Very glad you decided to create a Patreon, Dave! Now I can support the amazing work you're doing and not feel guilty on all the hours of enjoyment I've gotten from your videos for free.
I actually applauded in front of my screen when you said the word 'Patreon'. I know you were hesitant about asking fans for money, but in this day and age, it's the obvious thing to do. Who knows how long Patreon will be viable; how long TH-cam will be around? You're already late to jump on that bandwagon; Better do it while it can still produce (well deserved) benefits.
Well, I'm certainly not thinking of Patreon as a long-term part of a business model. Our work should be able to stand by itself in the marketplace, without being 'propped up' like this, I think. The idea is to now move forward using a more 'professional' approach to managing our affairs, to make things more stable here. As for TH-cam, I have no idea how their business model will evolve in the near future. The way TH-cam is run currently, it doesn't seem to be sustainable; people like me are completely 'freeloading' there. Maybe I help bring eyeballs to their site, but I don't see how I bring revenue to pay for it. I can only assume that at some point they are going to start charging either me as the uploader, or 'you' as the viewer ...
TH-cam 's revenue is twofold. They are always using and selling all collected meta data of our collective usage for any number of purposes, which is fair trade for use of the platform, and additionally, they make a tremendous amount of ad revenue, even if your particular channel isn't monetized. There are people who are better suited to explain this at length, but don't feel like you owe youtube anything for hosting your videos. They aren't doing it for altruism's sake. On a related note, it's an absolute joy to watch you and your staff working dilligently. You make an incredibly difficult medium look so inviting.
i actually applauded when i went on pateron and saw him getting 2,344$ a month he deserves more ,quite one of the best youtube creatures i've seen in a long time. and his story and narrating is astonishing , keep up the great work dave
Your videos have a very Bob Ross feel to them. I hope you don't take that the wrong way. There is a lot of Genuineness, knowledge and care for your art. Don't think your videos have to change. you're doing great.
Difference between David and Bob is that Bob was an entertainer and, sorry that I have to say this, not a craftsman. David is a genuine craftsman and has much more educational value because of it. I mean, I watched 10m of a Bob Ross video and already knew everything he had to teach. Don't get me wrong, I watched the rest of the video and some others to affirm my believes and they were affirmed. While with David, it feels like I can just keep watching video after video and learn something new everytime. Even if it's not about woodcarving, but about how he runs his business and other things that matter in relation to being a professional artist,
I couldn't disagree more about Bob Ross. Frankly, I don't think you have a clue what you're talking about. Bob Ross was an entertainer, but there's nothing wrong with that. It's a good thing. But he was also a craftsman of the first order, and if you think otherwise, you don't have a clue what a craftsman is.
A lot of harshness in these replies for such a well-meaning compliment! I don't think Vincent was trying to *denigrate* David.. Rather than calling his compliment "idiotic," why just not say "in *addition* to having a lot of genuineness, knowledge, and care for his art, he's also, naturally, a great craftsman?" Either way, I agree with Vincent. There are reasons that so many people are so supportive of the channel that go beyond Dave's skill as a pure artisan - for many people, it's the way that Dave's whole life and personality are enriched and opened up by his dedication to his craft. It's very refreshing to see something like that, in a culture that is more and more atomised, where work is rarely rewarding for the worker. For many people Dave is a window onto how a life's calling should look, something we've mostly forgotten in this society.
David, even though I'm financially struggling student myself, I will be more than happy to pledge my patreon support to you. I'm so glad that I can help you make this beautiful art strive. Wonderful people like you are the reason this world is beautiful and unique. Please keep up your amazing work and best wishes from Lithuania!
I was immediately curious about the cost of one of your prints considering the astonishing amount of time and expertise required to produce them. I am convinced now Dave, with full respect, that you aren't charging anywhere near what your work is worth. Any other company producing the quality product that you do would be a multi million dollar operation. Time to re think your pricing and not feel guilty about it either I submit. Your work is priceless and will always increase in value over time.
I’ve just joined your Patreon page, after watching more than 20 of your videos. I wish you and your team the best of luck. You are such an inspiring example, not only as a craftsman, but also as a person. Thank you for taking your time to share your knowledge and life with us.
Your work is beautiful, but what keeps drawing me back to this channel is the sincerity and passion you have for your craft. I'd be honored to be a patron.
What a wonderful idea - i've certainly signed up. It was so nice to be able to stop by and see the shop earlier this month with my parents - i'm sure they thought I was insane to want to visit a print shop 10000 km from home, but it was entirely worth the time and trip. Apologies for having to rush out so quickly, but I didn't want to take up too much time, and there was so much to do in Asakusa!
We're planning a trip to Japan in the next year or so... Dave, your shop is one very good reason for the trip! Most happy to be able to do a bit to help!
I'm happy to see your studio doing well Dave. Your work and career are an inspiration to me ever since I first discovered your channel. Until this video I had no idea you did so much of the business yourself. I'm very happy with your decision to open a Patreon. I hope in time you can afford to delegate some of the day-to-day and head back to your bench.
Love your videos and learning both your history and the history of woodblock printing. As everything you do continues to evolve, you can really make a killing doing asmr videos. Your subscriptions would skyrocket I believe.
