Weldon47
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
You are an Engraving Ambassador!
Hey Guys (& Gals),
This was my response to a thread on another forum and I thought it would make for good discussion here too. I was responding to a thread entitled "You don't use a machine to do that !" . The author of the thread was sharing the difficulty of having people he encountered beleive that his work was done by hand. (This is not a tool war discussion so please don't go there!) Lets assume that we are all (by whatever means) creating engraving art and proceed accordingly!
Here's the post:
I have been involved in this field as an engraver since 1979. Prior to that I accompanied my dad (who taught me to engrave) on many a weekend excursion into the gunshow circuit throughout the South Texas area.
Many time things went well but I too know how frustrating it can be to spend a weekend (and a lot of $$ and effort)at a slow show. At times you get a lot of tire kickers and rubber-neckers coming by. It is always amusing to listen to some guy with his buddy (in this case the buddy is usually the "expert" on everything) as they discuss your work while standing right in front of you. Big signs and business cards all over the table give little clue to the fact that you are the ONE WHO DID THE WORK! As "Bubba" & "Skeeter" recoil in shock over the price of your work, one of them always brings up old Mr. So & So over in Othertown who is a "Master" engraver (& doesn't charge nearly that much!!!). No matter what you have on display, it is absolutely nothing compared to what Mr. So & So does. Grab a fork and hep yoself to a big bite of humble pie, all you can eat! At times it would make me wonder who the idiot in that picture really was, (them or me!). It can be even more fun to pack up after one of those weekends having done exactly zip $$ worth of anything except spending money and wondering why you chose to do this. What's that Bible verse about "casting your pearls before swine" again?
Because we (engravers) spend a lot of time, blood, sweat & tears developing our skill and because our work is a reflection of that passion, it is difficult not to take something like this personally as a rejection of sorts (when that is not really what is intended by the person you are interacting with).
Over time I have come to view things from a little different perspective. (By the way, except for the once in a blue moon kind of thing, I no longer do typical gun shows as I found that few if any of my clientel will be there. That may not be true for you, that's just where I'm at, we're all different).
I have since realized that there are:
1. People who don't know and don't care how it happened (H&C, burin, machine, etching, etc, etc...), they never will care, and they may or may not like the work - now or ever.
2. People who are really interested in how it is done but may never be a client due to a number of reasons.
3. People who (think they) know how it's done and still won't be your client for a number of reasons.
4. People who are interested in learning about stuff other than what they already know. These folks may eventually become your (or someone else's) client. (This may be a much larger group than we realize!)
If we adopt the attitude that we are ambasadors for our art and approach our interaction with others based on that concept we will do better (in my opinion) in the eventual encounter with the uneducated. Yes, your work will definitely speak for itself but taking the time to visit and share with someone (who is genuinely interested) builds relationship which helps with understanding, credibility, confidence and finally, trust in you and what you do. Because of the ripple effect, as more folks take up the art of engraving, more folks become aware of and exposed to engraving and the market grows accordingly. You may be the one and only engraver a person (or for that matter, your own friends) has ever encountered and therefore, in their eyes, you are the expert and when they eventually learn of other engravers, you are still the reference point!
Recently I heard some interesting advice from a well known minister & it went something like this:
25% of the people you meet will not like you no matter what you do.
25% of the people you meet will like you but could be persuaded not to like you while
25% of the people you meet won't like you but could be persuaded to like you and finally,
25% of the people you meet will like you no matter what.
In a world of computerized/machine made everything, it is a little hard to believe that a person can take a little bitty tool in hand and actually do what we see here on this (and the other) forums.
Taking the time to share your passion will eventually pay off, maybe not for you right then and there (or perhaps it will) but definitely for the art and eventually I believe, it will come around for you too!
Please forgive the rambling thoughts!
My two cents worth,
Weldon
Hey Guys (& Gals),
This was my response to a thread on another forum and I thought it would make for good discussion here too. I was responding to a thread entitled "You don't use a machine to do that !" . The author of the thread was sharing the difficulty of having people he encountered beleive that his work was done by hand. (This is not a tool war discussion so please don't go there!) Lets assume that we are all (by whatever means) creating engraving art and proceed accordingly!
Here's the post:
I have been involved in this field as an engraver since 1979. Prior to that I accompanied my dad (who taught me to engrave) on many a weekend excursion into the gunshow circuit throughout the South Texas area.
Many time things went well but I too know how frustrating it can be to spend a weekend (and a lot of $$ and effort)at a slow show. At times you get a lot of tire kickers and rubber-neckers coming by. It is always amusing to listen to some guy with his buddy (in this case the buddy is usually the "expert" on everything) as they discuss your work while standing right in front of you. Big signs and business cards all over the table give little clue to the fact that you are the ONE WHO DID THE WORK! As "Bubba" & "Skeeter" recoil in shock over the price of your work, one of them always brings up old Mr. So & So over in Othertown who is a "Master" engraver (& doesn't charge nearly that much!!!). No matter what you have on display, it is absolutely nothing compared to what Mr. So & So does. Grab a fork and hep yoself to a big bite of humble pie, all you can eat! At times it would make me wonder who the idiot in that picture really was, (them or me!). It can be even more fun to pack up after one of those weekends having done exactly zip $$ worth of anything except spending money and wondering why you chose to do this. What's that Bible verse about "casting your pearls before swine" again?
Because we (engravers) spend a lot of time, blood, sweat & tears developing our skill and because our work is a reflection of that passion, it is difficult not to take something like this personally as a rejection of sorts (when that is not really what is intended by the person you are interacting with).
Over time I have come to view things from a little different perspective. (By the way, except for the once in a blue moon kind of thing, I no longer do typical gun shows as I found that few if any of my clientel will be there. That may not be true for you, that's just where I'm at, we're all different).
I have since realized that there are:
1. People who don't know and don't care how it happened (H&C, burin, machine, etching, etc, etc...), they never will care, and they may or may not like the work - now or ever.
2. People who are really interested in how it is done but may never be a client due to a number of reasons.
3. People who (think they) know how it's done and still won't be your client for a number of reasons.
4. People who are interested in learning about stuff other than what they already know. These folks may eventually become your (or someone else's) client. (This may be a much larger group than we realize!)
If we adopt the attitude that we are ambasadors for our art and approach our interaction with others based on that concept we will do better (in my opinion) in the eventual encounter with the uneducated. Yes, your work will definitely speak for itself but taking the time to visit and share with someone (who is genuinely interested) builds relationship which helps with understanding, credibility, confidence and finally, trust in you and what you do. Because of the ripple effect, as more folks take up the art of engraving, more folks become aware of and exposed to engraving and the market grows accordingly. You may be the one and only engraver a person (or for that matter, your own friends) has ever encountered and therefore, in their eyes, you are the expert and when they eventually learn of other engravers, you are still the reference point!
Recently I heard some interesting advice from a well known minister & it went something like this:
25% of the people you meet will not like you no matter what you do.
25% of the people you meet will like you but could be persuaded not to like you while
25% of the people you meet won't like you but could be persuaded to like you and finally,
25% of the people you meet will like you no matter what.
In a world of computerized/machine made everything, it is a little hard to believe that a person can take a little bitty tool in hand and actually do what we see here on this (and the other) forums.
Taking the time to share your passion will eventually pay off, maybe not for you right then and there (or perhaps it will) but definitely for the art and eventually I believe, it will come around for you too!
Please forgive the rambling thoughts!
My two cents worth,
Weldon
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