Laffing Horse Crafts

It’s impossible! It can’t have been a full year since last Christmas. I mean, I would have noticed 365 days slipping by, right?

Still, the atomic clock embedded in my computer doesn’t lie!

I guess it’s understandable, though. We started out the year with 16 days of power outage during the worst ice storm in the past however many years you wanna put in there… some say it was ever, some say since 1982, and others say that the ‘82 storm was worse. I wasn’t here for any but the last one. It was the worst one I had ever seen.

We followed that up with one of the wettest years on record. Rains and sprinkles and drizzles and torrents, and then, just to round things out a bit, it would rain.

In spite of the rain – or maybe because of it – the Ozark Folk Center seemed slower than last year. Somehow, that didn’t stop the number from growing. Busy busy busy.

Folk School, the season opener, and then special events out the ears… open houses once a month, extended season, one on one classes in woodturning and broom making. Whew…

Things really started to change ’bout mid-season, though. At that point in time Jeanette and I were driving 27 miles to town in the morning – those are Ozark miles and 27 of ‘em equals an hour long commute. After work, we’d try to visit folks or attend concerts or shop and then make the hour long 27 mile trip home – often not arriving until 8 p.m. It didn’t help that we appeared to be living on the Road that the County Forgot. For 3.5 miles each way we were jounced and rocked and bounced and shocked and forced to slow down to 5 mph. We’d arrive home stiff, sore, tired and it’d be dark already.

The change? We started looking at properties closer to town – or at least on a smoother stretch of road.

Long story short, after looking at about a dozen properties we were called back to the first one we had looked at… A wee bit of money changin’ hands and a few signatures on dotted lines and here we are at Havencroft (Jeanette really like naming her farms – can’t say that I mind).

Now, instead of an hour long ordeal, we’ve a 10 minute jot.

Of course, moving is just so fun! We’ve been trying to save some of the fun for everyone else, but it’s been hard sharing that. We’re about 85% (I think it’s more, Jeanette thinks it’s less, so I compromise).

Of course, while we were doing this, it was raining, we were working, we were prepping and working the  Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour, we were sitting in on meetings of the Mountain View Area Artisans Council, the Arkansas Craft Guild, the Arkansas Craft School, building websites, hauling hay, doing chores… y’know, what we always do.

So, we’re now snuggled into the new home for Christmas and almost out of the old one (by New Years)… and with all that’s gone on, it’s easy to see where a year could slip away.

However, next year I’m gonna… well, maybe… naw, forget it… next year will likely be just as crazy!

Til then…

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Popularity: 5% [?]

I’m sitting here looking at my website thinking it needs an update, But I haven’t the foggiest how to organize it.

I want to talk about the way we live, maybe spout a little philosophy, sell the items I make with my own two hands and promote the works of others that I admire and work with.

But there’s the problem… I make too much! I make crochet hooks, trilooms, brooms, knitting needles, nostes, spindles, websites, and messes (but we don’t want to talk about that). So, if I try to break it down into categories, there’s too much and people can’t find things on my website. However, if I just lump it together, people have to dig through brooms, say, to find a crochet hook.

I often wish I would just settle down and make one thing, but I get bored easily and want to move on. If I make multiple things (not at the same time, but I suppose a broom on the end of a crochet hook might be interesting…. hmmm), I keep from getting bored.

Meanwhile, I find I am frustrated with the way the arts and crafts market is going and think of getting a 9-5. In this day and age when the dollar won’t go as far as it needs to it seems to me that getting quality – even if it costs a bit more – that will LAST and please you should be more important, but I hear “I can get that at (fill in the blank with the name of a big box store) for $9.99.” more and more often. I point out that the $9.99 item will not work as well and will not last as long and will not be as comfortable and will not help the local economy, and so on and so on, but it just doesn’t matter.

Am I fooling myself thinking I can make a difference?

If so, I’m gonna keep on being a fool…

See ya in the funny pages or right here… where redesigns may or may not take place soon.

Popularity: 6% [?]

That is our phone number and our address…

New address is

17467 Highway 66
Mountain View, AR 72560

Our new phone number is

870-269-6808

Now, I know that there are a lot of folks out there that would call me an idiot for putting this information online.