I came to this video by pure accident and I'm still not sure of what your video is about, but I just wanted to say that I watched the whole thing, and I did because the softness of your voice, your natural charisma and the sheer passion that flows when you talk about your craft were the things that made me stay. Thank you
I have got to say, big props to you! Finding something you are passionate about and taking it all the way. Teaching other people what you love doing along the way. And hearing you talk about programming when my parents that aren't nearly you age can't figure out how to print something (the regular way on a printer i mean). You are an inspiration! Keep doing what you are doing and much love from Germany.
Very glad to see a new video and totally understand your desire to get back to the essence of creating. And we (your viewers and admirer's) want to see that too! The very best to you.
David, I had the pleasure of joining a print party with you and a couple gentlemen from Germany in winter of 2014 and it was a complete and utter joy. If there were ever an artist deserving of patronage, it's you! Very happy to support you on Patreon. Chibi is the best I can do right now, but I hope to increase that amount substantially in the future. Please don't stop bringing joy and beautiful art to this world!
It's great that you came with this idea ! Every of your video is a gift (and a lot of work), so it is quite natural for me to give something to help you doing it :) Thank you for your energy and for spreading the art of carving
Have you tried adding revenue by outsorceing your prints for other objects like shirts, and printed objects. The outsourced work can be sold with little to no envolvment on your part. While expanding the people who can enjoy your work and making you more visible.
I've had an interest in carving or anything of the sort until I randomly came across one of your videos and I've pretty much binge watched your channel and seen almost every video you've uploaded. You bet your butt I'm gonna donate to your Patreon! Even the way you presented this video just made me want to donate, even if I had never seen what you've ever done or any of your work lol.
What a perfect presentation. He could have gone on some rant but instead he explained his issues intelligently and told us his strategy in a really positive manner. If I was working for him I'd have all the faith in the world.
David - just made my Patreon pledge, and hope you find the right person to help with the administrative side of the business. I've been saving the old paper reports you published, and of course subscribe to your channel - thanks again for the wonderful work, and I hope you can get back to the wood soon! PS: don't let anyone else script or perform the videos; those are so Dave!
It's about time! Amazing creative individuals such as yourself and your team deserve all the time you can get working on your craft, and I always enjoy these videos a great deal! I'm signing up right now to provide what financial support I can.
This is great. I love the concept of Patreon and the ability it gives me to support things I like without holding that support ransom for a product. Hope this goes well :)
I hope you get free of the keys and back to the chisels in a prompt fashion. Thank you for the tremendous efforts you have taken. I hope more folks adopt your cause in preserving and perpetuating this beautiful art form, and help deal with those pesky logistics! If only I weren't on the other side of the planet...
Completely appreciate your situation. I sold a retail art business for this exact reason. The “bigger” my business became, the less time i had to do the art i started it for in the first place. It can be maddening. All the increased gross income from having help, a retail location etc was a consistent wash after all the added expense. I know there are ways to make it work, but after 9 years of struggling with the puzzle, I’d had enough.
Yay! A Patreon! :D This is awesome! I've long looooong long missed getting the monthly prints, but as it stands, I simply am just not making enough to do the monthlies (I'm hoping and praying you'll do the monsters one for some time - until I can subscribe to it) - but this way, I can give you want I can to help! This is great! :D I'll be sure to spread the word!
hi david, at some degree, we all fall into the trap of thinking we'll take our share when things are going well. then things take their time to do and when they do, we find some way not to take it and invest all "our" money into our dream or something along the way. we may be good at what we do to physically make what we sell (i have to get grips with this myself) but, in your case, you are fundamental to your dream in some areas that overshadow "production" (yes .. the word). as someone older said to me when i was starting, how to make things is the last part of the job, you have to excel at whatever takes you to that part. and you seem to be exceptionally good at this! for all i know you are the engine, you are the first believer in your dream. i hope you understand how difficult it will be to find people willing to embrace your dream, and how almost impossible to embrace it to the level you love it. i don`t say this to cast a dark cloud all the contrary. these were my mistakes and i want to share if it helps any. you are a man of many talents and sometimes that works against, as we may find we are better not exactly at what we want... :) hope your patreon works out well, i`m sure you`re not thinking long term on this just to prime the pump, love your enthusiasm. as always thank you for sharing and hope i didn`t bore you with this long rant take care pete
I do hope this goes down well, I'm not in a position to help fund the Patreon at the minute, but in a few months I hopefully will be and I very much want to. Best of luck!
Tried to do the $2 a month,and got sent around in an endless clicking circle? Disabled my popup blocker? Will try again on another PC tomorrow Dave. Good luck with it all.
This is a good move. A friend of mine's business has just gotten to the same point where it's too much work to do with the current staff, but not quite enough money is coming in to afford a new body to do the work. Hopefully you'll get enough support to afford another person, which will likely help increase overall income as you'll be able to spend your time carving and printing again, rather than administrative tasks. What you have done is so important to the art world.
You're an inspiration. I know a lot of people who are dissuaded from pursuing the classical crafts and arts in general on account of financial struggles, but I feel if you find the right audience for your work, and have the right passion, you can pursue any creative career.
Honestly I've wished I could pay you for your video content for at least a year Dave. Obviously it reaps benefits for your business already as outreach/marketing, but it's worth it for its own sake as well. Patreon is at least some solution to that! I feel completely confident in "investing" a little pledge towards furthering Mokuhankan along with a "thank you" for all this free-access tangible and intangible value you've provided through your websites and video for years. They're goldmines for learning about mokuhanga with little understanding of Japanese language!
