Mass Production

[Bluebird]

What the fuck is up with all thus massive production of glass these days!? I go on Ebay and theres a million beads that aren't handmade and a million pendants that aren't handmade. WTF! It makes guys like me or us have to work harder to slang our shit! I know basically all you guys are glassblowers and I'm not at that level yet but shits happening with pipes if I'm not mistaken. Etsy sucks too. Man it drives me nuts. It just seems like theres no way of making cash when the chinese blast a mass production of shit. Not that I have a problem with the choinese but fuck man. People at shops want to pay you penny's for your hard work... It's pretty weak

[Slimy-E]

people and the right shops only want to buy american- lets hope it stays that way! we just have to keep our quility higher and our art sweeter!

[JENGA]

I wish everyone felt like that my main business right now is pendants and i cant keep up with the glass coming from over seas or there prices mass production to me is a loss of art

[Boxcutter]

you must be able to communicate and demonstrate the superiority of your product.
not everyone will listen though.
in the end, no matter what, you'll take a paycut.

[Uriel]

^^ what boxcutter says but id also add that if you aim to sell at handcrafted events then there's always scope to increase your prices and possibly make more money if your product stands out!

[JSR Studio]

make stuff that's better and worth more

[Conchis]

you must be able to communicate and demonstrate the superiority of your product.
not everyone will listen though.
in the end, no matter what, you'll take a paycut.

You got that right. I sell at a lot of arts/crafts shows. Some folks recognize the difference right away. There are some folks that can't tell the difference between glass and plastic. Mass produced stuff is going to take some potential customers away. It'll probably set a lower price point as the expectation for most customers so that over all it has the effect of lowering the price we'll be able to sell for, but there are still customers for quality work out there. The mass produced stuff tends to be the stuff that you learn to make in the first year or so of blowing, so you just have to up the skill level and do things that the mass produced stuff isn't making. What I really hate is seeing booths at arts/crafts shows that bring in cardboard boxes stamped China on the side and laying that stuff out....GRRRRR!!!

[Swampy]

It just seems like theres no way of making cash when the chinese blast a mass production of shit. Not that I have a problem with the choinese but fuck man.

Mrs Wong sits at her bench all day knocking them out so she gets pretty good at it after a couple of weeks.

The simple solution is that you have to get as good and then better than Mrs Wong :-)

[nodice]

What the fuck is up with all thus massive production of glass these days!?...

Why do you care so much that glass is mass produced? Is it just cause you can't make as much money as you wanted to? Why should shops buy your stuff and not chinese stuff? They're just trying to make money too, and it's a lot easier to make money off a glass bead when it costs them a quarter as much as your stuff.

[Slimy-E]

You got that right. I sell at a lot of arts/crafts shows. Some folks recognize the difference right away. There are some folks that can't tell the difference between glass and plastic. Mass produced stuff is going to take some potential customers away. It'll probably set a lower price point as the expectation for most customers so that over all it has the effect of lowering the price we'll be able to sell for, but there are still customers for quality work out there. The mass produced stuff tends to be the stuff that you learn to make in the first year or so of blowing, so you just have to up the skill level and do things that the mass produced stuff isn't making.

What I really hate is seeing booths at arts/crafts shows that bring in cardboard boxes stamped China on the side and laying that stuff out....GRRRRR!!!

i dont think i could keep my mouth shut in that situation. It would just eat at me, I would have to say something, or start a riot!

[The Lorax]

don't make prodo then. simple.

[SNYD]

Make stuff better and different then all the stuff you see at your local shops. There is a huge untapped market out there, you just have to make your stuff unique and different then all the mass produced stuff out there. True some people can't tell the difference, but those people don't by 99% if the time anyway, the people who can tell the difference are the one's attention that you want to get.

[preglassok]

It took me one trip around to different pipe shops in my town to figure out who would like my glass and who buys american and who doesn't. After i picked my top 3 i went and talked to them, they all liked my stuff but one place stood out. and to this day i still am supported by 1 shop. they buy everything i make. And in OKC, they are known for high quality american products/ and harley davidson gear :-). Long story short, you don't want to sell your stuff to people that only want cheap china glass. Go find a good shop with quality glass, and that's who you should strive to do business with!!

