thanks for the videos bro the information is priceless. Can i ask you a personal question about running your lampwork business now that you been at it for 7 years. Im writing a business report for a business class and i chose lampworking as a career . what is your monthly operational cost. sorry if its a strange question but its a fascinating field of work your in creating art fro glass. thanks for your time and response to my question.
I really liked this ramble-rant. It's brought some perspective on the future of my own lampwork hobby. Am I willing to work 8hr shifts at the torch? Am I willing to mass produce hundreds of the same item? Can I fill a box that size in a day? Thank you! Those are just the questions I needed to be asking myself.
60%!!! what the hell?! a keystone mark-up is 50% hope you're getting more now especially if you realize that you are in a position where they are looking for your product(demand) & you are the only available person producing (supply) the moneyball is in your court so to speak. I don't think a studio should have an open door policy unless $ is not an issue, just ask for some rent so there won't be any hurt feelings. if you're being too nice to anyone it's to the jerk that is lowballing Your work.
Thankyou for posting this. It's highly encouraging. To many people are spouting BS about how "It's valuable because it's art" and not facing reality and putting in the actual effort needed to get paid.
I us what was originally a cutting torch with a blow torch attachment. acetylene, oxygen. although i did at my first attempts use a propane blow torch. no oxy.
@Demonrik yes, I use propane, I once tried acetylene, but it fogs the glass, natural gas is also usable for flameworking, though here in oregon propane is far more commonly used.-)
you missed m y point also, some of us like teaching and helping others get started. its actually half or more of the satisfaction. and I love blowing glass with other people. and if I ever intend to go as far as I hope with glass, its going to demand that I get along well with others, I know that I will probably be burned many times, but I will allways keep trying, its just in my nature.-) and I am all good with it. thank you for both of your comments, and I really mean that.-)
I dont believe in stopping being a nice guy because of a bunch of people that are dicks, I will keep on doing exactly what I am doing as long as it is working. thanks for your comment.-)
Thanks for setting it straight. I got money and a bit of equipment and 100% of my time to work if you are interested in taking on partners or even an employee please let me know. Not many people who know what it truly takes to make production.
Man I knock out Wrap and Rake spoons and Bubbelers all week long so I can make one ore two heady peices a week. I gotta pay the rent ya know. Acro is right. Thats the reality. You can still be an artist with a JOB.
When your art becomes your job and you rant about who is an artist or not based on rate of production you are no longer an artist, what's artistic about mass production? scientific blowers often dont regard it as art but more a trade like machining, they can bust out insane time machine-esque glass instruments all day that puts most of what you see on here to shame and it's just the daily grind, mass production spoons isn't artistic.
@acroduster lol! you are awsome! ps. Love your videos, I have seen alot of them, probibly one of the most helpful flameworkers on youtube. Thanks for taking the time on making this video, it really helps! I have been flameworking for 2 years, and Im getting ready to start selling some jewelery. It has taken me a long time to be happy with the results & develop my own technique. no doubt, without watching your videos, I would be somewhere else right now doing something I would hate doing.
I would argue, that you are a hobby glass worker if you are not making your income off it! your just playing!
robert mickleson no doubt got the kind of additude you are showing me from idiots like you when he was producing glass tobbacco novelites for the years he did so!-)
notice he is condsidered one of the top artists in the us these days!-)
and of course, there is the issue that art is subjective, which you obviously never picked up on in high school and were not exposed to in college, so I can only assume your an under-educated bitter person that has a crappy job flipping burgers and cant stand the idea that a guy like me can make a living in a few hours each day, while you have to deal with bosses, and typical corporate crap! or you are too young to even understant the issues you are trying to talk about!-)
as someone who has been getting into flameworking for just over a year now and beginning to sell work I really actually appreciated your rant. just 30 minutes ago i was walking through auckland trying to sell some work and managed to make a bit of money but less than expected. wise words man, thanks. always good stuff to remember in the early years of learning a new trade and/or art!
hi i have ben doing hot glass for a few years mostly i make things as gifts and give away a lot how do you find out what is a fair wholesale price for what you make
its always hard to establish sholesale pricing! I base my operational costs and any raw glass into it, and then make damn sure I am still making money after. usually I find that to stay profitable, my studio rate is around a dollar a minute. but I run large torches.
if you are not making sales, look at the quality and repeatability of your work, if its good, then you might be asking too much for the dealers you are selling to.
if you are selling tobacco novelties, you may get less than other forms of art, the market is very saturated, and now there are import manufactures selling trash all over the place.
look around at what dealers are charging retail for similar work. expect to get between 40-60 % of retail. the higher you can get the better. but if you limit your sales numbers by being high you may hurt yourself.
also, i do not give wholesale prices if the buyer is not buying in wholesale numbers!