Hi Dave, I just signed up on your patreon page. Very glad to give you my support. I will be in Tokyo and look forward to visiting your place Mokuhankan on Wednesday ,May 10 in the afternoon to buy some prints and sign up for two subscriptions, My Solitudes and Yokai. Looking forward to meeting you in person and thanking you for your inspiration. I have emailed you on your Mokuhankan site but do not know if you received my message.
I really enjoy your TH-cam videos and it's a shame they don't get as much attention as I think they deserve. From an outside perspective I hate seeing these types of videos now I don't know where you are currently but I think you should consider taping into the market that is ASMR it is a huge community and your videos give me a similar vibe I only suggest this as a way for your TH-cam channel to grow and in turn bring some economic stability to your life.
as a new fan of your art i was very pleased to find out that your work was accessible to me and it goes against my own interests as a consumer to say this but you may need to raise your prices. in one of your recent videos you mentioned having a moral objection to raising prices which is understandable from a greed = bad perspective. but if you look at the price point as a tool that can help you control demand for your product and therefore demands on your time it might make sense for you to go a bit higher.
David probably isn't reading this but I hope whoever does can help boost the signal to help the message reach him. Instead of hiring new people, why not give some extra hours to the staff you already have, or GASP pull them away from their printing/carving to help you out and let the customers wait a little longer to get their prints? I don't know how impatient the rest of your customers are, but as a customer myself I understand how long it takes to make them, (in fact that's part of what gives the prints their value.) So if I had to wait an extra week or two to get one it doesn't bother me personally since I've already got the idea that this takes a long time planted in my brain.
Another idea that just occurred to me; is there a way to raise the prices enough to afford to hire the new staff OR alternatively, keep the amount of money you make the same, but reduce the number of customers (and the amount of work your staff has) enough to free them up to engage in other tasks?
It would be interesting to see an update to this. How did it pan out? I'm still fairly new to this channel, having watched maybe a dozen or so videos. Have I missed the update video?
An update came in this video, about a year ago: th-cam.com/video/x1jqYAri4E8/w-d-xo.html But we are now in a new 'era', and the situation has of course changed again. Another update video will be coming in mid-November.
Congrats with your work David. Love your videos. In the finance world, when small businesses are facing your dilemma, they consider two options: Debt or Equity. You might want to consider the second. Finding a new partner to invest money in the business in return for a small % ownership of your store. This is just a suggestion to take your business forward and to the level you believe it can achieve. I really hope the patreon idea works out for you, but I just wanted to provide you with an alternative to that. Best wishes, Erik
Those suggestions ... Debt and Equity ... are of course the classic methods for financing a business, but neither is available to me. I'm 66 years old next week, running a personal proprietorship, and one that is extremely unstable, in terms of cash flow, order volume, employee stability ... whatever yardstick you want to use. No normal institution would consider lending to me. As far as the equity option, the person fronting the money would really have to face the fact that - as this is still a 'key man' business, and probably will be for quite some time to come - it would be a very risky investment ...
Have you thought about a grant from the government. Or student exchanges with universities in Canada and abroad. Your work is very important. Having been a graphic artist i know what working for 0 means. I will be pledging to you via patreon. I love this work.
No, I don't. I myself find the advertising on the videos that I myself watch to be so intrusive and bothersome, I can't bear to inflict that on other people ...
Dave, I support you setting up a Patreon account. What I would like to know is what levels of total monthly support you would need to make it useful or sufficient for you. Would you need at least 100 USD/month? 1000 USD/month? I would be curious to learn what you would be able to do if you got x amount of USD in monthly support through Patreon backers.
I can't give an actual clear $ amount that I 'need' through Patreon, because our current revenue is so mixed and so seasonally variable, that I don't clearly know much I'm myself going to be able to put towards this new hiring. All I know for sure is that in my current situation I can't possibly sit down across the table during an interview with a good prospect, and confidently promise to be able to pay them on a stable basis. (As an example, because we have no credit line here, there were around a half-dozen occasions last year when I had to ask one or another of the staff members to accept a delayed salary payment, because our accounts were empty.) So at the moment, as I watch the Patreon figure climb during these first few hours of having it running, I'm looking at it in terms of 'insurance' that will allow me to honestly tell that person they will be able to get paid. Then over the coming months, as my productivity returns, and his starts to kick in, we'll look at the Patreon revenue with new eyes (as described on a post I made over there while setting up this campaign): www.patreon.com/posts/why-patreon-8792885
Very difficult to answer. The only real chance we've had to measure that kind of thing, is with the price of our subscription prints over the past few years. I had them at $25 per month three years ago, and it was clearly not working (lots of orders, but it didn't add up.) Since then, I've moved it to $35, and then to $40, each time accompanied by a strong drop-off in numbers. At the $35 level last year it was viable ... One thing that has helped us a lot this year is the addition of the 'Flea Market', made up of prints that we purchase from estate sales, auctions, etc. We can control the margins better on these items, simply by making a calculation of selling price based on what they cost us. So I think the way forward is to try and maintain a good 'mix' of items here, with some of them perhaps supporting the ones that don't have such good margins.
Random thought here. I got an info card in the mail about increase in postage cost starting in June. Do you think that might have any real impact for the business?
