"Around the Wood"

The following might not be popular.  It certainly is not “politically correct.” It was forwarded to me by a friend.  I’m taking the liberty of passing it along verbatim.

On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the transcript:

“Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

“The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain’s heart.

“In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA – because I don’t believe that they are responsible for my daughter’s death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel’s murder I would be their strongest opponent

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy — it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,

Your words are empty air.
You’ve stripped away our heritage,
You’ve outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question “Why?”
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

“Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation’s history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine’s tragedy occurs — politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

“As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America  and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA — I give to you a sincere challenge.. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!
My daughter’s death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!” – Darrell Scott

Woodturned Salt & Pepper Mills in Rustic Maple

With thousands of sellers and millions of products, Etsy.com is arguably the most vibrant on-line art and craft marketplace out there.  But how to distinguish oneself from the crowd is the key question.  So it was no surprise when a newcomer to one of the Etsy.com forums asked, “What’s the best way to advertise on Etsy?”  Continually asking the same question myself, I decided to share some of what I’ve learned over the past two years selling on Etsy.  Very little of what follows is “original thought”, but the response was so overwhelming, I thought it would be good to share in this space.  As always, thoughts and comments are welcome….

What’s the best way to advertise on Etsy? Great question! First, let’s take a couple steps back and talk about the basics for a minute.

Selling is all about establishing and maintaining buyer confidence – confidence in you and in your product. (You already know that, but it’s worth re-stating because selling on-line is 10 times harder (at least) than selling in person.)

To do that you first need to understand your ideal patron, then create work that appeals to that person, display it in ways that are attractive to that person, price it accordingly and write good ad copy to describe your work and answer your patrons’ questions. Your copy should also reflect sound SEO principles (as a simple example: use simple, descriptive titles that people use when searching such as: “French Provincial Cabinet.”) Use descriptive single-word tags and put the most important words first – for example: cabinet, French, Provincial, walnut, and so forth. The idea is to attract customers who don’t necessarily belong to Etsy, but who use Google, Bing, and other search engines to find (in this example) French Provincial cabinets. (You want proof? Close to 50% of my Etsy sales come from first-time Etsy buyers who found my work from a search engine.)

Next, take great pictures of your work. Invest in professional photography if you can afford it, otherwise learn to do it yourself. You don’t need expensive equipment (I use an old 4mp camera, five ordinary shop lights, 20% gray poster board backing, a pvc pipe frame I made myself, and Gimp (a freeware Photoshop competitor) processing software. Total investment? under $200. But whatever you have – you need to learn how to get the most out of it. (Just like in the shop, the right tool helps – but only if you keep it sharp and use it properly.)

Next: have a great shop banner. (Hire a graphic artist to make one, if you can’t do it yourself.) Write compelling introductions and sound shop policies. (I found it worthwhile to have my shop critiqued professionally – Cathy at EurekaGuides will give you an excellent one for around $25. There are probably others, but Cathy’s very good.) The advice will probably hurt, but remember: you want SALES – not pats on the back. If following that advice generates sales, that’s all that counts. So check your ego at the door, so to speak, and follow that advice!

Next, join a large and very *active* team and participate in forums/discussions. Create a treasuries featuring others’ work – at least monthly and more often if you can. Reach outside your comfort zone. As woodworkers, we typically think in terms of things that create sawdust. But think in terms of what your ideal customer typically buys. (Trust me, guys – it ain’t woodwork!) And feature that kind of work in your treasuries. (Look at the treasuries that make the front page and those that are the most popular and style yours accordingly.)

Add people to your circles. By extension, many will add you to theirs.

Set up a Facebook Fan page, become active on Twitter and StumbleUpon. All will generate leads.

The idea is to become as widely known as possible for creating amazing work at prices people are willing to spend. In short, create a compelling value proposition – and make yourself known as widely as you can without breaking the bank. I could go on, but I think I’ve made my point.

Wait a minute, you might ask: doesn’t that take a LOT of time? When do you find time to make anything? The answers are “yes” and “whenever I can.” I only get to spend 20 – 30% of my time (if I’m lucky!) in the shop/studio making wood chips. The rest is spent doing all the above and more. But that, as they say, is life – and business.

Anyway, I hope some of this helps!

Brad

P.S., In the interest of full disclosure: I have no commercial interests in any of the products or people I’ve recommended.