SAMPLES
I saw in the preparation of an earlier blog photographs of some samples we picked up from our client. The samples were of the edge of a table we’re going to make. It showed the client veneers we’re going to use, the solid timber we’re going use, the edge details, the inlay and it showed how the timber was going to be polished – in this case in French polish.
We made, in all three samples for this client, each in slightly different veneers and different inlays and different finishes. In the end we also made a special box so that two out three of those samples could be taken to the client.
It’s important that everything you do get’s to the client in good condition so scratches and finger marks are not what we want in our work, especially at this early stage. This is all a lot of work that you’re not going to get paid for. But it’s work that if you don’t do, the changes are you’re not going to get paid anyway. Our job is to show the client something of the quality of the workmanship that we’re capable of doing for them.
Samples, in my experience, are a great way of doing that. They give the client a whiff of the quality that we can provide. And it’s a quality that they don’t see very often in commercially made furniture. It’s quite simply putting clear blue water between us and all of our competition and making our client aware of that.
