It's a NO to Jewish-themed projects

[Jim McDonald]

I expected to see great work when I opened this thread, but was more than surprised at the depth of work and not to mention the quality.

The oval bread platter would be a great addition to any table--Jew or Gentile! While there are cultural significances to the pieces shown, I still enjoy them, both for the craftsmanship and the beauty of the art.

You are truly a great sawer, but even more talented as a designer and product developer.

[will8989]

Well, Carole, I'm sure you will be flying through that window at warp speed! I would put them on a website for sale. I love the very first one you did, can't remember what it is but I did find the item on line and it seems to be a simple pattern to make. I also live in a very highly Jewish populated area so maybe that is why I have good success at selling them. Is that even a sentence? LOL

[handibunny]

Jim, thanks for your generous comments.

Ironically, many of the projects I planned, like the challah themed items, would be appropriate for anyone, since bread is bread. Others that I didn't post could readily be adapted, using the same techniques but altering the decoration. I was determined to make each project interesting in its own right, since I find the few Jewish-themed holiday projects that are available are usually not as interesting or varied as the Christian-themed ones.

What's nice is that this gave me the chance to try new things. I flirted with intarsia (challah bread board and star on the menorah) and segmentation (bread box lid and bread basket), and used Jim Collins' excellent inlay instructions for the hamsa box. These were techniques that I really had not worked with, and wanted to add to my bag of tricks.

Betty, the hamsa box, whose shape is fairly standard, is really easy to make. If you check online, you'll find many ideas for decoration, and the box is the usual construction for scroll saw boxes, with a lid insert to keep the lid in place. I first learned it from Diana Thompson's box book, but I think a box with that type of construction is in the current SSW&C issue. If you sell in areas with a large Jewish population, people should be quite familiar with it, and everyone could benefit from some protection from the evil eye.

[Terry Jay]

Rejection is a bummer, but perseverance, well, remember Edison and the electric light.

Does it need to be a book? Is a website with electronic patterns an option? What about an electronic book for the Kindle or such? Re-positioning to Holiday with a lot of Jewish items and a strong smattering of other things? Put each pattern here in the Classifieds? Some are strictly scroll saw, but are not a lot of these patterns also suitable for pyrography, cross-stitch and glass?

A book from a publisher is just a traditional and familiar distribution and marketing method. Distribution is easy in the land of PDF and other formats, it is the marketing that is harder. As you market, is a Menora a Jewish symbol or a Holiday symbol or a bit of both? Look up Micheal Medved's site and send him a note asking for his thoughts. Network like crazy.

Just some thoughts from a demented old coot.
Terry

[Kiwi]

Hi Carole.You do great work and it would be a pity if your designs and projects did not get to a wider audience. It is actually not all that hard to self publish if you wanted to. But the big problem would be the same as Fof Chapel see. would you actually make enough sales to make it worthwhile.
Instead of limiting your book exclusively to Jewish items you could perhaps have a more general topic such as Religious icons and the Jewish items could just be its own separate section. There are plenty of Christian, Hindu, Islamic and other religious symbols that might give a wider appeal to a book. Just my 2 cents worth.
Nevertheless keep up the good work

[jowshu98]

Sorry to hear Carole, but I hope you move forward with this, they are all nice designs. I too think a book of religious themed items from a variety of religions would be something of interest to a publisher such as FCP. I'm not a publisher but I believe it would have a broader appeal to many demographics, including the ones you were targeting. I know it's not what you originally had been inspired by but sometimes one has to take a different route to end up in the same place or if lucky, in a better place than they thought they'd be. Good luck as you decide your path going forward.