That's very distressing news, Allan. 8< The heater shield painted with my military unit patch insignia I purchased from Mercenary's Tailor is of the highest quality, and feels wonderful in the hand. Allan had shown me nothing short of the best customer service; always very prompt and courteous in all our e-mail correspondence. Once again, an amazing job with the shield, and if my circumstances were different (going to move very soon but have very strict weight limits on what I can bring with me) I wouldn't hesitate to purchase again from MT and Allan!

Just a little bump to continue helping Allan, although the response has been good it's good to remember that Allan and other makers need sustained sales over time to keep going longterm: So continue supporting all our makers like Allan who give good customer service and keep them around in business ;)

Allan,

I just spoke to you yesterday about my B&B (which I'm super-excited to receive btw), and just wanted to say that it's an extremely wonderful experience working with you. I sincerely hope that things pick up. You're an asset to the arms and armor community and would be deeply and sorely missed if you had to close shop.

I've been sitting on some massed-produced arms and legs for quite a while now, and I'm thinking that my kit would probably benefit much more from some higher quality ones in the near future, and possibly a nifty 14th c gorget that I've been eyeing for quite some time. Looking forward to working with you again in the future. Thanks for everything Allan!

-Ian

Well in the spirit of helping to keep the industry alive I just bought the Spiked mace from A & A.
http://www.arms-n-armor.com/pole004.html

Mentioned this on a few Topic threads already and mentioning it here also to just re-make the point that we should support our makers by buying their stuff now and not wait for the economy to get better if we are able to afford to do it if our personal financial situation is secure.

Buy now and keep our makers in business so that we can also buy later and they will still be around when we do want something they make. ;)

First post here, so howdy everyone :D I thought I'd add my two cents, and try to make my first post a constructive one. I don't know you or your work, so I hope I'm not about to say anything offensive as that would be the last thing I'd want to do. My aim is only to help.

That being said, artisans and craftsmen are usually not great businessmen. They might be okay at it after practicing their craft for years and doing business with customers, but at best being good at business will be a strong weakness for a blacksmith. I'm going out on a limb here when I bet you're cut from the same cloth. You want to practice your art and do what you do best. Best case scenario is that you practice your art, blacksmithing, and let someone handle the business or front office like a general partner.

Of course the best case usually takes money, usually more than artists have so I'm going to offer another good concrete option. I suggest that you go to your local Lion's or Rotary Club, with clubs in almost every city. They have MBA's, accountants, and other business folks there who, though retired from full-time work, still like to keep their hand in the game. Many of these people have decades of experience, and most will consult for free, or for a minimal fee. Tell them your situation and I'm betting you'll be overwhelmed with help. You'll get solid ideas and action steps about how to run your business better, save money, and bring customers in the door. You might even find someone who would come in a day or two a week and help run the place and clean up your books, even if you work out of your garage. I'm also betting that there are opportunities out there for making or saving money you're not even aware of.

Rotary Club people are in the organization to give back to the community, so you'll be giving them a sense of purpose by asking for help, and getting help for your business at the same time. Win/Win.

Hi Josh, thanks very much for your thoughts. Nope no business manager, I have a few guys that work with me, but I co-ordinate production, handle shipping, answering email the whole ball of wax otherwise. If I could afford to hire a business manager, we wouldn't have been in danger of closing. I've actually had to let some one go who had 4 years with us last year because simply put, things have gotten increadibly slow. The collectors, re-enactors WMA/SCA folks, are all financially in a pinch so they can't afford to do what they did a few years ago and that has hit the whole industry not just myself. I'm a pretty savy businessman, but no amount of business accumen can make up for a lack of work, if the public doesn't have money, business doesn't have money. On the upside if you've perused this thread, folks really went to bat for us in a truely amazing way that still has me in awe. Its what motivated me to do the " Industry visibiltiy/Customer appreciation " giveaway in another thread here, to say thanks to those who helped us out and bring attention to other folks in the industry. I'm already lining up another certificate for next month from another maker ( that reminds me I need to get a list of all those who are in for this months drawing).

Putting the word out is a good idea, but at best it's putting out a fire until the next one comes. Consider my advice about the Rotary Club. Like I said you'll be getting free or very cheap advice, and it might give you some fresh ideas or a new direction to go in. Shaking things up sometimes is always good. Maybe SCA folks don't have money, but other folks out there do. You just need to find them. I didn't know about your work until I checked out Albion, which led me here, which led me to you...

Thanks Jean. I am trying to be helpful, as I always root for the small businessman. I don't want to come across as an arrogant ass, and these Internet forums can be tricky to put one's point across without getting misread.

Allan, when I did a quick Google search under "SCA armor" your website didn't come up in the first five pages I looked at. Have you considered buying ad space with Google for a premium search result so that your site comes up first or second? Most of the stuff I buy on the Internet has come from a Google search if I don't know who to ask....

Good news is that the recession has offically been called over:

http://www.nber.org/cycles/sept2010.html

Bad news is that its still likely to be quite a while before that means anything tangible to consumers. So maybe the watch word of the day really is just hang in there for everyone in the industry.

I don't want to derail this thread, but I just wanted to say thanks to Josh for his advice, even though it wasn't aimed at me. Although I am not a professional craftsman, I suffer from some of the same issues that that he mentioned. I'm not really a businessman, I'm in business for myself because there is no one to hire me to do what I do except me.

My sister-in-law is actually pretty involved with Rotary, although she doesn't live near me. I think I'll start by talking to her and then look into that locally.

And to get a little more back on topic, Al I'm glad things pulled together for you. I'm trying to pull together the means and justification to buy a couple of bucklers from you. I loved the ones you had at Chiv Weekend. That's probably the most I'll be able to manage for a while, but I hope it helps.

When the Dow stays above 11,000 I'll start breathing more regularly....elections comming up in a couple of months so it should show increases till those are over anyway.

Allan,

I'll certainly pray for you and yours. And God's blessing to those who were able to patronize Allan's business to keep him afloat. It's wonderful to be part of a community where people help each other out. It's the smaller industries such as this one in which folks are there for one another the most!

I'm bumping this one up because although the response was great I sort of worry about Allan if sales get stalled again, so just a little reminder that it's steady business that is needed for Allan and many of the other niche businesses out there we hope can stay afloat until the economy eventually gets better. ;)

So support Allan and also your other friends in the business of making our favourite things.

I've bought a few things recently from Allan and A & A and from KoA but I certainly understand that the pace of buying by those still in a position to buy may have to be somewhat slowed down, but it's important that buying doesn't dry up completely.

Oh, and no single one of us can support the makers all by ourselves. ;)

Allan told me that one of the folks who came through the biggest for him was Hal at Therion Arms. Let's not forget to thank Hal by buying from him too.

Hal was going to be our November recognized business but due to lack of customer intertest in the giveaway it looks like thats not going to happen.