I would like to know if you would be interested in helping, or should I say making a profit from lampwork jewelry. Most of my pieces so far are from a simple torch, but I just bought a minor torch so I can fo larger designs-- have kiln. I anneal. I have an ebay store, lots of inventory, but no connections. I get myself into the same situations as you friends who want to "HELP" but are more trouble than they're worth. I don't have the connections with a distributor that you have. more
ha ha . you need to pump more oxygen in.. ha ha ha . I do stained glass and i work at producing at a high rate so i can sell low, im tired too. Lets go get a beer.
they may be simple buisness facts, and if you knew anything about glass artists in general, you would know that most of them have never been told these simple things! coming from a 22 year old, that obviosly should have left my channel when you were unhappy, you can see how i REALLY DONT GIVE A SHIT!
one warning, more crap from you, and your blocked! if you dont want to view my videos, there is a simple solution! dont watch!
If you're making a repetitive product (production) you aren't a glass artist, you're a craftsman or production worker. Nothing wrong with this, but claiming to be a glass artist when your pumping out $5 spoons all day seems a little pretentious to me.
actuallyI agree! but the production monkey stuff is just my startup bread and butter, I have already been moving away from it. if you think there is any glass studio or artist out there that never tried to make a buck with their skill, your lying to yourself! i certaily will not be so stuck up an artist to turn my nose away from a 50+ dollar an hour opportunity! and if you watched the vid thats what I am really getting at. stuck up "artists" that think their shit is special when its not!
a victor hand torch mounted to the side of a workbech. it is not ideal by any means, in fact i would not recomend it to anyone unles your only interest was making beads. but it got me hooked!
wow i would have to say, hands down, this is by far the most insperational videos i've seen about glass from you or any other on the inter net. i cant beleive you only have 3 years under your belt and your already this far. god damn insperation. im a hobiest right now but some day.... once again god damn insperational.
not a full 3 years yet, close but I still have a few months to go before its a full 3 years. thank you for the compliment, and if I can do it, anyone can! I dont know how I picked up the skills I have in glass, it just is the most fun I have ever had in my life, well, I really get a lot out of shooting video and film too.
Most people don't bother making a proper business plan with a cash flow and so have no idea how much their time is worth and what their produce actually costs them to make, and what it can be sold for profitably. Even if it's just a hobby, it never hurts to know exactly what you're doing with your time and money!
a great video that not only touches on your field but general artisan salesmanship as a whole. being someone who deals in toy design i totally understand where you're coming from.
I'm actually interested in learning more about this and your ideals about computer related stuff too. Add me, i added you.. Sorry about one of the comments i left on your vids it made me slightly upset but i can understand.. anyway i subscribed to you.
here in oregon, because of the huge glass art community in eugene, it is pretty resonable to find distributors that are very happy to give you money right now for product (outright sales) as long as your product is priced so that they know they can make some money too. a great trick for ornaments I discovered, make 50 ornaments, send one with a letter explaining that you manufacture them, to gift shops, wait for orders to come in. last time I did that 3 of the stores wanted several dozen.
Excellent! So, how do you find distributors and what kinds businesses are they? Are you talking about outright sales to distributors or consignment sales?
This has been flagged as spam show
thanks for the videos bro the information is priceless. Can i ask you a personal question about running your lampwork business now that you been at it for 7 years. Im writing a business report for a business class and i chose lampworking as a career . what is your monthly operational cost. sorry if its a strange question but its a fascinating field of work your in creating art fro glass. thanks for your time and response to my question.
nightflierlives 3 weeks ago
I really liked this ramble-rant. It's brought some perspective on the future of my own lampwork hobby. Am I willing to work 8hr shifts at the torch? Am I willing to mass produce hundreds of the same item? Can I fill a box that size in a day? Thank you! Those are just the questions I needed to be asking myself.
GenzGemz 1 month ago
60%!!! what the hell?! a keystone mark-up is 50% hope you're getting more now especially if you realize that you are in a position where they are looking for your product(demand) & you are the only available person producing (supply) the moneyball is in your court so to speak. I don't think a studio should have an open door policy unless $ is not an issue, just ask for some rent so there won't be any hurt feelings. if you're being too nice to anyone it's to the jerk that is lowballing Your work.
Saltyember 1 year ago
Thank you friend for the valuable lesson!
metalinked 1 year ago
Thankyou for posting this. It's highly encouraging. To many people are spouting BS about how "It's valuable because it's art" and not facing reality and putting in the actual effort needed to get paid.
Moto421 1 year ago
you use propane?