[nicko0]

all the shops in my area sell import glass. very little of it is any better than trash. but it is the majority of there sales. i have brought in 25$ rev. spoons to some shops and on multiple occasions they have said the majority of pieces they sold until they ran out was my work, but they only get 100% markup instead of 200-300% and i cant produce to compete with import to fill there entire stock. so i dont fit into there lazy glass ordering patterns. i have considered importing so that i can handle all there business and work my stuff into there stock more easily.

there are some shops that only have import and some very low quality usa. there business suffers for it but i cant convince them to try usa and local; though i am quite confident in my belief due to doing business for so long with other shops.

i cant find tobacco pipe import laws.

i was learning how to do some animal figurines from a guy at a gun show and he wanted to know how to make pipes(he had never worked hollow) a customs agent came up to the table and said "we confiscate these things(picking up a spoon) when they come into the country" and the figurine worker said "thank you"! which changed the agents mood entirely from 'i want to shoot you' to, 'i want to shoot importers for you'

so i think most import pipes come in illegally and would cost many times more if they were taxed or may not be able to be imported at all legally.

are there any threads addressing this?

[e. mort]

Unfortunately, there are also a lot of part timers out there who do it for a hobby and just want to make a few bucks to pay for their supplies. Etsy and Ebay abound with that. Plus, there is a ton of imported crap out there. Me, I am a jerk about it. If you come to a juried show that only allows handmade stuff, and I see you putting out cheap import crap, I will rat you out to your customers and to the show managment. I even carry catalogs from rings-n-things, fire mountain, and rio grande, so I can point right to the page where it came from, though the made in china/india/etc bags are usually more than enough to do the job.

[Conchis]

hahahah I like the catalog carrying idea....I've complained...and you know what they do about it? NOTHING! They have told me it's too disruptive to have them move out during a show, while patrons are coming in and the solution is to not have them back next year...well ummm...how about putting up YELLOW CRIME SCENE tape around their booths....

[Bluebird]

Why do you care so much that glass is mass produced? Is it just cause you can't make as much money as you wanted to? Why should shops buy your stuff and not chinese stuff? They're just trying to make money too, and it's a lot easier to make money off a glass bead when it costs them a quarter as much as your stuff.

I understand your side of things. But when a person makes a commitment and a living off there art it becomes a problem. I'm not mad at people making money. Hell make millions and I applaud you. But when it comes to art, I mean art, it hurts the artist thats trying to make a living. I feel the same about paintings too brother. And all other types of art for that matter. I'm not tootin my horn horn here but my shit smashes there stuff in my opinion and to others as well. And I'm sorry for getting upset of what I'm about to tell you but you should know cuz your a fucken artist too! When your opinion becomes nuetral to that kind of area in art it makes me believe that you not a true artist. A true artist would vomit at the sight of fake art. That's only my opinion and I'm intitled to it. And when fucken art is made and bought it should be bought by an artist who fucken sat over that fucken torch for hours and made that piece with love. That's fucken art. If I ever bought any art it was made by a true artist because every piece of art an artist makes has a piece of there soul attached to it. I don't mean to stur shit up between me and you and I'm no internet banger but if you put in your two cents so am I. And your opinion is as fair as mine. Peace!

[Bluebird]

O.k o.k. I'm gonna have to respond to what I said here. I apologize for any static because I was upset. I had misguided anger and I wanted to blame somebody or anybody for my shortcomings. I especially apologize to Nodice for saying what I said. It was ignorant and childishly low thing to say. After a cool down I understand what Nodice meant. And I thank you for it. I can't be mad at the chinese, I can't be mad at people, I should just be upset at myself for not going about doing shit the right way nor thinking the right way. If people want to buy art, they get it from artists. If they want to buy "stuff" there intitled to it. And what I mean by that is if you go to walmart or target and get a print of a painting, go for it! It's not art to me but that's my opinion. Everybody is intitled to what they want and how they go about it and yes, everybody needs to eat and make a living. I'm just not on the other end of the fence here when it comes down to art. And if I was I more than likely would have a different opinion. And like I said I apologize to Nodice for that shitty response.

[Icarus]

I'm second thought, I'm going to keep my mouth shut.

[HiAltitude]

It seems furnace workers have learned to survive despite similar competitive pressures. Not to hijack the thread, but how do they do it? They must have much higher overhead costs. Just a thought.