They’re likely right.

However, I’ve given out around 3000 business cards in the past year with the old information and want to keep them informed.

What’s a guy to do?

Popularity: 5% [?]

We’re moving. Sort of.

For the past two years we’ve been living in Meadowcreek. It’s a beautiful spot and we really love it. However, a long drive over a rough road to get to the Folk Center on a daily basis.

So, I bought a house nearer to town.

That said, nothing’s changing except the address. The critters are all coming with us as are all my tools and once the move is complete, it will be business as usual.

That is not to say that anyone who’s already ordered anything will have to wait any longer than normal… my shop is still where it was and will remain functional until all current orders are finished.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Seems like yesterday I was doing a little in the broom shop and a little in the wood shop and life was good.

And then…

Last week I was over run. My broom shop looks empty and all remaining crochet hooks are sold and I’ve had to take orders for around 3 more brooms and 3 more crochet hooks and another 7′ TriLoom.

Mind you, I’m not complaining. Not at all!

I am, however, sending this out as a cautionary tale to any thinking about ordering a special broom or crochet hook or set of knitting needles or a TriLoom for a Christmas gift. Get your orders in now or it may already be too late.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Set a guy down in a room with about 300 hand-tied brooms. Give him about 200 pounds of broomcorn, a spool of wire, several balls of twine. Then, let him have a slow day with very few visitors.

Let’s just say I was feeling a bit creative.

Popularity: 6% [?]

The last two weeks of July were busy busy busy. In addition to a wonderful visit with my daughter and new son-in-law (my step-daughter stepped in and tok care of the broom shop one day so I could visit and she did a bang up job… have to have her give me a day off more often!), lots of fun visitors to the Ozark Folk Center, introducing Obadiah T. Fassbinder to the public*, and tying oodles of brooms (still not caught up… I’ve created another space to tie brooms so I can make more),  I also taught 7 people over the course of 4 days to tie brooms.

*What!?! You’ve never heard of Obadiah T. Fassbinder? He’s a legend in his own mind!

Obadiah (if that is his real name) is a garrulous snake-oil salesman… er, purveyor of Obadiah T. Fassbinder’s Scientific Elixir – the Modern Medical Marvel. He makes a visit to the Ozark Folk Center about once every two weeks to extol the virtues of Obadiah T. Fassbinder’s Scientific Elixir – the Modern Medical Marvel. He might even sing you a song…

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I wrote that post about the lathe on May 18. I checked.

Once again, I’ve lost a month…

So, what’s happened?

Lots!

The woodturning class was a success. So was my broom-making class. And broom making has been going incredibly well!

Meanwhile, I’ve taken on a couple more websites… I’ll post the links as I get them closer to being done.

To assist in this endeavor, I’ve also picked up an Acer AspireONE Netbook! I love this little gadget.

Today, it’s back to the woodshop and another 7′ TriLoom for Jeanette’s one-on-one class coming up in July.

All of this has left me a little confused… If it’s idle hands that do the devils work, I can’t sit idle. But there’s no rest for the wicked… Hmmmmm…..

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Three days ago, I had $50 in my pocket and some sketches on a scrap of paper.

Yesterday morning, I had a pile of lumber and a bit of hardware. I was $50 poorer and a little apprehensive… nervous…

Last night, after about 12 hours with a saw and a drill, I had this!

It’s a full size lathe! 48″ bed, about 30″ between centers, 14″ swing. Runs on leg-tricity! And, yes, it works! This being a prototype (no plans… the book with the plans (Roy Underhill’s wedge and edge book, great resource!) hadn’t come in the mail yet and I was impatient. It’s a bit overbuilt, but that’s OK, too. The lathe is convertible to use either a Spring Pole or Bungee’s.

Got questions? Ask!

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Has it been that long since I posted?

I guess so.

Actually, I prepped a post way back when… to blog the creation of something… and the &($^*%#$ camera ran out of batteries and everything got delayed, then I got busy, then…

Ah, well… here I am now, and I have been busy!

Most of these have been tied in the last month and a half. I’m averaging about a dozen brooms a day! If one of these catched your eye, drop me a line…

Popularity: 4% [?]