I us what was originally a cutting torch with a blow torch attachment. acetylene, oxygen. although i did at my first attempts use a propane blow torch. no oxy.
Demonrik 1 year ago
@Demonrik yes, I use propane, I once tried acetylene, but it fogs the glass, natural gas is also usable for flameworking, though here in oregon propane is far more commonly used.-)
acroduster 1 year ago
you missed m y point also, some of us like teaching and helping others get started. its actually half or more of the satisfaction. and I love blowing glass with other people. and if I ever intend to go as far as I hope with glass, its going to demand that I get along well with others, I know that I will probably be burned many times, but I will allways keep trying, its just in my nature.-) and I am all good with it. thank you for both of your comments, and I really mean that.-)
acroduster 2 years ago
instead of critisizing my methods, maybe you could make some videos using your vast knowlege and help others? just a thought on manning up.-)
acroduster 2 years ago 2
I dont believe in stopping being a nice guy because of a bunch of people that are dicks, I will keep on doing exactly what I am doing as long as it is working. thanks for your comment.-)
acroduster 2 years ago
Thanks for setting it straight. I got money and a bit of equipment and 100% of my time to work if you are interested in taking on partners or even an employee please let me know. Not many people who know what it truly takes to make production.
TuBeUlar009 2 years ago
Man I knock out Wrap and Rake spoons and Bubbelers all week long so I can make one ore two heady peices a week. I gotta pay the rent ya know. Acro is right. Thats the reality. You can still be an artist with a JOB.
milowerx69 2 years ago
When your art becomes your job and you rant about who is an artist or not based on rate of production you are no longer an artist, what's artistic about mass production? scientific blowers often dont regard it as art but more a trade like machining, they can bust out insane time machine-esque glass instruments all day that puts most of what you see on here to shame and it's just the daily grind, mass production spoons isn't artistic.
gijoe79516 2 years ago
if you think artists dont have to produce enough to survive. well then your an idiot!-)
just because you want to do something artistic for a living does not mean you dont have to produce! your thoughts dont even make sense!
and I frankly dont have time for idiots like you!-)
coming from an individual with no subs, and no videos, you can imagine how much credibility I put in your thoughts!-)
blocked!
exactly what is your qualifications for being an art critic?-)
acroduster 2 years ago
@acroduster lol! you are awsome! ps. Love your videos, I have seen alot of them, probibly one of the most helpful flameworkers on youtube. Thanks for taking the time on making this video, it really helps! I have been flameworking for 2 years, and Im getting ready to start selling some jewelery. It has taken me a long time to be happy with the results & develop my own technique. no doubt, without watching your videos, I would be somewhere else right now doing something I would hate doing.
mindstorm47 4 months ago
@mindstorm47 Keep on making the glass community proud acroduster, don`t stop what you do!
mindstorm47 4 months ago
I would argue, that you are a hobby glass worker if you are not making your income off it! your just playing!
robert mickleson no doubt got the kind of additude you are showing me from idiots like you when he was producing glass tobbacco novelites for the years he did so!-)
notice he is condsidered one of the top artists in the us these days!-)
acroduster 2 years ago
and of course, there is the issue that art is subjective, which you obviously never picked up on in high school and were not exposed to in college, so I can only assume your an under-educated bitter person that has a crappy job flipping burgers and cant stand the idea that a guy like me can make a living in a few hours each day, while you have to deal with bosses, and typical corporate crap! or you are too young to even understant the issues you are trying to talk about!-)
acroduster 2 years ago
as someone who has been getting into flameworking for just over a year now and beginning to sell work I really actually appreciated your rant. just 30 minutes ago i was walking through auckland trying to sell some work and managed to make a bit of money but less than expected. wise words man, thanks. always good stuff to remember in the early years of learning a new trade and/or art!
mparsons88 2 years ago
hi i have ben doing hot glass for a few years mostly i make things as gifts and give away a lot how do you find out what is a fair wholesale price for what you make
hemrod69a 2 years ago
oh boy....
its always hard to establish sholesale pricing! I base my operational costs and any raw glass into it, and then make damn sure I am still making money after. usually I find that to stay profitable, my studio rate is around a dollar a minute. but I run large torches.
if you are not making sales, look at the quality and repeatability of your work, if its good, then you might be asking too much for the dealers you are selling to.
acroduster 2 years ago
if you are selling tobacco novelties, you may get less than other forms of art, the market is very saturated, and now there are import manufactures selling trash all over the place.
look around at what dealers are charging retail for similar work. expect to get between 40-60 % of retail. the higher you can get the better. but if you limit your sales numbers by being high you may hurt yourself.
also, i do not give wholesale prices if the buyer is not buying in wholesale numbers!
