the end of the world as we know it?

Midweek I had a joyful eight hour round trip up to Cheltenham to collect my unsold exhibition pieces. Any show or exhibition has to be entered with the realisation that there is a strong possibility that nothing will sell. However after all the time and financial investment that goes into exhibiting you can't help but feel disappointed loading unsold work into the truck to be taken and stored in the workshop.

This is the second show I have exhibited in this summer, and although very different in set up and location both proved underwhelming in sales and inquiries. Now it could be argued that the underwhelming sales were a result of my underwhelming work, of course that could be a reason. In my defence I wasn't the only one feeling the cold chill of the exhibition hall. Using the gathering of furniture makers as an opportunity to chat about the past year and the one ahead I was left in no doubt that it's tough for everyone. The Celebration of Craftsmanship exhibition in Cheltenham is a prodigious event, showcasing the best makers currently working in the U.K. If these people are finding it tough, then its tough.

Each one told the same story, very few new inquiries, old clients working to a tight budget and material plus workshop costs increasing. 

It's common knowledge that you don't become a professional furniture maker in order to make money, but increasingly the cost to make versus the retail value of high end handmade furniture is a hard sum to square. As the world's wealth becomes  concentrated on fewer individuals, and the market place in which we used to work is now populated by clients who due to their own job insecurity and reduced financial resources are far less inclined to commission work, the prospects for a custom made furniture buisness will get bleaker.