All our subscribers have 'Price Protection' for the term of their subscription. If the Post Office raises their prices, we will apply that to future sign-ups. (It's not relevant to the Patreon rewards, because those have postage wrapped in ...)
David, please read the book entitled, "Building a Story Brand" by Donald Miller. I think it will propel your business forward by helping you clarify your business message. Merry Christmas from the USA!
good idea... I ve tried to buy from you, a wave and a little surimono golden and silvered with no success...no response gotten in a pair of months.. if I can help buying one of thee it woud be good... but to patronize somehing that is too difficult to buy and contact ....wih no responses...makes me smile...otherwise wish you very good luck..! the videos are amazing and the teachings about the wave -14 videos- are the most amazing things for the art fans... congrats!!
Ariel-san, I'm not sure what trouble you have had ... I don't have anything here in my email from you, or any record from our online shop. Not sure how I can help you ...
ok, David maybe I could not click correctly in your site, I dont know, wish a very good luck in this project once tried to message to know if there were a reprint of the wave but if there are no records maybe could not send message correctly. if there still are PRINT available I d like Very Much To to know thank you, best regards and again good luck with this patreon project
So far, we haven't had any bad experiences with Mexico; we would get a tracking number for the package to try and make sure it would get through. We have no minimum order - one print is OK ...
I never realized how profitable this is, from 1994 to 2005 you made atleast $100,000 and last few years 250k+ but as you have employees I'm sure a large amount gets split amongst them. than I got to end of video and you said something about profit after expenses being 5%.
Okay, patreon subscription set up. Good luck with hiring! I don't know why I'm posting this though, you won't see it, since you're back there carving the octopus keyblock, right?
No, I'm still here at the keyboard tonight ... and will be for a few hours yet. But, don't shoot at me for that, because I have a good excuse - I'm preparing for tomorrow's all-day session meeting/interviewing a potential new manager ... (And Paul, thanks so much for participating in this!)
Something to consider that is often overlooked when attempting to employ someone is their MBTI, Meyer's Briggs Type Indicator. It's not an end-all be-all for making a decision but should be very helpful in determining if someone is a suitable match for a specific job type, will excel at it and enjoy it. For project management work it's been shown ENTJ or ENTP types excel greatly. The E stands for extroversion versus Introversion. N stands for Intuition vs Sensing. T stands for Thinking vs Feeling. J is judging and P is perception. So you'd be looking for someone who is an extrovert, very socially comfortable, willing to press and ask questions rather than make assumptions, Uses intuition focusing on the future and possibilities beyond what is immediately apparent and who stays objective in their thinking rather than overly concerned with people and politics. If you look for those characteristics in a candidate for employ for project management they will likely be a good fit. However, there are of course many other factors that could make someone with the right MBTI still not a good candidate, but if you get the MBTI way wrong, they definitely won't work out in the long term. Hope this helps!
Another way to earn some money would be to apply for being a youtube partner. With this being a clean channel, the videos would make more money per views.
Yes indeed ... we've taken on four people since that video - three working in the shop and Print Parties, and one as an assistant/manager to take over much of my own work. I have been spending a great deal of time back at the carving bench, and we've even started streaming from there daily (except Tuesdays) ... www.twitch.tv/japaneseprintmaking
Very glad you decided to create a Patreon, Dave! Now I can support the amazing work you're doing and not feel guilty on all the hours of enjoyment I've gotten from your videos for free.
I actually applauded in front of my screen when you said the word 'Patreon'. I know you were hesitant about asking fans for money, but in this day and age, it's the obvious thing to do. Who knows how long Patreon will be viable; how long TH-cam will be around? You're already late to jump on that bandwagon; Better do it while it can still produce (well deserved) benefits.
Well, I'm certainly not thinking of Patreon as a long-term part of a business model. Our work should be able to stand by itself in the marketplace, without being 'propped up' like this, I think. The idea is to now move forward using a more 'professional' approach to managing our affairs, to make things more stable here. As for TH-cam, I have no idea how their business model will evolve in the near future. The way TH-cam is run currently, it doesn't seem to be sustainable; people like me are completely 'freeloading' there. Maybe I help bring eyeballs to their site, but I don't see how I bring revenue to pay for it. I can only assume that at some point they are going to start charging either me as the uploader, or 'you' as the viewer ...
TH-cam 's revenue is twofold. They are always using and selling all collected meta data of our collective usage for any number of purposes, which is fair trade for use of the platform, and additionally, they make a tremendous amount of ad revenue, even if your particular channel isn't monetized. There are people who are better suited to explain this at length, but don't feel like you owe youtube anything for hosting your videos. They aren't doing it for altruism's sake. On a related note, it's an absolute joy to watch you and your staff working dilligently. You make an incredibly difficult medium look so inviting.
i actually applauded when i went on pateron and saw him getting 2,344$ a month
he deserves more ,quite one of the best youtube creatures i've seen in a long time.
and his story and narrating is astonishing , keep up the great work dave
TH-cam creatures?
lol meant to say creators
Your videos have a very Bob Ross feel to them. I hope you don't take that the wrong way. There is a lot of Genuineness, knowledge and care for your art. Don't think your videos have to change. you're doing great.
