People who have no respect for your work...

[wellywood]

I believe this lack of repect stems from the consumerism we have today. Most things are knocked out in their millions and just thrown away when they wear out/break or whatever.
When the average person come across something hand-crafted they treat it the same as any other mass produced product - without any respect or appreciation for the work that has gone into it.
For example, SWMBO is a patchworker & quilter and does commission work. When she tells some customers the cost involved (time, materials etc.) and what she is going to have to charge them for a custom, hand-made quilt, they moan like crazy. They are so used to cheap, mass-produced products they can no longer value something crafted by an individual.
One of the great things about a forum like this is you can be sure the members appreciate the work and skill that's gone into other members projects.

 

[MMUK]

Tell me about it!

I used to do a lot of conservatories and I kept coming up against "So and So can do it for £xxxx cheaper". I was forever pointing out things such as:

1. My base footings are at least 1m deep and not spade depth, hence lots more concrete and cost.
2. My bases have 200mm polyboard insulation under them.
3. My brick layers joints are perfect or they don't get paid until they are.
4. I use solid hardwood windowboards treated with several coats of stain/varnish/whatever, not laminated chipboard jointed with plastic strips.
5. I use Rehau frames for uPVC, fully reinforced and fitted with twice as many fixings as other companies.
6. I only use Soudal sealants and they are expensive.
7. My lead flashings are Code 4, not Code 3.
8. I only fit 32mm or 35mm polycarbonate roof sheets, not 20mm or 25mm.
9. My glass roofs are laminated glass inside and toughened outside, not just toughened or float.
10. I don't fit cheap B&Q laminate flooring, only solid hardwood.

And finally, unlike other companies, I don't throw up a conservatory in two days (including the base!)




Needless to say, 95% of the Rehau conservatories in and around Southampton up until 2005 were mine.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

It bothers me when its your family you live with. Ok I can understand kids aren't going to value these things but my ex and her mother used to live with me and 4 kids. They asked for alsorts to be made but after seeing the coffee table I made covered in milk, felt tip and binted I went mad. I repaired and refinished the table. 2 days later felt tip again. Them two just let the kids abuse it and sit on it. The milk was sitting there for an hour before and was only cleaned up as I went barmy at them.

I made a chopping board. That was never cleaned straight away and the last time used meat was left on it for days and has now stained in mould. She aint having another.

Wardrobe I built was never looked after or even wiped to get dust off.

I never made anything else for the house. I thought bollox to that. We recently split up and I'm looking forward to making myself some furniture for once.

 

[Melinda_dd]

I have trouble with this too.
A lot of people i know. ..inc a family member says thats lovely. I want one of those, how much. When I tell them.... they change their mind!

My sister in law for example....... wanted a jewellery box with veneers, hand cut dovetails, hinges locks... when I told her the cost she said... how much... for a jewellery box?

Needless to say she didn't have one.
I'm finding it really hard to get commissions because of people wanting handmade at mass produced prices

 

[chippy1970]

I fitted a few kitchens in some new builds a couple of years back and the day after I finished oiling the tops , I found a sparky standing on them chasing the wall out . He hadn't even bothered to put a dust sheet on them . Tops were ruined.

 

[MMUK]

I fitted a few kitchens in some new builds a couple of years back and the day after I finished oiling the tops , I found a sparky standing on them chasing the wall out . He hadn't even bothered to put a dust sheet on them . Tops were ruined.

All I can say is what a

:mrgreen:

 

[joethedrummer]

I fitted a few kitchens in some new builds a couple of years back and the day after I finished oiling the tops , I found a sparky standing on them chasing the wall out . He hadn't even bothered to put a dust sheet on them . Tops were ruined.

Hi chippy and fellow tradespeople,,,
Fitted hundreds of floors and got paid for doing it,,,,,some floors got spoiled for whatever reason and sometimes we went back and sorted it out but always made sure we would get paid for doing so,,,
I know it hurts when people do not respect your workmanship , but not all people are equal , so we made them pay for their stance in life and funningly enough most (all,, that is !,,) paid for being able to do so,,
We sometimes figured that if the floor hadn"t been spoiled and replaced the customer could of had something to twice or more the value in the first place.
I think some of the problem is that those of us crafting (shall we say) , cannot,,do not,,will not,, charge for our skills,, so we feel hurt perhaps because we didn"t charge enough in the first place.
This is just my take on things ,,,
,,,,joe,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[hazel]

not finished reading the thread yet, but have to ask: what does SWMBO stand for?

