickly you can make it with the kit you have, the less kit you have the harder it is.

 

[Chip shop]

MikeG is never right because he was/is a bloody wicket keeper...and everyone knows that it was a bye rather than a wide.

Soz, Just Kidding.

 

[siggy_7]

For a group of individuals who have collectively identified very strongly as interested solely in woodworking skills and projects, a lot has been said here without any woodworking being discussed.

Christopher, I'm sorry to hear of your current circumstances - I've been fortunate enough never to lose a job so I can't claim to know your situation. Starting out on your own is tough, we can all agree, so I wish you the best of luck and I look forward to reading here about your work.

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

 

[Quickben]

Looking forward to your input Christopher. Unlike a few individuals here, I'm interested in the woodwork AND the clients and the stories behind them. It's all part of the game, isn't it ?

I'm also interested in how you build your "brand" from the beginning. I'm also trying to start something along those lines (not kitchens) and I'm still in the research stage as far as marketing and getting my name out there is concerned. Lot's of work ahead.

I'll be keeping an eye on your youtube channel.

Don't be put off by forum ninjas. :wink:

 

[AJB Temple]

I would not be too concerned about actively chasing your contacts. If the company has gone under, then they are fair game. You owe your old firm nothing.

Don't delay. Customers who have been let down may need help and you may get a quick leg up this way. People don't but kitchens very often, so if you wait for them to call, you may wait forever. People buying big things shop around. They look in the numerous lifestyle magazines and will be influenced by the latest trend.

When they hear the old firm has gone bust, they won't go looking for ex employees. So if you have good contacts, you must put yourself out there. The problem with celebrities is they like and are used to freebies. You need a wage.

 

[dzj]

" The problem with celebrities is they like and are used to freebies."

Yeah, even ol' Chippendale had such woes.

 

[woodbloke66]

...and said the same thing to anyone else who will listen, that woodworking is easy. Dead easy. What is difficult is selling the stuff you make, and then making it in a time efficient manner.

I'd have to take issue with the ''woodworking is easy. Dead easy'' Mike.

Mike is right (again).
Anybody who has spent time working in a traditional joinery shop will have no trouble making anything you throw at them, it's just how quickly you can make it with the kit you have, the less kit you have the harder it is.

Mike is usually right but here IMO he's waaaaaay off the mark.

Picked at random from the first G search. This French Louis XV style inlaid bombe commode...

"Description
A fine quality antique French rosewood and kingwood floral marquetry inlaid pink marble topped bombe commode in the Louis XV Manner dating to circa 1900.
This very well executed commode with finely inlaid marquetry panels has a serpentine shaped pink and white veined marble topped having a moulded edge.
The marble top sits over three shaped drawers embellished with ornate Rococo style cast brass handles and escutcheons, each drawer having floral marquetry inlaid panels of extremely high quality with a shaped apron below and central mount.
The shaped sides having impressive Rococo style mounts to each front corner and large floral marquetry inlaid bombe sides with the whole being raised on shaped splay legs with terminating on front sabots.
The bombe shape being one of the hardest forms for a cabinet maker to achieve so only a skilled cabinet maker would make such a commode....."

.... is still a piece of 'woodwork' (and there are plenty more examples) but I'd defy anyone to say it's 'dead easy' to make. This is the problem with making a 'one size fits all statement'; some times the size will fit and at others it won't - Rob

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I think we know what he meant.

 

[pollys13]

Yes welcome to the forum and yes, defiantly interested in projects you have done. At the same time, don't see anything so wrong about a bit of chit chat, gossip about people you have made things for, as long as not..... excessive. As you have probably gathered, lot of knowledgeable, friendly folk on the forum, looking forward to input, WIP photos.
The joiner I bought my spindle moulder from, he made a staircase and a few other things for Sir Bob, joiner wasn't too impressed with Sir Bob. Another time, Keith got him to make up a little kind of box, with a secret compartment built in, to hide his stash in when he went on tour. Don't agree with those sort of recreational pastimes myself but there you go.

 

[doctor Bob]

" The problem with celebrities is they like and are used to freebies."

Yeah, even ol' Chippendale had such woes.

I remember about 10 years ago discussing kitchen requirements for a house in a very posh London area. The client (high profile in the football world) wasn't present but various staff were, they explained that in exchange for "using his name" on our advertising, they expected the kitchen to be free.

We never took it any further, I suspect someone like Wilkinson did it in the end where they can absorb that sort of hit.
We aren't risk takers and weren't prepared to go that route.