Difference between David and Bob is that Bob was an entertainer and, sorry that I have to say this, not a craftsman. David is a genuine craftsman and has much more educational value because of it. I mean, I watched 10m of a Bob Ross video and already knew everything he had to teach. Don't get me wrong, I watched the rest of the video and some others to affirm my believes and they were affirmed. While with David, it feels like I can just keep watching video after video and learn something new everytime. Even if it's not about woodcarving, but about how he runs his business and other things that matter in relation to being a professional artist,
I couldn't disagree more about Bob Ross. Frankly, I don't think you have a clue what you're talking about. Bob Ross was an entertainer, but there's nothing wrong with that. It's a good thing. But he was also a craftsman of the first order, and if you think otherwise, you don't have a clue what a craftsman is.
it is very idiotic to compare them. nothing alike.
A lot of harshness in these replies for such a well-meaning compliment! I don't think Vincent was trying to *denigrate* David.. Rather than calling his compliment "idiotic," why just not say "in *addition* to having a lot of genuineness, knowledge, and care for his art, he's also, naturally, a great craftsman?"
Either way, I agree with Vincent. There are reasons that so many people are so supportive of the channel that go beyond Dave's skill as a pure artisan - for many people, it's the way that Dave's whole life and personality are enriched and opened up by his dedication to his craft. It's very refreshing to see something like that, in a culture that is more and more atomised, where work is rarely rewarding for the worker. For many people Dave is a window onto how a life's calling should look, something we've mostly forgotten in this society.
Why are yall going deeper in this😂
David, even though I'm financially struggling student myself, I will be more than happy to pledge my patreon support to you. I'm so glad that I can help you make this beautiful art strive. Wonderful people like you are the reason this world is beautiful and unique. Please keep up your amazing work and best wishes from Lithuania!
Damn, another lithuanian.
I was immediately curious about the cost of one of your prints considering the astonishing amount of time and expertise required to produce them. I am convinced now Dave, with full respect, that you aren't charging anywhere near what your work is worth. Any other company producing the quality product that you do would be a multi million dollar operation. Time to re think your pricing and not feel guilty about it either I submit. Your work is priceless and will always increase in value over time.
I’ve just joined your Patreon page, after watching more than 20 of your videos. I wish you and your team the best of luck. You are such an inspiring example, not only as a craftsman, but also as a person. Thank you for taking your time to share your knowledge and life with us.
Glad to hear it and I hope people get on board. I think your work is a cultural treasure more than worthy of support.
The fact that you are so open in how you do your work and even your finances is admirable! Keep it up, Dave and team!
Your work is beautiful, but what keeps drawing me back to this channel is the sincerity and passion you have for your craft. I'd be honored to be a patron.
I found your videos tonight and just backed you on Patreon!
What a wonderful idea - i've certainly signed up. It was so nice to be able to stop by and see the shop earlier this month with my parents - i'm sure they thought I was insane to want to visit a print shop 10000 km from home, but it was entirely worth the time and trip. Apologies for having to rush out so quickly, but I didn't want to take up too much time, and there was so much to do in Asakusa!
We're planning a trip to Japan in the next year or so... Dave, your shop is one very good reason for the trip! Most happy to be able to do a bit to help!
you're a hard working man, Dave
hope things go well for you, you have my support
We are all hardworking men
I'm happy to see your studio doing well Dave. Your work and career are an inspiration to me ever since I first discovered your channel. Until this video I had no idea you did so much of the business yourself. I'm very happy with your decision to open a Patreon. I hope in time you can afford to delegate some of the day-to-day and head back to your bench.
You are what i've been looking for all these years! May your artistry flourish~
Love your videos and learning both your history and the history of woodblock printing. As everything you do continues to evolve, you can really make a killing doing asmr videos. Your subscriptions would skyrocket I believe.
i dont know how i got here but im glad i did. this guy is fantastic.
I came to this video by pure accident and I'm still not sure of what your video is about, but I just wanted to say that I watched the whole thing, and I did because the softness of your voice, your natural charisma and the sheer passion that flows when you talk about your craft were the things that made me stay. Thank you
I have got to say, big props to you!
Finding something you are passionate about and taking it all the way.
Teaching other people what you love doing along the way. And hearing you talk about programming when my parents that aren't nearly you age can't figure out how to print something (the regular way on a printer i mean).
You are an inspiration!
Keep doing what you are doing and much love from Germany.
Very glad to see a new video and totally understand your desire to get back to the essence of creating. And we (your viewers and admirer's) want to see that too! The very best to you.
David, I had the pleasure of joining a print party with you and a couple gentlemen from Germany in winter of 2014 and it was a complete and utter joy. If there were ever an artist deserving of patronage, it's you! Very happy to support you on Patreon. Chibi is the best I can do right now, but I hope to increase that amount substantially in the future. Please don't stop bringing joy and beautiful art to this world!
We are on patreon now, thank you. Looking forward to what more you produce.
It's great that you came with this idea ! Every of your video is a gift (and a lot of work), so it is quite natural for me to give something to help you doing it :)
Thank you for your energy and for spreading the art of carving
You are seriously the coolest person ever :D How beautiful to send people newsletters for real. I love it.
Have you tried adding revenue by outsorceing your prints for other objects like shirts, and printed objects. The outsourced work can be sold with little to no envolvment on your part. While expanding the people who can enjoy your work and making you more visible.
Jose Hernandez i think this would help a ton!!
I've had an interest in carving or anything of the sort until I randomly came across one of your videos and I've pretty much binge watched your channel and seen almost every video you've uploaded. You bet your butt I'm gonna donate to your Patreon! Even the way you presented this video just made me want to donate, even if I had never seen what you've ever done or any of your work lol.
