I love how American's keep their lawns, thick and lush. Here, we scalp them, which is not ideal for a variety of reasons.
I went deep down the rabbit hole of wood working when I was at high school. I went from absolutely hating compulsory 7th grade woodwork classes, to it being one of my favorite subjects, one I carried right through until 12th grade. I nearly became a cabinet maker but got sidetracked with horticulture and ended up following in my grandmothers' footsteps into the nursery industry. Then I got a car and my interest in woodwork drifted.
So, any chance I get mess about with timber is an enjoyable experience. I built these plant stands last Autumn to replace an older set that had seen their best days.
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I ended up repairing and repainting the old stands, which I then used to rehash the native area displays.
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I then carried the momentum by using old pallets as display tables.
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Sadly, I don't think my efforts were very well received.
I tend to keep my grass a notch longer than most of my neighbors (well, 2 or 3 compared to my direct back neighbor - they've got a rider and they absolutely scalp theirs. :huh:
I also don't run our sprinklers as often as everyone else; as much as I love a green yard at a certain point I just feel guilty with the state of the world these days...
We have summer watering restrictions where you're only supposed to water every-other day (dictated by house number - odds/evens); my next door neighbor continues to water twice a day even when I remind him..
I like what you did for the displays. Chamfered edges and countersunk holes show that they weren't just thrown together. And having them throughout your store adds a nice subliminal sense of continuity.
I like the pallet idea as well; I think it's a nice upgrade for displaying things with minimal outlay for the business.
Regarding your efforts being not well received, I'm just gonna be so bold as to say: Screw em. I feel like you and I both hold a sense of pride for the work we do and go out of the way to do those little things that just make the final product
better , even if the boss would rather you take that extra 2 minutes elsewhere or if *most* customers wouldn't even notice.
But it's important to do those things that give you satisfaction in the day-to-day, where you know that there will be that customer that notices and appreciates that extra mile you went. Or a local rep or a competitor comes through and looks and says to themself - "Well, hey...". Like I try and drive into the guys at work - it's about trying to elevate ourselves above all the other animals out there.
On the woodworking front, I feel like it's going to become my hobby that I identify with. For
years I've considered detailing my hobby, but have always said when people as that it's my "Aspirational Hobby" - as in I aspire one day for it to be my hobby.
I love detailing. I love taking something "less" and making it "more". I enjoy the zen like process of engaging in something with great focus. The notion of taking different avenues to reach the same destination by trying different products.
But the reality of my situation is that as much as I enjoy it, my free-time gets focused on family time and keeping up with the normal day-to-day house stuff.
My day starts at about 5:30, leave for work at 6, get back home around 530/6 with commute, then by the time dinner is done and the kid's in bed it's 9. I'm much better at dishes than cooking, so I do the former since the Mrs does the latter. So, reset the kitchen and the day is shot.
Needless to say, I just haven't been able to make weeknights a thing. Saturdays are house cleaning day (short version: when I had my first house by myself, I did not keep it well; my mental state is much better when we keep up on the house. Plus with 160 lbs (73kg) worth of 2 dogs and a 9 year old human, it just needs to be cleaned every weekend), Sundays are taking the kid to gymnastics + grocery shopping and whatever else.
All that venting is just to say that when I finally do get to do car stuff, it ends up being as fast as I can possibly do it, which I get ZERO enjoyment out of. Plus the fact that I have a 'Geek's standards and eye for paint defects, I can only go so fast or do so much of an "abbreviated clean". I've tried breaking projects into sections, but with a 75-80 mile commute progress quickly gets un-done. And even when I've taken a day off to go through "the works", again it only lasts so long.
I had the realization when I was doing the painting table for my wife that woodworking gives me the mental outlet I need - I have much more time to *think* about stuff than actively work on things - So throughout the day I can think through design elements and come up with execution ideas. It's a whole new topic to research which I also enjoy.
Plus, each day while I was working on her table during my lunch break it occurred to me - there's no losing ground like it feels sometimes with detailing. Even if I only got one board cut, or even just marked out, it will be there waiting for me when I can get back to it.
Having decided to go as much hand-tool work as I can, it again is about learning and refining the process. As I was able to mark out and freehand cut legit 90° cuts, it's that same satisfaction as polishing out a panel to defect free perfection.
Sorry for the probably corny, overly wordy run through, but just wanted to share where I'm at. My activity on here has largely dropped off from a posting standpoint because I just haven't been able to be out detailing. I still visit and keep up on reading because I like this little corner of the internet - I appreciate the people, their knowledge, and the good-group vibe.
