When Making What Sells Stops Working

One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned from selling handmade work is this: just because something sold well once doesn’t mean it will sell well again.

It sounds obvious when you say it out loud. But when you’re standing in a workshop trying to decide what to make next, past sales have a very strong pull. If something sold steadily last year, the logical thing to do is make more of it for the year ahead. That’s how you build stock, prepare for busy periods, and avoid last-minute panic.

In theory, it makes perfect sense. In practice, it’s rarely that simple.

Batch-making wooden soap dishes in the workshop

The Batch-Making Trap

When something starts selling very well, you naturally want to batch make it. Not because it’s boring or lazy, but because it’s more efficient to make in larger numbers than small batches.

You usually need larger quantities of wood to work with, so planning starts there and everything else follows. There’s little point in making five pieces when you can make fifty. That, at least, is the thinking.

Batching:

• Reduces machine and jig setup time

• Lowers the losses you almost always take on the first few pieces

• Keeps the workflow and muscle memory consistent

• Makes busy seasons survivable by having stock ready in advance

I’ve done this with lots of pieces over the years, Christmas tree decorations, ring holders, and other small gift items that move quickly when demand is there. When sales are strong, batching feels sensible and reassuring. You feel prepared.

Until the following year arrives and demand for your batched products quietly disappears and you are left with drawers or boxes full of stock that should be elsewhere.

Customers Don’t Think in Years

As makers, we think in seasons and cycles. Customers don’t.

They don’t remember what sold well last year. They don’t care that something was popular before. They’re responding to what’s in front of them right now, what feels fresh, what fits the moment they’re in.

That’s where things can quietly unravel.

A piece that sold steadily one year might slow dramatically the next, or stop altogether. Nothing about it has changed. The quality is the same, the finish is the same, the price may even be the same. But the response is different. The buying need has shifted to another product or worse still, another maker.

And there’s no warning bell when that shift happens.

My Worst Offender: Soap Dish Holders

The clearest example of this for me in my own production is my soap dish holders.

In 2020 during the Covid lockdowns, they sold massively. Everyone was trying to buy Irish, support small businesses, and make small improvements around the home. I couldn’t make them fast enough. They flew out the door. I even had businesses trying to buy them from me in bulk wholesale. I declined politely.

So I did what any sensible maker would do, I made hundreds of them.

In 2021, sales dropped sharply. They still sold, but nowhere near the same volume. I assumed it was just a quieter year. Unfortunately, it was worse again the following year.

Now, they only dribble out the door.

They’re still good products. They still do exactly what they’re supposed to do, they dry soap. But the moment has passed. What felt like a safe bet turned into long-term stock that tied up time, timber, and shelf space.

That experience taught me more than any sales spike ever did.

When Familiar Becomes Invisible

This happens with woodturning too.

Ring holders, small gift items, Christmas decorations, pieces that feel “safe” because they’ve worked before. Sometimes they continue to sell year after year. Sometimes they don’t.

The difficult part isn’t the slowdown itself. It’s accepting that you didn’t do anything wrong.

Customers can be fickle, not out of malice, but because taste, context, and timing are always shifting. What once felt essential can quietly fade into the background.

The Emotional Cost of Unsold Work

Unsold stock isn’t just wood sitting on a shelf.

It’s:

• Time already spent

• Wood already paid for

• Finishes purchased and applied

• Decisions already made

It can make you second-guess yourself, especially when you’re surrounded by pieces you once believed in. That doubt is dangerous if you let it linger too long.

The trick is not to panic or chase trends, but to step back and look honestly at what’s happening.

January Is My Reality Check

January is when I review what actually moved, what didn’t, and where I was surprised.

Not to beat myself up, and not to jump on whatever seems fashionable next, but to understand my own work and my customers a little better. Every year is different. There are no guarantees.

From there, I print a list of pieces that need to be turned to rebuild my own website and store stock. I do the same for places like Original Kerry in Dingle, creating spare stock ahead of the tourist season.

Writing it down matters. Having it on paper clears mental space and turns vague pressure into manageable work. I still always make more pieces than I need but never in the dozens or hundreds like before. Instead, I cover immediate needs with a little extra as a cushion for a possible burst of sales.