 

[Harry 48]

She Who Must Be Obeyed

 

[hazel]

ah, so basically this is a thread of you all moaning about your wifes


as for the whole people not respecting your work thing... this is why I rarely make things for anyone I know, things are either for the house, for the garage, or sold to randomers. Sort of expect people to treat the items with little respect as the vast majority of people have no real ide aof what goes into these things and a lot of people have some misguided idea that it's "easy" and something anyone could do... the amount of people who like to talk down to me due to what I do is amazing, though it's fun to see theirs faces when I tell them that before this I was a maths teacher lol

 

[Student]

Sometimes people do it with the best of intentions.

Many years ago, I attended an evening woodworking class at a school near my parents' home in South London. As a project, we made a coffee table, all with hand tools. The frame was mahogany, the top mahogany veneered ply. It had mortice and tenon joints, tapered legs, was finished using scrapers etc etc.

It was a prized possession of mine but, when I got married a couple of years' later, I gave it to my parents as a present. A few years later, after my father died, my mother moved into a maisonette with less space than her previous house and started doing a bit of DIY. One bit was to saw the coffee table in half and fit new legs to each half that she had bought from Woolworths. She was so proud of her DIY skills ....

 

[pagan warrior]

Re what Hazel said previously about people talking down to you because of what you do. I've experienced this on a few occasions. It normally stems from people who are in office jobs. They seem to think that because they sit behind a desk they are superior to anyone involved in a trade. I worked in shipping and transport offices from 16 'til 30 my last employed job being a transport manager (it's now called logistics, nobody knows why). Some of the thickest people I've known have worked behind a desk whereas some of the smartest people I've known were in the trades. Of all the trades I think being a cabinet maker is the most involved. We have to master more skills than any other. We have to have a flair for design/proportion, work out the best method of construction,technical drawing skills (got an O level grade A in that one!...clever git aint I ?...lol), know how to set up/sharpen and maintain machines/tools. Know how to skillfully use hand tools and become proficient at finishing and applying a variety of finishes! Most people will never be aware of what a talented breed we are. Thankfully there are a few that are.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

It bothers me when its your family you live with. Ok I can understand kids aren't going to value these things but my ex and her mother used to live with me and 4 kids. They asked for alsorts to be made but after seeing the coffee table I made covered in milk, felt tip and binted I went mad. I repaired and refinished the table. 2 days later felt tip again. Them two just let the kids abuse it and sit on it. The milk was sitting there for an hour before and was only cleaned up as I went barmy at them.

I made a chopping board. That was never cleaned straight away and the last time used meat was left on it for days and has now stained in mould. She aint having another.

Wardrobe I built was never looked after or even wiped to get dust off.

I never made anything else for the house. I thought pea's to that. We recently split up and I'm looking forward to making myself some furniture for once.

Terribly sorry to "not be grumpy" for a second but being a turner I took my two young boys to the Harry Potter studio tour last year and come the gift shop they had plastic blow moulded Dumbledore replica wands which I refused to pay £25 for. That's two boys....£50 for two pieces of plastic s.h.i.t. I don't think so Mrs JK Rowling. So I turned them myself. The kids absolutely love them and since I've made them and many of their friends numerous other wands. My eldest now (9). Has developed a deep respect and interest in wood and can't wait to have a go on the lathe. So he's gone in the opposite direction. Must say I'm really pleased at that.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I fitted a few kitchens in some new builds a couple of years back and the day after I finished oiling the tops , I found a sparky standing on them chasing the wall out . He hadn't even bothered to put a dust sheet on them . Tops were ruined.

