Deadlines

Man, what a busy week it’s been. I’ve got a client that wants built-ins for their office room. Bear and I worked all weekend getting the cabinets built, the doors built for the cabinets, and the shelves that go on top of the cabinets. We did a partial install yesterday. I say partial because the cabinets were taking up too much space in the shop, and I needed to get them out so I can finish the rest of the project (side note, does anyone know of a space that has 3000’ sf of open area, wired for 220v, has a paint booth, a welding room, is climate controlled, and rigged up for air handling? If so, call me!)

The Limiting Factor (LIMFAC)

I learn from every job. This job taught me the capabilities and limitations of my shop. On a job of this size (7 base cabinets, 8 shelving units, 10’ tall, and two 10’ foot long countertops) I learned that my shop is the limiting factor, the LIMFAC if you will, of my production ability. In this particular job, my shop was the constraint. That’s a hard work-around, as I’ve either got to build the aforementioned space, or buy the space.

The Stovehouse

I went and looked at some property right across from The Stovehouse on Governors Dr a few weeks ago. It was two buildings, each with office and warehouse space. The ceilings in the warehouse were 20’ or so, and the big warehouse was 1100’. It wasn’t climate controlled, it didn’t have good lighting, it wasn’t insulated, and it didn’t have 220v. I think I’d have to drop $50k into it to make it truly shop ready. Of course, my current shop isn’t climate controlled or plumbed for dust control or any of that either, but I sure can’t beat the commute!

I’m also working on my portfolio. I’ve been taking pictures of every project I do, and it turns out that I’ve made a pretty wide variety of custom wood creations. They generally fall into a few categories: Storage, Furniture, Organization, Lighting, or some combination of that. I’ve also done a few truly unique pieces, like a leather bag and a Christmas ornament advent calendar.