Very excited to start supporting your patreon and seeing what the future brings!
A most splendid idea - supported.
What a perfect presentation. He could have gone on some rant but instead he explained his issues intelligently and told us his strategy in a really positive manner. If I was working for him I'd have all the faith in the world.
You deserve to relax a bit now that you’ve worked so hard for so long. I hope 2018 is treating you to less work and more financial prosperity!
David - just made my Patreon pledge, and hope you find the right person to help with the administrative side of the business. I've been saving the old paper reports you published, and of course subscribe to your channel - thanks again for the wonderful work, and I hope you can get back to the wood soon! PS: don't let anyone else script or perform the videos; those are so Dave!
Love the way you tell your storys.
It's about time! Amazing creative individuals such as yourself and your team deserve all the time you can get working on your craft, and I always enjoy these videos a great deal! I'm signing up right now to provide what financial support I can.
This is great. I love the concept of Patreon and the ability it gives me to support things I like without holding that support ransom for a product. Hope this goes well :)
I hope you get free of the keys and back to the chisels in a prompt fashion. Thank you for the tremendous efforts you have taken. I hope more folks adopt your cause in preserving and perpetuating this beautiful art form, and help deal with those pesky logistics! If only I weren't on the other side of the planet...
You are amazing Dave.Backed you on Patreon ! Please keep the videos and the twitch broadcasts coming .
Great videos... you're like another Bob Ross!!! Fantastic to watch and listen. You are very engaging.
Completely appreciate your situation. I sold a retail art business for this exact reason. The “bigger” my business became, the less time i had to do the art i started it for in the first place. It can be maddening. All the increased gross income from having help, a retail location etc was a consistent wash after all the added expense. I know there are ways to make it work, but after 9 years of struggling with the puzzle, I’d had enough.
Yay! A Patreon! :D This is awesome! I've long looooong long missed getting the monthly prints, but as it stands, I simply am just not making enough to do the monthlies (I'm hoping and praying you'll do the monsters one for some time - until I can subscribe to it) - but this way, I can give you want I can to help! This is great! :D I'll be sure to spread the word!
Backed on Patreon. Love the work and video content thank you.
hi david, at some degree, we all fall into the trap of thinking we'll take our share when things are going well.
then things take their time to do and when they do, we find some way not to take it and invest all "our" money into our dream or something along the way.
we may be good at what we do to physically make what we sell (i have to get grips with this myself) but, in your case, you are fundamental to your dream in some areas that overshadow "production" (yes .. the word).
as someone older said to me when i was starting, how to make things is the last part of the job, you have to excel at whatever takes you to that part. and you seem to be exceptionally good at this!
for all i know you are the engine, you are the first believer in your dream. i hope you understand how difficult it will be to find people willing to embrace your dream, and how almost impossible to embrace it to the level you love it. i don`t say this to cast a dark cloud all the contrary. these were my mistakes and i want to share if it helps any.
you are a man of many talents and sometimes that works against, as we may find we are better not exactly at what we want... :)
hope your patreon works out well, i`m sure you`re not thinking long term on this just to prime the pump, love your enthusiasm.
as always thank you for sharing and hope i didn`t bore you with this long rant
take care
pete
Supported! Hopefully this will help you, you're not only a great artist but a fantastic content creator here on TH-cam.
I do hope this goes down well, I'm not in a position to help fund the Patreon at the minute, but in a few months I hopefully will be and I very much want to. Best of luck!
Tried to do the $2 a month,and got sent around in an endless clicking circle? Disabled my popup blocker? Will try again on another PC tomorrow Dave. Good luck with it all.
Thank you Bullsama
This is a good move. A friend of mine's business has just gotten to the same point where it's too much work to do with the current staff, but not quite enough money is coming in to afford a new body to do the work. Hopefully you'll get enough support to afford another person, which will likely help increase overall income as you'll be able to spend your time carving and printing again, rather than administrative tasks. What you have done is so important to the art world.
Great stuff yet again. I wonder if you could class them as replicas made to the exacting standard of the original. That's still a very unique quality!
You're an inspiration. I know a lot of people who are dissuaded from pursuing the classical crafts and arts in general on account of financial struggles, but I feel if you find the right audience for your work, and have the right passion, you can pursue any creative career.
All the best luck! BTW, I'm the John that those people who filmed you saying Hi a couple days ago!
You were ahead of the game.
I love David bull, such a great guy.
Honestly I've wished I could pay you for your video content for at least a year Dave. Obviously it reaps benefits for your business already as outreach/marketing, but it's worth it for its own sake as well. Patreon is at least some solution to that!
I feel completely confident in "investing" a little pledge towards furthering Mokuhankan along with a "thank you" for all this free-access tangible and intangible value you've provided through your websites and video for years. They're goldmines for learning about mokuhanga with little understanding of Japanese language!
You are a son of God. A master in training. I want to come to Japan and visit your shop.
u make me calm
Hi Dave, I just signed up on your patreon page. Very glad to give you my support. I will be in Tokyo and look forward to visiting your place Mokuhankan on Wednesday ,May 10 in the afternoon to buy some prints and sign up for two subscriptions, My Solitudes and Yokai. Looking forward to meeting you in person and thanking you for your inspiration. I have emailed you on your Mokuhankan site but do not know if you received my message.
