The Lathe Ledger, November, 2011 Edition

These are all popular shows, meaning there is ‘high’ traffic, many of whom are buyers (my favorite kind!).  Therefore, it can’t hurt to come early.  And that leads directly into a subject that’s flitted in and out of my mind recently.  There are some folks who say, “We just got here, so we want to see everything, then come back to make our purchases”.  On the face of it, that sounds like good judgment.  Upon examination, however, it really means, “EVERYBODY, STOP WHERE YOU ARE, UNTIL WE ARE FINISHED!”  (Or it could mean “we don’t like your stuff, and we’re willing to use any excuse just to get out of your booth”.)  In reality, practically every artist is constantly adding brand new inventory.  Occasionally, there will be an outstanding piece that may be underpriced, or made of rare material, or has some quality that guarantees it will sell quickly.  And guess who is NEVER going to own it?  Right – that person who wants to see everything first.  And that is because you, the wise shopper with a keen eye for high-value treasures, will make it your possession, while the other folks are wondering what happened.  And that is reason enough for me to do the occasional turning from Brazilian Rosewood, for instance, which I believe is now illegal to import.  Or maybe that super-elegant peppermill that screams for attention.

STYLUS QUESTION:  One of my suppliers now has soft-touch styluses (styli?) for such devices as iPads, iPhones, etc.  One style has a pocket clip and is about 4 ½ inches long.  Another is only a couple of inches long, and is attached to a lanyard that plugs into the earphone jack on the device.  Let me know if you think there’s a market for this, OK?  They’ll probably go for twenty bucks.  (I’m thinking stocking stuffers here.)