TROLLS
For the most part, the woodworking community is made up of creative people who want to learn from one another, share their experience with one another, help each other out and have respect for each other. But….there are those few who have a chip on their shoulder and have a comment about anything and everything. Here’s a mild example. I posted a recent finished table and bench set on the Florida Woodworker’s Facebook group. Simple enough. Here was one of the comments.
“Shins. I’m tall so I have never been a big fan of trestle tables. It looks nicely done for what it is. Good job. It seems everyone with a chopsaw and a nail gun are pumping these out. I have strong opinions about “farmhouse” anything but that’s what the other group is for.”
It seems benign enough and I have thick skin. I initially just laughed at his comment. But then it bugged me. Not because I took it personally as a shot to my craft but really the ignorance of the comment toppled with clearly not understanding how to run a business. So let’s break down his sly “trolliness”. (Yep just made up that word.)
Mentioning his height. What does this have to do with quality of craftsmanship? Also, this table was massive. 8’x4’ top. His knees would never come close to the center stretcher.
The backhanded compliment. Gotta love this approach. “It looks nicely done FOR WHAT IT IS. Good job.” For what it is? Why not say, you did a nice job building garbage? This one irked me a little bit. Basically saying it takes no skill to build but I made it look nice anyway. Which leads to the next point.
“Everyone with a chopsaw and nail gun are pumping these out.” Ok, the style is very popular for sure. What’s his point? Obviously, we take great care in crafting custom, handmade, solid hardwood pieces for our clients and this is what sets our company apart from others. And are there a lot who are weekend warriors, building and selling tables on the side that are much, much lower quality? Yes. But why does this gentleman care? It’s his elitist, the style I like is better than what other people like, attitude that will keep people from pursuing woodworking.
The point of this is to show that the negativity isn’t welcome here at Mangrove Designs. We can take criticism when warranted. We can take your opinion. Like farmhouse style or not, it’s what the client wanted. We built it for them. You want mid-century modern? We’ll build it. You want contemporary? We’ll do that too. That’s what a custom furniture business is. The client dictates what we build. That’s how we exist. That’s how we pay for shop space, insurance, power etc etc. You know, how you run a business.
To those of you just starting out and all you have is a chopsaw and nail gun….use them. Build something. Learn. Get better. Hone your skills. Love the craft. And if you need pointers along the way, I’ll help in anyway I can. Don’t let the trolls knock you down.
KC
