Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Product vs. Process

A friend said to me the other day "So when are you going to start building tables and entertainment centers? I mean, you do all these little things..."

Now this guy is not a woodworker but I've met non-woodworkers who understand the joy of having a hobby and just fiddling around while accomplishing nothing. In my opinion, there are people who are product-oriented, people who are process-oriented ("it's the journey" people) and those who are both. I think this guy falls into the product-oriented category. I'd say I'm both, but I always get a little maudlin when I finish a project, so I suppose I'm a process-oriented gal.

Other friends ask me to build furniture for them and when I say I'm not for hire—woodworking is my hobby—they seem incredulous. They look at the size of my shop and all my tools and can't believe I'd spend that much money on a hobby.

How do you convince product-oriented folks that even just handplaning boards makes you happy?The guys in my ww club think I'm nuts for handcutting dovetails. They tease me that "there's this new thing...it's called electricity." (okay, that one's pretty funny...)

I don't have a response. I just laugh. Any suggestions?