Commissions come in the strangest ways

This last weekend, my neighbor across the street called and asked if I wanted any of the old wood in his basement. All the houses on my block are about 100 years old and some of them had fancy woodwork when they were built. I guess a previous owner had torn out most of the woodwork in exchange for a more “modern” style but dumped all the trim and fancy doors in the basement. My neighbor said I was welcome to anything I wanted.

I grabbed a dolly and headed right over.

On the way down to the basement, I got to chatting with his wife, who was a pastry chef before their daughter came along. We were talking about rolling pins when she said “You know what I really need is to do something about those cookbooks.” She pointed to the far kitchen wall where a collection of at least 60 cookbooks was just about destroying the 12 foot particle board shelf. Even from across the room, you could see the poor thing dipping in between the brackets like a noodle. I told her I could take care of that, no problem.

Down in the basement, the woodwork wasn’t as exciting as I was hoping for. I grabbed a few pieces of arched trim, but the rest was doors, and it’s tough to know what to do with those. But just before I left, I found a fine old piece of molding. It was hardwood, at least 6 inches wide, and with a lovely ogee detail on the front. My neighbor said I was welcome to it and I said “No, you know what this is, this is your new cookbook shelf. I’ll cut it flush in the back, and add a wide strip of plywood to give it the depth it needs. It’ll be stronger than what you have and you’ll reuse a piece of your own house’s history.”

His eyes lit up like Christmas.

Upstairs, we explained the idea to the wife, I named a price, and we all shook hands. When I got there, They were just casually interested in a new shelf, but the idea of reusing a piece of their own house and giving it new life was too exciting to pass up.

It’s a small job, and won’t pay much, but it’s also quick and the client is giving me most of the materials for free. And of course, people who have the money to buy a custom bookshelf might very well buy something bigger down the line. 

The longer I’m in this business, the more clear it is that I have to be a salesman in addition to being a craftsman. I have to find out what people value and then work that into whenever I’m making. People in my neighborhood own their houses. We all live in modest homes, but they’re all different and they have history. Find a way to work with that history, and you’ll make a sale.