April Update

Another month that feels like it’s lasted approximately a year! Thanks to everyone that put in orders for mugs, spoon blanks and coffee scoops. It feels great to be able to continue to get some sort of income from making things.

Here in Wisconsin, the ‘Safer at Home’ order has been extended to May 26th. We haven’t started to flatten the curve yet, so the extension makes sense. However I’ve got that feeling that, for me at least, the 2020 Farmers’ Markets are a complete bust. Even if things begin to open up in June, I don’t think people will be comfortable gathering in crowds the same way they did last year. So I’ve been wrestling with the idea of not attending any outdoor markets at all. It would mean a radical shift of my business to wholly online. I’m fortunate to already have a website all set up, but it just doesn’t have the same kind of active buyers the Farmers’ Markets do. Right now, I’m not doing too badly. April 2020 is only about $500 behind April 2019. But it’s been a lot of work. Stretching it out for the rest of the year, maintaining this pace of learning new skills, experimenting with new platforms, feels exhausting.

I spent the winter planning. 2019 was a good year and I was thoroughly looking forward to doing basically the same thing, but with some slight improvements. A better maintained website, new products and more classes. Now, like everyone else I find myself faced with radical changes.

I love teaching. But now face-to-face classes carry a not insignificant risk of catching or passing on a potentially fatal disease. So I’m trying to move them online. This month I did a couple of classes through Boon. There were some technical issues getting the classes setup. An issue with the connection dropping during the first one and a bit of lag with the second. Overall the participants seemed to have enjoyed themselves, but with just a text interface for them to communicate with me, it felt a little weird talking to the cold dead eye of my phone’s camera. With a limited back-and-forth, if I do more Boon classes I’ll need to reassess my approach. I think I made the mistake of assuming they would run like a digital version of my in-person workshops. In person, I encourage attendees to interrupt, ask questions and be involved in the process. I think Boon is better suited to classes structured more like a lecture. There’s only a limited opportunity for input from people who attend live.
The platform also lets you record a video and upload in a pay-per-view format. That might be a better option than dealing with the hassle of connection speeds and lag. But as with everything, it’s all a big experiment that takes time and effort for an unknown outcome!

Most recently I’ve rolled out one-on-one video workshops. That way I’ll be able to see what the other person is doing and they’ll be able to chat more directly with me. Perhaps we’ll even have an experience a little closer to what I’m used to with my in-person workshops. People have the option of booking one, two or three hours with me to focus on any spoon carving topic they want. I’m trying to figure out a way to run an internet cable to the shed so I can teach from there. For now, the basement will have to do.

Looking ahead I’m trying to film and edit more educational videos. I want to do some turning videos. Might even do one on forging. Those will probably go up on Boon and my Patreon. So long as you folks keep buying woodenware, I’ll probably squeeze in some carving too.

Hope you’re all staying safe.