I make wooden bowls on a lathe and would like to do it for a living

Shtanto · 12-11-2017 04:58PM #1

I can make about 4 bowls a month with my current equipment. I have a few questions about going into business. Right now, I get about €200 a week from disability allowance. Can't easily work what you would call a normal job. Too many triggers. Some of you may understand how I mean.

To save money on equipment (I'd reckon a fully kitted out pro shop would be about €7,000) I'd like to register for VAT. Are there any organisations that could help me? I'd need to keep my DA for the first few years while I get started. Eventually I'll need to employ a few people to help with tool maintenance and cleaning which will free up time for me to concentrate on turning.

TL;DR, Employing foreign workers and registering for VAT?

CeilingFly · 12-11-2017 10:01PM

That sounds like a craft - therefore the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland is the place to contact.

Massive amount of guidance available from them.

http://www.dccoi.ie/

irishmoss · 12-11-2017 10:16PM

If you register for VAT you can reclaim the vat on purchases but you will have to charge vat to your customers. So that will add 23% to your selling price and you will have to hand that over to Revenue.
You can turnover up to 75k without registering for VAT

So while it might be tempting to register to reclaim the VAT on your initial equipment, overall you might regret doing so.

looksee · 12-11-2017 10:22PM

It is very difficult to make anything approaching a living out of crafts. If you make a bowl and it sells immediately for €100, you will not have that €100 in your hand. Those 4 a month that you make, do you sell them yourself or do you sell through an agent? Do they sell immediately?

Most people find that agents (ie craft shops) will look for 25 to 50% commission on items, you have to wait for them to sell - one item may sell immediately, another may sit on a shelf for months. You need time to take your items around to shops and persuade them to take them for you. A lot of the time they will only do 'sale or return' which gives no guarantees of if, when or whether you will ever see it or the payment again. Some will be reluctant as wood turning takes a lot of display space for the return. You will probably find that the bread and butter items are some small, original, appealing items - mushrooms or light pulls or whatever that you have to mass produce pretty much and sell for a few euros each.

Then you have to give time to collecting your sales money, checking on stock, sourcing materials, doing promotional stuff, keeping accounts, maintaining your equipment and workshop - no, you will not be able to employ anyone to do any of this for a very long time, if at all. Sales are very seasonal. If you are in a tourist area you may have summer sales, most sales would be for Christmas.

And after all that you are very unlikely to be allowed to continue on disability - there may be an alternative scheme, but you would need to make some careful enquiries before you try looking for it.

Sorry to be such a gloom merchant, but I think you would be better off keeping your wood turning as an interest, a hobby and a therapy. Working self-employed to make a living can be much more stressful than working as an employee.

miketheDIYman · 12-11-2017 10:40PM

Hi Shtanto, I hate to say it but I would have to agree with Looksee - its not easy to make money these days especially with crafts but there's lots of people who would envy your skill and who would love to learn the art of woodturning for lots of reasons, mostly to help with their stress levels, so ever thought of giving lessons - you could probably cater for small group and this would provide a regular income but also allow you to create your own bowls in your free time

CeilingFly · 12-11-2017 10:42PM

I'd partially disagree with above.

If you're product is good quality and reasonably priced, the market will buy it.

The trick is to either specialise high end and be paid for artistic value like many potters have done (a Michael Jackson art piece will cost €2,000+ whereas his former pottery was selling plates at less than €20) or go for the middle market and try getting listed in the likes of meadows and byrne.

Its not easy. But as above, the Crafts Council will be where all the expertise, mentoring and advice will be available to you at no charge.

duploelabs · 13-11-2017 08:44AM

You should maybe look at a bit of a niche market but here goes.

A lot of high end restaurants are getting their crockery custom made for service. And they will take exclusivity on that supply (i.e you're to supply them and no one else), John Wyer of Forrest avenue being one (or so it's said).
Plating at that high-end, Michelin standard restaurant is almost as important as the produce itself and they will pay top dollar for good crockery.
Get a list of the Michelin starred restaurants in Ireland, subscribe to their Instagram accounts and you'll get an idea of what I'm saying. From there perhaps produce a portfolio of your work, approach those restaurants, and see if there's anything you could custom make to their specification

CeilingFly · 13-11-2017 08:23PM

As above, there's a Michelin star restaurant in Madrid that uses pottery plates and bowls from Donegal. And it was facilitated by the Crafts Council.

Edit - they supply 22 restaurants in Spain with pottery including several Michelin star ones and also several in New York. Moville pottery.

Shtanto · 14-11-2017 11:36AM

duploelabs wrote: »

You should maybe look at a bit of a niche market but here goes.

A lot of high end restaurants are getting their crockery custom made for service. And they will take exclusivity on that supply (i.e you're to supply them and no one else), John Wyer of Forrest avenue being one (or so it's said).
Plating at that high-end, Michelin standard restaurant is almost as important as the produce itself and they will pay top dollar for good crockery.
Get a list of the Michelin starred restaurants in Ireland, subscribe to their Instagram accounts and you'll get an idea of what I'm saying. From there perhaps produce a portfolio of your work, approach those restaurants, and see if there's anything you could custom make to their specification

Great idea - I'll plug a website here if the moderator allows but the editor there reckons there may be some legal requirements to adhere to. Further research required

duploelabs · 14-11-2017 12:01PM

Shtanto wrote: »

Great idea - I'll plug a website here if the moderator allows but the editor there reckons there may be some legal requirements to adhere to. Further research required

Instagram is a great forum for that close interaction for that community, try there

BailMeOut · 15-11-2017 07:12PM

I see a local guy who makes wooden bowls selling them at local farmers markets. If you are organized enough you can probably find a different farmer's market relatively close to you each day of the week and just travel around to each one.

I make wooden bowls on a lathe and would like to do it for a living

Comments