I really enjoy your TH-cam videos and it's a shame they don't get as much attention as I think they deserve. From an outside perspective I hate seeing these types of videos now I don't know where you are currently but I think you should consider taping into the market that is ASMR it is a huge community and your videos give me a similar vibe I only suggest this as a way for your TH-cam channel to grow and in turn bring some economic stability to your life.
I actually stumbled onto this channel from a recommendation from an ASMR video
I like your style David.
I can't afford to donate, I wish, I could!!! You are a true Master, and also your helpers, it's a dedicated and beautiful art form.😀😀🎭🎭🎨🎨👍👍👍👏👏👏👏👏
as a new fan of your art i was very pleased to find out that your work was accessible to me and it goes against my own interests as a consumer to say this but you may need to raise your prices. in one of your recent videos you mentioned having a moral objection to raising prices which is understandable from a greed = bad perspective. but if you look at the price point as a tool that can help you control demand for your product and therefore demands on your time it might make sense for you to go a bit higher.
David probably isn't reading this but I hope whoever does can help boost the signal to help the message reach him. Instead of hiring new people, why not give some extra hours to the staff you already have, or GASP pull them away from their printing/carving to help you out and let the customers wait a little longer to get their prints?
I don't know how impatient the rest of your customers are, but as a customer myself I understand how long it takes to make them, (in fact that's part of what gives the prints their value.) So if I had to wait an extra week or two to get one it doesn't bother me personally since I've already got the idea that this takes a long time planted in my brain.
amazing .
Another idea that just occurred to me; is there a way to raise the prices enough to afford to hire the new staff OR alternatively, keep the amount of money you make the same, but reduce the number of customers (and the amount of work your staff has) enough to free them up to engage in other tasks?
Could you try raising the prices and moving into a cheaper home or living in the shop if you can? 5% profit sound pretty low.
It would be interesting to see an update to this. How did it pan out? I'm still fairly new to this channel, having watched maybe a dozen or so videos. Have I missed the update video?
An update came in this video, about a year ago: th-cam.com/video/x1jqYAri4E8/w-d-xo.html But we are now in a new 'era', and the situation has of course changed again. Another update video will be coming in mid-November.
Might I be able to ask where one could be notified about any potential job openings and on how to apply? :)
Congrats with your work David. Love your videos.
In the finance world, when small businesses are facing your dilemma, they consider two options: Debt or Equity. You might want to consider the second. Finding a new partner to invest money in the business in return for a small % ownership of your store. This is just a suggestion to take your business forward and to the level you believe it can achieve. I really hope the patreon idea works out for you, but I just wanted to provide you with an alternative to that. Best wishes, Erik
Those suggestions ... Debt and Equity ... are of course the classic methods for financing a business, but neither is available to me. I'm 66 years old next week, running a personal proprietorship, and one that is extremely unstable, in terms of cash flow, order volume, employee stability ... whatever yardstick you want to use. No normal institution would consider lending to me.
As far as the equity option, the person fronting the money would really have to face the fact that - as this is still a 'key man' business, and probably will be for quite some time to come - it would be a very risky investment ...
You seriously know how to market pal, fair play to you 👍
Have you thought about a grant from the government. Or student exchanges with universities in Canada and abroad. Your work is very important. Having been a graphic artist i know what working for 0 means. I will be pledging to you via patreon. I love this work.
I never noticed but does Dave not monetise his videos? I don't remember getting ads for any videos
No, I don't. I myself find the advertising on the videos that I myself watch to be so intrusive and bothersome, I can't bear to inflict that on other people ...
Hi David, you could add your Patreon link to your TH-cam page alongside your website and G+ links
Done ... thanks for the reminder!
Dave, I support you setting up a Patreon account. What I would like to know is what levels of total monthly support you would need to make it useful or sufficient for you. Would you need at least 100 USD/month? 1000 USD/month? I would be curious to learn what you would be able to do if you got x amount of USD in monthly support through Patreon backers.
I can't give an actual clear $ amount that I 'need' through Patreon, because our current revenue is so mixed and so seasonally variable, that I don't clearly know much I'm myself going to be able to put towards this new hiring. All I know for sure is that in my current situation I can't possibly sit down across the table during an interview with a good prospect, and confidently promise to be able to pay them on a stable basis. (As an example, because we have no credit line here, there were around a half-dozen occasions last year when I had to ask one or another of the staff members to accept a delayed salary payment, because our accounts were empty.) So at the moment, as I watch the Patreon figure climb during these first few hours of having it running, I'm looking at it in terms of 'insurance' that will allow me to honestly tell that person they will be able to get paid. Then over the coming months, as my productivity returns, and his starts to kick in, we'll look at the Patreon revenue with new eyes (as described on a post I made over there while setting up this campaign): www.patreon.com/posts/why-patreon-8792885
Dave, thank you for your detailed reply.
David Bull In all honesty if were working with such a genuine and humble and honest group of people I would gladly accept a delayed paycheck.
Honest question: you don't feel that increasing the prices of the prints would work?