If You’re New to Woodturning, Read This

If you’re learning to turn and thinking about selling your work, this is the part I wish someone had said to me early on. I was advised by others not to make too much stock, but like most people, I needed to figure that out for myself.

It’s very tempting to latch onto one thing that sells and make it over and over. When you’re starting out, that feels like validation. You finally have proof that someone wants what you’re making.

But early success can be misleading. What happens if you have only one product and your market goes?

A good seller in year one doesn’t automatically become a safe product forever. Customers change, tastes shift, and what feels exciting or new one season can become invisible the next. That doesn’t mean your turning is bad, and it doesn’t mean you’ve made the wrong choices.

What it does mean is that learning to sell handmade work is a separate skill from learning to turn wood, something I’ve touched on before when writing about the early mistakes many new woodturners make.

As a student or novice, your main job isn’t to chase repeat sales, it’s to:

• Build skill and confidence at the lathe

• Learn what you enjoy making

• Understand how different pieces are received over time

• Then learn what customers are actually looking to buy

If something sells well, by all means make a few more. Just don’t box yourself into believing that one product defines your future as a maker.

You’re allowed to experiment. You’re allowed to move on. And you’re allowed to let some ideas quietly run their course.

What This Has Taught Me

Making what sells is necessary. Making only what sold before is risky.

Experience has taught me to leave space for variation, for small experiments, and for letting some things quietly fade away without resentment. Some pieces have their moment. Some last. Some don’t.

That’s not failure. That’s the reality of making and selling handmade work.

Some years you get it right. Other years you learn something instead. Products seem to have seasons themselves which come around in cycles I have found. Wood doesn't perish over time so if you have made too much, take solace in the idea that the pieces time will come around again.

I’ve started gathering my more practical woodturning reflections and workshop advice into a single Woodturning Guides & Articles page if you’d prefer to browse everything in one place.

Stay safe in the workshop and enjoy creating.

Thanks for Reading,

David

P.S. If you’ve made stock that didn’t sell and the finish has dulled over time, you can often bring it back to life. A quick pass on a buffing tree system can restore the shine and freshen up the surface without starting again from scratch.

I use a buffing tree system in my own workshop and wrote about two common versions in my post Chestnut Buffing Tree vs Beall Buffing System, if you’re curious about the differences.

About the Author

I’m David Condon, a woodturner and small business owner based in Tralee, Co. Kerry. I’ve been working with wood for most of my life at this stage — 11 years as a carpenter and over a decade running my own woodturning business.

Over the years, I’ve learned that woodturning is as much about patience and problem-solving as it is about tools and technique. I work mainly with Irish hardwoods, teach woodturning full-time, and spend most days learning something new in the workshop myself. On this site, I share the same practical knowledge I pass on to my students, shaped by experience, mistakes, and time spent at the lathe. If you’re interested in learning in person, I offer woodturning lessons in Tralee, with details available on my Woodturning Tuition page.

© David Condon Woodcraft – All Rights Reserved.

☕ Buy Me a Coffee?

I used to run ads on my website to generate a small income, but they slowed things down and didn’t fit the feel of what I’m building here. So, I’ve removed them in favor of something simpler and more personal—a “Buy Me a Coffee” button.

If you found this post interesting, helpful, or simply enjoyable, feel free to use the link below to show your support. No pressure at all—but every little bit helps, and it’s always genuinely appreciated. As a small independent maker, I rely on a mix of teaching, crafting, and sharing to keep things going. This is just one way to help keep the shavings flying. Thanks so much!

More Woodturning Pages to Explore​

● Hampshire Sheen - Fine Finishing products that will highlight your project pieces

● Hamlet Tools - Fantastic Woodturning Tools from a well trusted brand

● Woodcraft Hub - View my woodcraft creations for inspiration of gift buying.

● Sanding Essentials - Essential sanding products for Woodturners & Woodworkers.

● Woodturning Blanks - A fine range of Hardwood Spindle Blanks & a few Bowl Blanks too!

● Woodturning Pen Blanks - A huge assortment of Acrylic & Irish Hardwood Pen Blanks.

● Crafter's Haven – A vast range of craft supplies for crafters and gift givers!

Original content © David Condon Woodcraft — Written by David Condon. Please credit and link if shared.