Carvings and Moulding? Eat the Rich!

With extra bird poop!

In my woodworking at home I favour clean and simple lines. Making things that stray away from this preference doesn't suit my home. It also has the advantage of being a more expedient way to work. After all, time is a significant constraint for me, so if I can expedite the process without comprising quality, so much the better!

Would I introduce mouldings and carvings into my work? Absolutely! If the context was right it can make a piece sit very comfortably.

Some people may choose to keep away from mouldings, inlays, carvings etc because it makes a piece seem ostentatious and others raise issues with such pieces just being aimed at the wealthy. I'll call BS on that last position. Certainly where we sit today, bold extravagance is often not valued at all. I'm not even sure how we define rich or wealthy. When people say things like “aimed at the rich” I think they might be stuck in an 18th Century. I provide this link to the Blue Mountain School not to judge, but to ask for some deeper reflection, take a look at what’s on offer. Have a look at the modest looking Half Length Hooded Puffer Coat made by Anecho on the website selling for £4520. Very understated and one would assume aimed at someone quite wealthy.

You can also see furniture offered by GRAS, all POA. Very understated and I think we can agree, not aimed at an average person. What’s the average person? In the UK right now the average salary is £27,756.00. The average house price is £300,000.00 and average rent £554 (apparently for a room!). You don’t need to of lived in the real world for long to realise that you don’t buy custom coats or dining tables with those factors at play. That doesn’t concern me, not everyone wants or needs expensive coats or tables.

There is another reason why we don’t see more complex pieces in the common woodworking press and it’s nothing to do with appealing to the rich. Complex pieces don’t attract beginners and beginners are where the money is made. There is nothing wrong with appealing to beginners. We all start at the bottom and work our way up. Learning basic skills from someone is fine, so is paying to learn those skills.

Also, I’m not sure how many of the popular Woodworkers with large followings could ever get close to the skill level required to produce excellent carvings, clean mouldings and well laid veneers. Solid wood joinery is much easier to master and that’s “How to get rich in Woodworking”. Stuff a straw man to bursting with an enemy that doesn’t exist, provide a cure and sell your story etc.

I want to take a moment to applaud anyone who shares information on simple woodworking for free with a big pat on the back. How to sharpen a chisel? That should be free. A spokeshave, a plane and all those associated skills, free. If you put that stuff behind a paywall you’re part of the reason the craft is being restricted. I bear no grudge with offering a book, a class (virtual or otherwise) on those subjects for pay as long as you offer some write ups and videos for free.

So are carvings, mouldings and veneers aimed at the rich? Not any longer! Fear of missing out is, the temptation is “join my community”, pay for my guidance with basic skills, follow my path. My words of caution. I urge you, choose freely and, if you can, avoid the Kool-aid.