You should have ripped his twin and earth through the plaster saying you needed it to mark out a curve

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

ah, so basically this is a thread of you all moaning about your wifes


as for the whole people not respecting your work thing... this is why I rarely make things for anyone I know, things are either for the house, for the garage, or sold to randomers. Sort of expect people to treat the items with little respect as the vast majority of people have no real ide aof what goes into these things and a lot of people have some misguided idea that it's "easy" and something anyone could do... the amount of people who like to talk down to me due to what I do is amazing, though it's fun to see theirs faces when I tell them that before this I was a maths teacher lol

Had you not noticed Hazel.......the entire forum is essentially based on moaning about wives, its just delicately woven into discussion about wood

 

[chippy1970]

It bothers me when its your family you live with. Ok I can understand kids aren't going to value these things but my ex and her mother used to live with me and 4 kids. They asked for alsorts to be made but after seeing the coffee table I made covered in milk, felt tip and binted I went mad. I repaired and refinished the table. 2 days later felt tip again. Them two just let the kids abuse it and sit on it. The milk was sitting there for an hour before and was only cleaned up as I went barmy at them.

I made a chopping board. That was never cleaned straight away and the last time used meat was left on it for days and has now stained in mould. She aint having another.

Wardrobe I built was never looked after or even wiped to get dust off.

I never made anything else for the house. I thought pea's to that. We recently split up and I'm looking forward to making myself some furniture for once.

Terribly sorry to "not be grumpy" for a second but being a turner I took my two young boys to the Harry Potter studio tour last year and come the gift shop they had plastic blow moulded Dumbledore replica wands which I refused to pay £25 for. That's two boys....£50 for two pieces of plastic s.h.i.t. I don't think so Mrs JK Rowling. So I turned them myself. The kids absolutely love them and since I've made them and many of their friends numerous other wands. My eldest now (9). Has developed a deep respect and interest in wood and can't wait to have a go on the lathe. So he's gone in the opposite direction. Must say I'm really pleased at that.

My son's have got those wands voldermort and Dumbledore's. I wasn't there when my wife bought them. We were all supposed to be going on the tour but I ended up in hospital with a slipped disc the day before, so they left me at home that day.



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[Mar_mite]

Tenuous claim to fame.. My brother made the wands for the first (2 I think) Harry potter films. He is a prop maker.

 

[MMUK]

(got an O level grade A in that one!...clever git aint I ?...lol)

No, just old :wink:


Seriously though, you had to be a smart cookie in the days of O levels to get an A or a B. Nowadays pretty much anyone can get an A or B grade at GCSE :roll: Kids are taught to pass exams, they are not taught to learn.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Tenuous claim to fame.. My brother made the wands for the first (2 I think) Harry potter films. He is a prop maker.

Wow...now that's a job I would love to have ....fantastic. Tell him my kids think he's a genius

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

It bothers me when its your family you live with. Ok I can understand kids aren't going to value these things but my ex and her mother used to live with me and 4 kids. They asked for alsorts to be made but after seeing the coffee table I made covered in milk, felt tip and binted I went mad. I repaired and refinished the table. 2 days later felt tip again. Them two just let the kids abuse it and sit on it. The milk was sitting there for an hour before and was only cleaned up as I went barmy at them.

I made a chopping board. That was never cleaned straight away and the last time used meat was left on it for days and has now stained in mould. She aint having another.

Wardrobe I built was never looked after or even wiped to get dust off.

I never made anything else for the house. I thought pea's to that. We recently split up and I'm looking forward to making myself some furniture for once.

Terribly sorry to "not be grumpy" for a second but being a turner I took my two young boys to the Harry Potter studio tour last year and come the gift shop they had plastic blow moulded Dumbledore replica wands which I refused to pay £25 for. That's two boys....£50 for two pieces of plastic s.h.i.t. I don't think so Mrs JK Rowling. So I turned them myself. The kids absolutely love them and since I've made them and many of their friends numerous other wands. My eldest now (9). Has developed a deep respect and interest in wood and can't wait to have a go on the lathe. So he's gone in the opposite direction. Must say I'm really pleased at that.

My son's have got those wands voldermort and Dumbledore's. I wasn't there when my wife bought them. We were all supposed to be going on the tour but I ended up in hospital with a slipped disc the day before, so they left me at home that day.



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Unlucky Chippy, bet that was sore! The tour is well worth taking in fact (despite some of the tat in the gift shop) and as a carpenter I don't doubt you would marvel at some of the ingenuity in the set design and build as it is stunningly good. No expense was spared I can tell you. However, to your point about SWMBO buying those expensive wands....that sounds suspiciously like a complaint opportunity to me