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» What have I done in the workshop today?
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» What are you harvesting today?
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» Wartime marrow casserole
by Dandelion 18th October 2022, 4:42 pm

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Post by Adrian 10th October 2012, 11:36 am

It does indeed, we have a policy of putting something on for us and if the kids join us, then thats great - on Thanksgiving, we put on My Fair lady - our 7 year was entranced by it

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Post by Dandelion 10th October 2012, 4:45 pm

The Wartime Farm has triggered off lots of memories for my mum, which is great, because we've had some animated conversations. Because she's housebound , she sometimes finds it hard to think of things to talk about as there's little input daily. I've heard a few stories I've never heard her tell before (such as the fact that when it rained, the men on the farm used to say 'More rain, more rest', and if the farmer heard them and said angrily 'What did you say?' they would answer 'We just said 'More rain, more grass''!!)
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Post by freebird 10th October 2012, 9:35 pm

I've been enjoying Wartime Farm too, on the i player. I really hadn't realised the sacrifices the farmers had to make to the war effort.

I found the Handmade Revolution rather less enjoyable. I thought the series that Monty Don did was a lot more interesting. This new programme does seem to give a lot of different crafts some exposure, which has to be a good thing - but the emphasis seems to be very much on whether or not a craft can be a commercial success. Obviously that is important for anyone earning their living from their craft, but there are many, many people who make craftwork part of their everyday life (albeit at a lower level), but without earning a living from it. I would think that most of us HMLifers are in that category.

I also took exception to the 'judge' who failed miserably to conceal his dislike of the rag rug, saying it had 'gone a step too far' and he was 'a man of taste'.
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Post by Chilli-head 11th October 2012, 9:33 am

I watched the Handmade Revolution programme with Robin Wood last night. I to was disappointed. A rather scrappy effort. Why does everything need to be a competition these days ? That's not really what heritage craft is about to me; it is about personally striving to make the best result I can, and enjoying it along the way. And of the 4 pieces we saw, we weren't really shown much of the people at work, or how they made the things. What we were shown was a decent clip of the presenter turning a bowl with Robin Wood; which, whilst interesting enough, did not fit particularly with the rest of the programme.

Mastercrafts was much better.

As for the slant of whether the crafts could be a commercial success ... the answer would appear to be a flat no. So a piece of glasswork which takes 10 days to make fetches a few hundred pounds. Once you've paid the (considerable) gas bill, tax, and other overheads, you're well below minimum wage, I reckon, even if your order book is always full.
This seems to be a fundamental problem; machine made stuff is so cheap that you need a very large premium for handmade goods, which only a few will pay. Of course, the other problem is that you're up against all the people (like some of us !) who do it just for pleasure and don't charge realistically. Although Robin Wood may have helped to rescue pole lathe bowl turning from obscurity, he is by no means alone now - according to the Woodsmith's Store, parts for pole lathes are selling so fast at the moment that it must be one of the country's fastest growing pastimes !

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Post by polgara 11th October 2012, 11:08 am

I do agree with the comments on the competition pieces, they are not as such what I would call hobby things. What interested me more was the little people with the everyday type things, like the rag rugs. The thing is if it encourages 1 person to give an everyday hobby a go, I think it is worth it.

Realistic charges are not an option. I tried that many years ago with machine knitted picture jumpers,. It did give me some money but not what the item was worth in either time or ability.
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Post by freebird 11th October 2012, 1:48 pm

Chilli-head wrote:As for the slant of whether the crafts could be a commercial success ... the answer would appear to be a flat no. So a piece of glasswork which takes 10 days to make fetches a few hundred pounds.

... the other problem is that you're up against all the people (like some of us !) who do it just for pleasure and don't charge realistically.
In the 20 years I was working professionally as a calligrapher, I was never able to charge anything commensurate with my training, skill level and time taken to make the piece. An additional problem for calligraphy and lettering artists is that so much can be done on computer. Any handwork is regarded as being of less value than, say, a painting, simply because something similar could be produced by pretty much anyone at home.

Regarding your second point, that is a real problem that I have encountered time and time again. I would lose work because the client's mother has a friend who dabbles in calligraphy and she will do it for a fraction of the price (no matter that the end result is abysmal!). If I make something for somebody now that is outside of my professional area of work, it is strictly for family and friends and I will ask only for cost of materials. I truly think it is a mistake to charge less, just because one is not a 'professional'. It damages other's livelihoods, and also gives potential customers an unrealistic notion of the price real quality should command. This is just a general and gentle rant, by the way, not aimed at you CH.

I still do a little calligraphy commission work for existing customers. A local church had hoped to save money by asking a willing parishioner to inscribe their memorial book. I have spent the last two years taking a few of those entries at the time (as the church could afford it), covering them over and rewriting them. The work was truly appalling, and I would have expected much better from any one of my beginner students.

Mastercrafts, by showing the process by which raw beginners had to learn the skills, gave a real appreciation of the craft's worth. Handmade Revolution doesn't even begin to address this. However, Pol said she really enjoyed the programme, so hopefully, many other people will have done so too.
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Post by Dandelion 13th October 2012, 5:33 pm

Going back to the wartime farm, here is a photo of my mother driving a tractor when she was in the Land Army. Mr D has just photographed some of her original photos with his digital camera.
New TV - Page 2 Wartim10
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Post by Dandelion 16th October 2012, 10:10 pm

Great British Bake Off final - I got absolutely addicted to this series after not having seen any of the previous ones. Brilliant - can't wait for next year!!
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Post by Adrian 16th October 2012, 11:19 pm

I've heard a lot about this - even my mother in law was addicted
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Post by AngelinaJellyBeana 17th October 2012, 9:29 am

GBBO was brilliant and I was soooo pleased about the winner (won't give it away in case people are waiting to watch on catch up)

Daft thing is people keep telling me to go for it but I know I'm nowhere near their standards. I bake for fun, family and friends and really not into doing all the technical fancy stuff although I'm sure it would be a brilliant learning experience for someone brave enough. And I have no desire to be on telly!!!!
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Post by Dandelion 17th October 2012, 4:31 pm

I know what you mean - I think I would cringe if I saw myself on TV! I also wonder if the competitive element would get in the way of actually enjoying the making process? I suppose it depends how competitive you are
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