acroduster 2 years ago
I would like to know if you would be interested in helping, or should I say making a profit from lampwork jewelry. Most of my pieces so far are from a simple torch, but I just bought a minor torch so I can fo larger designs-- have kiln. I anneal. I have an ebay store, lots of inventory, but no connections. I get myself into the same situations as you friends who want to "HELP" but are more trouble than they're worth. I don't have the connections with a distributor that you have. more
isisjewelrydesigns 2 years ago
ha ha . you need to pump more oxygen in.. ha ha ha . I do stained glass and i work at producing at a high rate so i can sell low, im tired too. Lets go get a beer.
olengivens 3 years ago
This is ridiculous. You are merely stating the most basic facts to run ANY kind of business. Whine somewhere else.
quentin095 3 years ago
they may be simple buisness facts, and if you knew anything about glass artists in general, you would know that most of them have never been told these simple things! coming from a 22 year old, that obviosly should have left my channel when you were unhappy, you can see how i REALLY DONT GIVE A SHIT!
one warning, more crap from you, and your blocked! if you dont want to view my videos, there is a simple solution! dont watch!
thanks for the comment!
acroduster 3 years ago
If you're making a repetitive product (production) you aren't a glass artist, you're a craftsman or production worker. Nothing wrong with this, but claiming to be a glass artist when your pumping out $5 spoons all day seems a little pretentious to me.
Zedlock 3 years ago
actuallyI agree! but the production monkey stuff is just my startup bread and butter, I have already been moving away from it. if you think there is any glass studio or artist out there that never tried to make a buck with their skill, your lying to yourself! i certaily will not be so stuck up an artist to turn my nose away from a 50+ dollar an hour opportunity! and if you watched the vid thats what I am really getting at. stuck up "artists" that think their shit is special when its not!
acroduster 3 years ago
Ramble ramble ramble lol. Good video, very true.
destructovision 3 years ago
which torch did you start with that was $80?
beachboy8969 3 years ago
a victor hand torch mounted to the side of a workbech. it is not ideal by any means, in fact i would not recomend it to anyone unles your only interest was making beads. but it got me hooked!
acroduster 3 years ago
awesome thanks man
beachboy8969 3 years ago
good rant! preach on, man!
magism 3 years ago
Great video! It's so refreshing to see someone talking about the success of a glass business. Well done!
trevinoblanquetglass 3 years ago
too wierd, hard to watch
mapexlb 3 years ago
only intended for glass artiests, and people involved in the glass industry!-)
acroduster 2 years ago
uh yea I sell glass... I am into the techical side of glass, switchbacks,reversals,benderbacks,double and trip windows,wig wags and stuff like that.
mapexlb 2 years ago
whoo hoo!-)
glass is awesome!
you should post some glass videos! I love watching glass vids!-)
acroduster 2 years ago
wow i would have to say, hands down, this is by far the most insperational videos i've seen about glass from you or any other on the inter net. i cant beleive you only have 3 years under your belt and your already this far. god damn insperation. im a hobiest right now but some day.... once again god damn insperational.
jutterbunny 3 years ago
not a full 3 years yet, close but I still have a few months to go before its a full 3 years. thank you for the compliment, and if I can do it, anyone can! I dont know how I picked up the skills I have in glass, it just is the most fun I have ever had in my life, well, I really get a lot out of shooting video and film too.
acroduster 3 years ago
Most people don't bother making a proper business plan with a cash flow and so have no idea how much their time is worth and what their produce actually costs them to make, and what it can be sold for profitably. Even if it's just a hobby, it never hurts to know exactly what you're doing with your time and money!
HexeFroschbein 3 years ago
that was great. :) Good to hear a nice long ramble...
I8pikachu 3 years ago
a great video that not only touches on your field but general artisan salesmanship as a whole. being someone who deals in toy design i totally understand where you're coming from.
BaronZombie 3 years ago
I'm actually interested in learning more about this and your ideals about computer related stuff too. Add me, i added you.. Sorry about one of the comments i left on your vids it made me slightly upset but i can understand.. anyway i subscribed to you.
HunterZeroElite 3 years ago
I'm photographer. Same problem here. Nice video! :)
Bohemists 3 years ago
here in oregon, because of the huge glass art community in eugene, it is pretty resonable to find distributors that are very happy to give you money right now for product (outright sales) as long as your product is priced so that they know they can make some money too. a great trick for ornaments I discovered, make 50 ornaments, send one with a letter explaining that you manufacture them, to gift shops, wait for orders to come in. last time I did that 3 of the stores wanted several dozen.
acroduster 3 years ago
Excellent! So, how do you find distributors and what kinds businesses are they? Are you talking about outright sales to distributors or consignment sales?
TimiaGlass 3 years ago