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Short update ... new staff (!), knife box question ...
Posted by Dave Bull on March 6, 2012 [Permalink]
Mixed results from the four interviews over the past couple of days, but one report to make straight away, as the 'deal' was struck right there during our conversation; next Monday we'll be welcoming our newest member - Mr. Yasuhiro Lee will be here bright and early that day ready to help me clear out the first basement level, and get the woodwork shop set up properly.
His immediate job will be to work with me to finalize the design of the cases for the upcoming 'Arts of Japan' series, and then get busy making them. Once that is moving forward, we'll toss a second ball into the air and start making handles for the chisels, and then a third one ... for the boxes for the tools.
I'll introduce him properly at that time (I have no photo etc. yet). It's also possible - we just touched on this lightly during our conversation - that he will be blogging independently about his 'adventures' here. I'll of course let you know. For the immediate future, he will only be here three days a week, as he has other commitments to honour (one of which is printing practice/training with Numabe-san), but we'll see where it all leads ...
And speaking of the tool set, I got an email earlier today from Dale in Massachusetts who sent a suggestion on the design for the boxes (which he has allowed me to share here).
"... I am wishing that the top of that panel would go to the top of the rounded slats and then curve in some fashion down to your label. The square panel that you show just doesn't seem to work with the elegance of design for the rest of the box, with its rounded edges and wonderful hinged lid. It looks like you have done some tooling on the top edge anyway to fit it to the side slats - how much more work would it be to make the top part of an arc or a "U" shape? I don't do well drawing with the mouse, but something like this perhaps could work."
This was indeed an interesting suggestion. But it's not quite as 'easy' as that. Here's how I replied:
"There are a couple more factors in play here that are not evident yet ... There has to be something to hold the tools in place so that they don't rattle around (both during shipping and in general use). The rectangular area that is presently 'filled' by the visible portion of the booklet is the place where this has to happen - this closes directly over the butt end of the tools.
"Best thinking at present is that the booklet will have a sort of padded strip glued to it, forming a kind of 'spine' for the booklet itself, and acting as the 'hold-down' for the tools. But that's a pretty klutzy solution. I need to find a way to deal with both requirements - having the tools held down, and having the booklet visible (and accessible).
"The curve you suggest is certainly doable, and if there were no requirement for hold-down, I'd accept it without any more thought. Get rid of the intruding 'skis' at each side ..."
So we're 'open for suggestions' here ... any other ideas on how these factors might be best resolved?
And one last note - we now have an English version of the 'roadmap' I prepared the other day:
And the .pdf version ...
Added by: Margaret on March 9, 2012, 7:02 am
I think that roadmap looks pretty great! I've really enjoyed seeing the expansion of the Mokuhankan project.
Added by: Dave on March 9, 2012, 8:41 am
The roadmap is fun for sure, but it basically came together over the past year, during the time I was making the Mystique series. So it assumed the presence of a certain level of support income that Dave would be able to provide as things moved forward.
But two things have dramatically changed: first is that the new tool project (which only arose a month or so ago) is going to require (already has) considerable cash to get rolling, for which I hadn't really budgeted. The second is that the number of subscribers to my own work - whose money is what supports this entire edifice - has stalled far below the level where I expected it to be at this time. When the Mystique series wrapped up, there were around 170 subscribers, but as the new Arts series slowly gets rolling, it has not yet reached 60. I had honestly expected there to be quite a bit more 'rollover', with many (most?) of the Mystique people saying, "That was fun! One more set Dave, please!"
That hasn't happened, and I'm now facing a situation where I have 'loaded up' with new staff and obligations far beyond my ability to pay for them. The next few months - as we approach the point in late May or June where my piggy bank runs empty - are going to be 'interesting' indeed.
It's a simple race against time - if we can use the energy/effort/time/abilities of these new members to actually get beautiful things (prints and tools) into the catalogue, then we have a chance to survive. But if most of their effort can only get utilized in training, preparation and support functions - working for the future - then we're doomed. June is simply too close ...
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