Very difficult to answer. The only real chance we've had to measure that kind of thing, is with the price of our subscription prints over the past few years. I had them at $25 per month three years ago, and it was clearly not working (lots of orders, but it didn't add up.) Since then, I've moved it to $35, and then to $40, each time accompanied by a strong drop-off in numbers. At the $35 level last year it was viable ... One thing that has helped us a lot this year is the addition of the 'Flea Market', made up of prints that we purchase from estate sales, auctions, etc. We can control the margins better on these items, simply by making a calculation of selling price based on what they cost us. So I think the way forward is to try and maintain a good 'mix' of items here, with some of them perhaps supporting the ones that don't have such good margins.
you worked hard
Finally Patreon! :D
Random thought here. I got an info card in the mail about increase in postage cost starting in June. Do you think that might have any real impact for the business?
All our subscribers have 'Price Protection' for the term of their subscription. If the Post Office raises their prices, we will apply that to future sign-ups. (It's not relevant to the Patreon rewards, because those have postage wrapped in ...)
It does however seem like potentially a fairly large increase in expenses for you, unless I'm understanding the new policy incorrectly.
David, please read the book entitled, "Building a Story Brand" by Donald Miller. I think it will propel your business forward by helping you clarify your business message. Merry Christmas from the USA!
The Octopus sounds very good.
good idea... I ve tried to buy from you, a wave and a little surimono golden and silvered with no success...no response gotten in a pair of months.. if I can help buying one of thee it woud be good... but to patronize somehing that is too difficult to buy and contact ....wih no responses...makes me smile...otherwise wish you very good luck..! the videos are amazing and the teachings about the wave -14 videos- are the most amazing things for the art fans... congrats!!
Ariel-san, I'm not sure what trouble you have had ... I don't have anything here in my email from you, or any record from our online shop. Not sure how I can help you ...
ok, David maybe I could not click correctly in your site, I dont know, wish a very good luck in this project once tried to message to know if there were a reprint of the wave but if there are no records maybe could not send message correctly. if there still are PRINT available I d like Very Much To to know thank you, best regards and again good luck with this patreon project
Our wave print is of course still available, and if you check the web page here, you can see information: mokuhankan.com/catalogue/0293.php
thank you very much David will check the link do you send shippings to Mexico city and there are a minimum order? best regards,
So far, we haven't had any bad experiences with Mexico; we would get a tracking number for the package to try and make sure it would get through. We have no minimum order - one print is OK ...
Shooting this video, thats me.
Dave: The problem is _me_
Literally everyone: No!!!
Up years and down years, I am 52 and i wonder when is my up year?
I never realized how profitable this is, from 1994 to 2005 you made atleast $100,000 and last few years 250k+ but as you have employees I'm sure a large amount gets split amongst them.
than I got to end of video and you said something about profit after expenses being 5%.
Ojalá tuviese dinero para comprar una de sus obras 😢
You forgot cleaning the bathroom...
good video
managing social media sites is basically my job now 😂 I know how ya feel fam
Okay, patreon subscription set up. Good luck with hiring! I don't know why I'm posting this though, you won't see it, since you're back there carving the octopus keyblock, right?
No, I'm still here at the keyboard tonight ... and will be for a few hours yet. But, don't shoot at me for that, because I have a good excuse - I'm preparing for tomorrow's all-day session meeting/interviewing a potential new manager ... (And Paul, thanks so much for participating in this!)
Something to consider that is often overlooked when attempting to employ someone is their MBTI, Meyer's Briggs Type Indicator. It's not an end-all be-all for making a decision but should be very helpful in determining if someone is a suitable match for a specific job type, will excel at it and enjoy it. For project management work it's been shown ENTJ or ENTP types excel greatly. The E stands for extroversion versus Introversion. N stands for Intuition vs Sensing. T stands for Thinking vs Feeling. J is judging and P is perception.
So you'd be looking for someone who is an extrovert, very socially comfortable, willing to press and ask questions rather than make assumptions, Uses intuition focusing on the future and possibilities beyond what is immediately apparent and who stays objective in their thinking rather than overly concerned with people and politics. If you look for those characteristics in a candidate for employ for project management they will likely be a good fit. However, there are of course many other factors that could make someone with the right MBTI still not a good candidate, but if you get the MBTI way wrong, they definitely won't work out in the long term.
Hope this helps!
0:57 Dave, you have not aged a _day._
You lie ... but thank you! :-)
Please someone with top dollar, please support these guys
Another way to earn some money would be to apply for being a youtube partner. With this being a clean channel, the videos would make more money per views.
I love the conclusion: I'll head back to my bench. Then I'll gladly pay 5$ for that ;-)
What camera are you using?
We use a Canon EOS Kiss x6i (I think this is a 'rebel' overseas ... not sure).
@@seseragistudio Ah I see, thank you for the fast reply. Best wishes!
Does anyone have an update on this? Did he hire someone?
Yes indeed ... we've taken on four people since that video - three working in the shop and Print Parties, and one as an assistant/manager to take over much of my own work. I have been spending a great deal of time back at the carving bench, and we've even started streaming from there daily (except Tuesdays) ... www.twitch.tv/japaneseprintmaking
David Bull Ah yes I saw your stream the other day. How was your busy Monday with all the print parties?
You need to read Profit First
Send me a Buisness plan and Is viable I would invest
interns is the key free labor
I wish i know david bull bitcoin address
U did forget to get a haircut and shave..tht could be an asmr vid as well lolz
Ukiyoe Heroes will never surpass David Bull
Hire me! I live in Japan and can help you with videos and social media.
C did you even listen to him