We sometimes give private tours of our shop to people who express an interest in what we do. During the tours, we often hear these folks wish they could do something similar. We hear this a lot. My honest reply is to ask why not?
I believe there has never been a better time to be in business. But it can’t be a half-hearted try. It has got to be the absolute best we can do. It also can’t be a business that offers what everyone else is creating, unless you want a business that is based simply on the lowest price. You are better off thinking of something unique - a niche market. Modern technology allows us to spread the word and get out there like never before. The internet has allowed us to connect to the world, to show our wares to a massive market in the best possible light. Our work, spread out far and wide, has brought us repeat and new business as well. We purposely keep things small and manageable. We are not seeking to grow our business in a traditional way, but rather focus it towards better and better work over time. Modern tools and materials allow us to do things we could previously only imagine.
Most who visit our studio are amazed we are so far from the city - “out in the middle of nowhere”. We carefully chose our location after exhaustive research and much planning. Here, our costs are relatively low, and more importantly, we can live on our own small acreage, surrounded by farmland, and still in the center of a small town. Better yet, we are close to family and have gorgeous views that surround us. And we also live far from the chaos and rush of the big city. The land is big enough to have our studio and shop out back. With our house on the same property, we waste no time commuting.
This kind of business follows a gradual process begun more than four decades ago. Those who want to have such a business need to start small and grow as their skills and customer base allow. I liken it to throwing a pebble in a pond. The splash is small, but the rings spread quickly. And as we all know, if you pick the perfect rock and throw it just right, the rock will skip, bouncing many times as it flies over the water. Instead of one set of rings, there will be many. We are looking for those nice flat, smooth, perfectly balanced skipper stones. Carefully planned, highly imaginative projects are the ones we are seeking out, taking on and promoting vigorously. The projects we tackle don’t have to be large, but rather the right fit for us. It is extremely exciting - especially as we look ahead to the projects of 2026. We are thankful for all we have and are looking forward to the coming year and the wonderful things we will get to do.