Cleaned Up the Woodshop

Alrighty!!! I have pretty much put everything in it's place in the woodshop. And for the first time in months my bench is clear of all clutter and ready for me to start a brand-spankin'-new project.

That new project will be a big five pointed star for my son's school. 6 feet tall. Plywood. And I should have already started it but I need a couple of bits of information first, so I'll begin building it later this week. I still don't really know what it will be used for, but they need it, he wants me to build it, and that's enough for me.

And then I'll build my router table! I've been waiting for this for about a year! I just can't wait to get moving on it.

You can see in these photos how the new assembly table is the same height as the bench. It's also the same height as the table saw. This allows me to use both the bench and the assembly table as out-feed support for long pieces or sheet goods. In many cases I'll still need a roller stand or two between the table saw and the tables, but the added support the tables can provide is a nearly priceless addition to my shop.

I've had a great time putting all these pieces in place, and I'm going to enjoy the building process on the router table as well. After that, it's time to put all this equipment to good use. My Design Style Guide teammates are probably thinking I have given up building new candle holders and wine rests. In reality I'm just gearing up to add some major twists to my designs.

Martine Petra

I'll be moving the interview I conducted with Martine Petra soon. I'm moving it to the Design Style Guide team blog so it can live with the rest of my interviews. As a matter of fact, all the interviews on this blog will be moved to the DSG blog within a couple of months.

In the meantime, you should check out this bit of beauty by Martine Petra. I love this photograph, and it's for sale, so maybe you're the one to buy it?

And while you're visiting Design Style Guide, read up on this cool contest.

DSG North Texas

On Saturday, April 18, 2009, three of the charter members of the DSG North Texas group met for the first time at La Madeleine on South Cooper in Arlington, Texas. And there was much rejoicing.

Present at this meeting were Ellen Kreager of Thunder Moon Designs, Liz Ballard of Lizardo Art, me, Liz's boyfriend, Ben, and my wife, Debra. Soup and sandwiches were eaten, tea consumed, and we talked for 90 minutes or so about DSG, Texas, our North Texas group, how to go about promoting each other's work, craft shows, interior designers, etc.

La Madeleine was a surprisingly good place to meet, even if they didn't have a private room. When I was still a member of Etsy Texas Crafters we met at a different La Madeleine, in Fort Worth, and we had a room to ourselves. That works better, but this was fine. On a Saturday afternoon there are lots of people stopping in from the Parks Mall, but they don't stay very long, and nobody bothered us while we were talking.

What will come out of this meeting and a couple of discussions in our online networking group is a plan of attack, a flexible idea of how to sell our own work while promoting the work of the other members of DSG North Texas. And one of the most likely ideas to come out of this will be attending en masses the various craft shows in the area. This will require reserving booth space next to -- or at least near -- each other, talking to customers about how something from another member shop will go well with whatever they are looking at in our own shops, and having fun with the customers while taking the whole concept seriously. I know this works because I've seen it very successfully demonstrated at comic book conventions and science fiction conventions.

I have really good feelings about this group. A few more members will help us spread the marketing message out to enough customers for the idea to take hold, and I have some candidates in mind, but this can work even with the three members who attended this meeting. We're all intelligent, we all want to increase our sales, we all produce high quality consumables, we all have hair on the tops of our heads...

Okay, not really sure where I was going with that, but I do know we can succeed, that this will work for us. I left this meeting with a big smile on my face. I can't wait to tell Kristina Law, our Design Style Guide Big Cheese in Charge, all about it!