Sticking around...

If you've been a fan of some of the woodturning channels on YouTube, you'll have seen the craze for sending stickers to promote your own site/channel/business. I decided it was time for me to join the club after I went to Yandles for their September show and I bumped into Jim from Jimson's stuff and Nick from NZWoodturning. It was great to meet some YouTubers in the flesh and both of them had stickers to give out. I mentioned them in my Orange Splodge and Splatter video.

There are so many logos and designs already out there, that it took me a while to come up with a design that showed that I make things that are round, that are made from wood, and that are sometimes coloured and textured, and which, to my knowledge, was different from any other designs. My final design captured most of these qualities, apart from the texturing.  

As I was designing the sticker, it soon became clear that this would actually end up being a logo too - so I went all old-school and designed some letterhead as well.  Let me know if you'd like some snail-mail ever! I resisted the temptation to get a t-shirt and a baseball cap printed up, though I did go so far as to put a printed mug in my basket on one of the online printing sites - I resisted the impulse to click the final 'Buy now' button.  But a nice banner, now that would be something to think seriously about...

Stickers!

...one for the 'turn off and start again' pile...

Turning has been a bit thin on the ground the last few weeks, but I have been able to finish off the two pieces I ended my demo with at West Sussex Woodturners at the start of the month - a centrifuge piece and my first completely coloured platter. It's great to have them finished and to see how the lacquer really completes the look. I'll definitely be doing more full colour platters. It's made me wonder whether I really want to be a potter or work with glass, but I'm sure I don't have the patience to pursue either discipline. What I like about woodturning is how quick the process is compared not only to working with clay but other types of woodwork too. This isn't to say that I get every bowl or platter finished in an hour or two - but turning gives pretty quick results against cabinet-making or box making. I love taking a rough lump of wood, putting it on the lathe and having a completely finished bowl (barring oiling or lacquering for a few days) come off the lathe on the same day - beats waiting twenty-four hours for a glue up to dry!

And doing coloured or textured work can be quite quick too, with the added bonus that if I hate it or it goes completely wrong, I can turn it all off and start again. That's the fate that's waiting for my most recent experiment with adding multi-coloured texture...there's potential, but this effort is far too messy for me! I'm looking forward to getting it back to bare wood and trying some new ideas out!

Loving the shine!

Head spin...