The Chip Shop: Small Business Blog of the Day

Today's blog features a craftsman, the perfect business for a blog. I remember the early days of the web (around ten years ago) and discovering a craftsman from California who made doors for about $15,000 a piece. The internet completely opened up his market allowing worldwide demand for his highly specialized product.  

I don't know if that woodworker is still around, but if he is, he should be blogging. (Update: I found that website. It's called Extraordinary Doors and it hasn't changed a lick since 1997. No Blog. Damn.) Whenever you have a business that creates a unique product, especially if it's a more expensive item, write about the process of how it comes to life. Your customers will eat it up and learn to appreciate the real skill and art that goes into these types of products.

What it is
The Chip Shop is the blog for the Seafoam Woodturning Studio in River John, Nova Scotia. Derek Andrews writes the blog and creates fine wood products.

Features
Photos and descriptions of the products Derek produces, news about artisan shows, and about the business are found on the blog. The blog is pretty long-running with posts dating back to October of 2003.

Favorite Post
While looking back at the earliest posts, I found this one which is a great example of how a blog should be used to promote your products. It's called Why is this bowl so expensive?

   

"...Then there was the skill that went into identifying the unique features of the piece of wood, designing a form to suit these features and then working skillfully to overcome the challenges that woods of character often present. This bowl is most definitely a one-of-a-kind piece of art that took a lot of skill to make. In my opinion it is worth every penny I am asking for it. Until the day that a customer agrees with my opinion, I am quite happy to keep this piece in my studio to admire myself and as a talking point for visitors."

Further Comments
Another fine blogging example for educating your clients. This blog shows the ins and outs of woodworking, tells about the nuances, and delivers real information without a hint of commercialism. As a reader, I am attracted to the writing because it is focused clearly on woodworking, it tells me things I did not previously know, and it reads very friendly.

Lately, Derek has not been posting often. This is more than made up by the fact that the blog has been around for a long time (by blogging standards), but it would still be great to know what's going on in the shop right now. Also, he could do without the Google advertisements on the side bar. They generally don't sell very well unless you're getting 10,000+ visitors a month and they tend to take away from the professionalism of the blog...but they're really not that bad and I am totally nitpicking.

The photos are really great on this blog!

Tags: derek andrews, chip shop, seafoam woodturning studio, woodworking, wood working, River John Nova Scotia, River John, wooden bowl, wooden bowls, woodturning, wood turning