# Saturday Morning Farmer's Market---- Bowls and Mushrooms



## Ax-man (May 29, 2016)

Every Saturday during the growing our town has a little Farmer's market along the main state highway that goes through our town. It is not a big event less than 10 vendors but their is no set-up fees or insurance required . All you have to do is show up and set-up to get a spot.

I went to it this weekend to see if some of my chainsaw carved mushrooms would sell along with some of my turned bowls and misc. items would also sell. I was surprised to say the least. I sold just about all the mushrooms .Mushrooms are always good selling items but for a little 4 to 5 hour sale I did better than other sales I have been in with the same items. The turned lathe items was kind of a bust only one bowl and two mini mushrooms. No one showed an interest in my so called trees either. Didn't expect much on those just trying something different .

The one thing that really surprised me was I had two spalted ugly mushrooms that sold quick compared to the more finished mushrooms. It is hard to tell which from the pic but it is the one in the front row far left. I had two , one didn't make the picture because it was the first one sold. I had hardly unloaded the truck and was just setting up ,turned around and their was a woman with cash in her hand asking how much for this one . Go figure . I had less work into those two mushrooms and got the same money as the fancier mushrooms.


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## Quietfly (May 29, 2016)

Looks good .


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## Ax-man (May 30, 2016)

Thanks, I have been following your thread, you did a good job with your mushrooms . Your mushrooms look like mushrooms, I can never get that mushroom look on mine they always turn out like toad stool type mushrooms.


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## Quietfly (May 30, 2016)

I like your style of mushroom, i like conical the tops.


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## amberg (Jun 1, 2016)

Quietfly said:


> I like your style of mushroom, i like conical the tops.




You guys are dam'n good!!


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## moondoggie (Jun 28, 2016)




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## DTrap (Aug 18, 2016)

Those look great. The bowls are beautiful. Very nice work.


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## Ax-man (Dec 4, 2016)

Winter has arrived in our area, it's snowing right now so I have some time to play on the computer. I went back to our local Farmer's Market a few times over the summer. These pics are from Labor day weekend nothing really new except I got brave and made some bears that I felt were good enough to try and sell in addition to the schrooms. I was able to sell two bears and most of the mushrooms which are always popular. I am not a regular vendor at this Farmer's Market but was invited back for next year because my chainsaw art was bringing people in to shop at the other booths. That made me feel pretty good because I don't feel I am a true chainsaw carver.


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## DTrap (Dec 4, 2016)

The bears look good. As usual so do the schrooms. Nice work sir


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## Ax-man (Dec 4, 2016)

Thanks, You should have seen some of the first ones I made, they were pretty bad and ended up in the burn pile. Bears are not easy to make, the guys that carve them for a living make it look easy but I am certain they have had a lot of practice at it.


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## DTrap (Dec 4, 2016)

Yeah I watched a guy at our state fair last year carve 2 of them in a matter of an hour or so. His son was putting the finishing touches on them with a grinder and tourch on the next table over. I was amazed at how good they looked in such a short time. He said he does 10 or more a weekend regularly. They were selling pretty good also.


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## Ax-man (Dec 4, 2016)

Wow, two bears in an hour. I wish I was that fast. Maybe some day. I had a little roadside stand set up during one of our local weekend festivals in late September. I had some other bears I made (no pics) that sold within an hour of setting up . People like them that is for sure.


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## RyKR (Dec 26, 2016)

Out of curiosity, what do the mushrooms normally go for? I've seen the bears for sale and some of them are outrageous.


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## Ax-man (Dec 27, 2016)

You can ask whatever you want but there is only so much your average person will spend. It all depends on how much appeal your carving has and how much the buyer will spend on it. Some people will have more cash to spend than others . It never ceases to amaze me who buys these items. You just never know.

To answer your question . I sell the mushrooms for an" average" price of $40 dollars. Farmer markets, craft sales and roadside stands aren't upscale type markets where people spend a lot of money. I just try to get a fair price for me and sell for what I feel your average person has the cash to pay in his or her wallet. The higher the price the more you will eliminate potential buyers when you sell in this type of venue.

I know what your saying about bears. Again , it all depends on the time and detail that goes into a bear that will determine the price.


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## RyKR (Dec 27, 2016)

It is cool to watch someone carve. I'd probably lop off a finger.


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## Ax-man (Jun 4, 2017)

I initially wasn't going to post this as it is repetitive but TC started a thread about it being quiet in here so I thought I would liven things up a little with my meager attempts at being a chainsaw carver. He is the man with the saw no doubt. I went back to the Farmers Market over Memorial day weekend . Not much traffic or serious buyers for my stuff or any of the other vendors.

If it wasn't for the bears I carved it would have been a bust of morning. I finally got the hang of making a bear with a welcome sign and trying to make a rustic looking sign just using a chainsaw along with a vendor type sign to attract attention. Painting a bear black was also something different to try, seems easier than using varnish. The bears and the welcome sign and a few mushrooms were the only thing that sold.

I will say this nothing is easy when it comes to carving something like a bear or a sign , takes practice and good saw control, getting cuts to match up and an eye for detail . I had a lot of failed attempts

Here are a few pics .


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