Still no work in hand 05 January 2008!

Important Announcement (December 2003) Having given the matter a lot of thought, I have decided to discontinue making custom sticks to order. There are a number of reasons why I find it necessary to make this decision. Firstly, I feel that I am not temperamentally suited to working in this way. To me, stickmaking should be a relaxation; a hobby in which I am free to follow my own inclinations, change my mind as and when the need arises, put a piece of work aside when inspiration is flagging, and pick it up again in maybe a month or two's time when I get another idea. Unfortunately, this approach is not possible when I know the customer has very specific requirements which have to be met. I cannot help but take my responsibilities seriously - it's just the way I am. So I often have to work against my natural inclinations, and am always mindful of the need to press on and get the job done. If I had sufficient time on my hands, perhaps this might not be too much of a problem. But other matters have been occupying a lot of my attention and are likely to continue for the foreseeable future - along, of course, with the need to "get a life". It's been a long time since I have had a chance to pick up a stick and head out into the countryside myself! There is a lot more to making a custom stick than meets the eye. Quite apart from the actual stickmaking work involved, I have to spend a lot of time discussing the specification with the client, and often a great deal more time and effort in sourcing the materials, as well as the time that goes into finding solutions to the technical problems inherent in many of my customers' proposals. I dare not even think about adding up all the time I have spent trying to find just the right piece of wood, horn, or silver trim and other fittings to be able to give the customer what he requires. And, of course, when I am unable to come up with just the right materials, all this effort is wasted. Meanwhile I have a considerable stock of excellent materials I could be using to make sticks that somebody, somewhere, would very much like to see on my "For Sale" page! I am not in this for the money, and what little I do make is very quickly spent on more tools and materials. I have a great many original ideas that I want to put into practice and I feel the time has come for me to concentrate on these and produce the work that I now know I am capable of. I am sure that this will in fact result in a greater output and a wider range of sticks available for purchase. So what happens now? Well, firstly I would reassure all those who have actually ordered custom sticks and are patiently waiting in line, that I will complete their orders before making any changes to my routine. To those I have told I will be unable to take on any more work for now, but to contact me in a few months' time, I apologise but I will not now be able to accept any more orders. By the time you see this page, you will have had an email from me explaining this. I may (said he, very cautiously!) take on the occasional piece of work for my existing customers, but it will not be possible for me to offer custom work as a regular service. However... I see no reason why it should not be possible for me to accept "requests" for a particular style or size of stick, as long as the details are left to me and I am under no firm commitment to produce the goods. What I have in mind is that if a potential customer can't find what they want on my "For Sale" page, they can tell me what they would like to see there, e.g. " a market stick with a shank just like number xxx but a bit heavier/longer and with a burr elm handle". Fine - as soon as I have time, I make such a stick (providing the materials are to hand or readily obtainable). I put it up for sale and let them know it's available. If it suits their requirements they can purchase it; if it doesn't, they let me know and in the fullness of time I make another, hopefully more suitable one. But... no commitment on either side, and no precise instructions on the finer details of the design - that's my department. There is one other possibility... I may not be suited to doing custom work myself, but I can think of at least one other excellent stickmaker who actually prefers this way of working. It may be time for us to get together... watch this space while I go and twist his arm! (Bob December 2003

Important Announcement!!! My stickmaking activities are now shut down while I get settled into my new home in Halifax, West Yorkshire. There is (inevitably) more work to be done on the house than I had originally bargained for, and it will take a couple of months before I can even start to think about setting up my workshop. This will involve some damp-proofing work in the basement and creating a level working area on the sloping floor in the garage, so I don't see myself getting back into stickmaking mode until well into the summer. Update 24 September 2006: Well, so much for that theory! I can't go into all the gory details here, but a relatively minor bit of structural work needs to be done before I can start setting up my workshop. Unfortunately, this can't be put in hand until a dispute with my surveyor has been resolved - so I'm still sitting here twiddling my thumbs. :-( Update 27 November 2006: Still no progress to report. Thumb-twiddling continues. Update 13 December 2006: Still no progress. Meanwhile I have changed my ISP and my Web hosting providers. This all seems to have gone smoothly, but it does mean I no longer have access to PlusNet's "My Circular" newsletter management tool. In fact my newsletter never really got off the ground as, what with everything else going on, I never had time to compose a proper newsletter anyway. Sorry, folks - I'm now removing that page, but if and when I do have any time on my hands I will try to find an alternative way of setting it up. Update 05 January 2008: The saga continues. Over the past year I've had quite a bit of work done on the house, much of it unrelated to my stickmaking activities. Currently I'm waiting for the Council to mend the pavement outside my garage so that the new garage doors can be adjusted to keep out the rain. This should have taken place before Christmas, but like everything else it's all taking far longer than it ought to. However, once the garage doors have been sorted out it will then be down to me to deal with any remaining problems and start creating my workshop. It's bound to take several more months, but I am hopeful that I will be up and runninmg again some time this year!

This page last updated Saturday, 05 January 2008.