Interview with artisan blacksmith David Robertson
www.artistblacksmith.com

Shasta: Tell us a little bit about yourself i.e. how old you are? Where you grew up etc.?
David: I grew up just outside of Hamilton Ontario Canada and I turned 44 this year. Once you get into your 40′s time seems to pass pretty fast.

Shasta: How long have you been doing arts and crafts?
David: Ever since I was a kid I have worked with my hands. Most kids do crafts but mine quickly escalated into wood working with the available hand tools, electronics, and making rustic clothing. Very diversified interests.

I could often be found modifying something I had bought to make it work just the way I wanted.

I finally opened my business in 1987.

Shasta: How did you get started?
David: As you can see I have always enjoyed working with my hands. One day I was in a tourist town just being a tourist, and stopped in an artistic blacksmith’s shop. He was working on some project at the time but I was entranced with the fire and the ease of manipulating the metal when it was hot. I watched for several hours fascinated.

When it was time to leave I saw that he gave classes so I signed up for his basic course. That was followed by his intermediate course, then I ended up working for him.

At the time I was going to university to become a geological engineer, but working for the blacksmith to pay my way.

When I got my degree there were not a lot of jobs in my field where I lived but I still needed to pay my bills. The part time blacksmithing became a full time occupation. A sink or swim situation. Fortunately starting part time I had narrowed down some selling products, and some craft shows that paid well for me.

Shasta: What products do you make?
David: Artistic blacksmithing is not your average craft. It takes a number of years to acquire the skills and tools to create really interesting work. The good news was I could make simple low cost items, and these are ideal for craft fairs and markets.

When I started I made 100′s of hooks and candle holders. These were my bread and butter items. In essence these were simple rods of steel shaped and forged a bit then bent into the required shape. Very functional and more esthically pleasing than what you buy from the hardware store.

Think of one man mass production.

Over the years my skills and markets evolved. I still produce some hooks and similar items but now I do more sculptural art pieces and home furnishings, and custom window grills.

The first is the common “juried” art and craft show. Juried is in quotes because I have found the non-juried shows pulled in a buying crowd that really didn’t want to spend the money for hand crafted items. In a juried show I at least stood a chance of not being set up beside someone who is importing their product.

Some juried art and craft shows were better than others. A lot depended on location and the education level of the people attending the show. I also use this type of show to advertise for my custom work and the blacksmith classes I teach. Usually lots of people through, giving maximum exposure.

This type of show was for not only targeting immediate sales but future sales. A cheap form of advertising and make money at the same time.

The second type of show I use is a wholesale trade show. For me this is the most enjoyable show to do. I only take sample products and only store owners are allowed to attend. These are well educated people who know exactly what will fit in their store. They don’t waste your time.

Qualified store owners order my product months ahead of time from my samples at the show. I take my orders home make the products ship them out. 30 days later the store sends me a check (called net 30). I don’t have to deal with retail customers have a huge inventory of stock and be constantly looking for new shows to do.

There is one day to set up and a day to tear down. I don’t have to do a show every weekend.

The third type of show I do is the high end art or designer show. This is completely different than the other shows. I take only a couple of high end art pieces. This show is not about sales. It is all about handing out business cards. Or now in some cases portfolios on CD’s.

Virtually no sales are made at this type of show. It is all about the contacts. Galleries, designers, architects, and knowledgeable end use customers. Things are discussed in abstract terms, such as can you do such and such. When can you complete this project. It is a lot of fun but there is a good deal of pressure to be polished and not how I am in the workshop.

Shasta: Tell us some of the other avenues you use to market your crafts for instance internet, gift and specialty stores, catalogs etc.
David: The internet has had a huge impact on my business. For literaly pennies you can have 24/7/365 advertising. The down side is there is a steep learning curve and the computer will use up a huge amount of time at first.

I strongly recommend to every craft person that they have a webpage. One that they pay for and either set up themselves or have someone build, not a free one. The most common question I use to be asked at shows was “Do you make all this your self?” Now the most common question “Do you have a web page?”

What do we commonly do, when we want something or want to learn about something. The first thing typically is hop on the internet and go to google and type in what we are searching. I am guessing that if a person has internet access this is what they do first 99.9% of the time.

So if your craft page comes up in the search listings boom you are right in front of a potential customer. This customer could be anywhere in the world. Don’t be afraid of shipping things outside your country. It increases your market potential hugely.

Ebay is another vast source of customers. Easy to set up and sell an item in a few minutes. You can even set up an online store through ebay for your craft. No shows, storefront overhead, less staff to pay, works for you 24/7. All kinds of plusses.

Shasta: If you don’t mind sharing how your income breaks down by percentages of income sources, in an average year.
David: That is a bit tricky and it has changed over the years. When I first started 90% of my income was directly through craft show retail sales. The other 10% was custom work that was generated at the craft shows. This was my only outlet and only advertising.

After a couple of years things shifted a bit. I took on the wholesale trade shows and dropped a number of smaller craft shows. The wholesale shows accounted for 40%, craft shows 20%, teaching blacksmithing, 30% and custom work 10%.

Now with the internet there is a new mix. 20% from wholesale shows, 80% income from the internet. See how important a website is. Of that 80%, 40% is for custom work, and 40% is related to teaching.

I do very few retail shows now.

Shasta: What tip do you feel has improved your business the most?
David: Learn html and build your own website. If you absolutely dread learning code (html is not that hard) hire a high school student with the html ability. A web presence is so important now.

Shasta: Tell us about the book you wrote and how it can help us improve our businesses.
David: I wrote How to Be Successful in Your Craft Business to help people recognize when to get help and what they can do by themselves. It is not at all about blacksmithing.

When I was just starting out I was on a shoe string budget for everything. Remember I had just finished university with a rather large debt, and many other commitments. Anything that cost money to do I usually shied away from.

This meant that I did everything with my business. Making the product was the work that actually paid, but I did the accounting, the photography, customer calling, advertising, product development…. the list goes on and on. Later I realized I would have made far more money (had I just done what I like the most, the smithing) if I had divided up these responsibilities and yes even paid for people to do them.

Over the years many good friends have helped me with suggestions from booth design to marketing principals to product suggestions. They just wanted to help out. This book is my way of giving back to the community. I do believe that you need to balance things in your life.

The book covers many of the mistakes I made as well as areas I would still recommend people tackle themselves. I detail the different selling options I have used, areas for advertising, accounting, show planning, collecting overdue accounts, and much more. It is really the nut and bolts of everything that I didn’t get paid for. The whole running of my craft business.

How to Be Successful in Your Craft Business is equally applicable for someone doing stained glass, stuffed teddy bears, or blacksmithing.

I am hoping to help a few people save their time and headaches by giving them my insights from over 20 years in this business.

Shasta: As I said feel free to tell us anything else that you think is pertinent.
David: Any sort of craft business is not the easiest business to be in. It is directly tied to disposable income. It can be profitable but there is often more behind the scenes work, than what you do that actually pays your bills. Many of us start our craft business for a love of the work. Taking a few moments every now and then to remember what inspired us in the first place helps keep our craft fresh.

David Robertson is an Artist Blacksmith who has been working in the craft industry for over 20 years. He makes his living creating sculptural art work and teaching.