Boggs

In response to Floss,
Are you now acting as a designer and less as a maker? Absolutely. That's an important part of the business design. I have more design ideas than I have time to make.
Good makers are more available than good designers. The Collective offers a way for designers to do what they do best and makers to have good design to work on. The idea is that this has the potential to elevate both quality of design
by increasing the potential income from one design idea. It also has the potential to increase efficiency of new makers who can focus on technique and process while making a higher caliber of work.
I don't think this will dilute the brand, but will certainly change it. It already is doing that in a powerfully positive way.
This is designed to precisely fit into the American way we buy things. Makers you know of like Moser and Nakashima leveraged their brand and profited by having others do the building. this is wholly different in that the craftsmen own their shops, are self employed, self directed, and can sell whatever they want, whenever they want to whomever they want. They are free do design and make whatever they want. The collective simply places orders for furniture as a client. We also offer lots of other supportive aspects of the infrastructure. But not as employees.
Clients can still engage the makers. We are a supportive agent to this kind of relationship. Our furniture is selling at the same price because it is made in the same spirit and to the same standard. It will also be more readily available as the collective grows.
We are getting a tremendously positive response from all aspects of the market. Sales are increasing and our clients are loving this model. It is a complex model designed to support the best of what we all do.
I hope this helps clarify the concept. It sounds like you value the same things that the collective is designed to incubate.

We have no plans for franchising. Our company is clearly what is now referred to as a fourth sector business. There are three business sectors in most folks minds: public (govt). private for profit, and non-profit. There is an emerging fourth sector that we are a part of that is a for-benefit business. We are structured to generate our own money through our products and services, but our goals are based on our philosophy of service to society as a whole, not just clearly identifiable stakeholders. It was important to me and is to Melanie that we create a new model that could be replicated by others. But if it is not a model that can generate its own income it is not in and of itself serving society.

I just re-read this blog Asa wrote and I think it is important to clarify that this is not so much a Brian Boggs venture. The collective is using my name to leverage our branding strength, but what we are doing is not something I would have fully conceived or attempted on my own. My business partner, Melanie Moeller has been the one to develop this concept to a level that it can fly. Without her 20+ years in international business consulting at the helm, This collective would not be.
It would still be just Brian Boggs Studio. Now my studio, as well as a growing number of other studios, is supported by a much more solid infrastructure.

In response to the comment by dboetb, there are several ways in which The collective serves the needs of area woodworkers.
Much of this is explained on our web site (www.boggscolective.com). But briefly our mission is to create the infrastructure needed to support what we do.
That includes making better wood available custom cut to suit the designs produced, training, design assistance, Marketing and business support. We offer a design program that uses designs by established craftsmen like Curtis Buchannan, Pete Galbert, Boyd Boggs, and yours truly, to help get craftsmen started. Our craftsmen then have good designs to build so they can focus on skill development and efficiency and established craftsmen can leverage their design skills and earn royalties. So we offer designs and a market for them.
We are also developing a local network that helps craftsmen connect with odd lumber sources hidden in barns and garages in the area, cooperative machine use, and technical and design assistance. Beyond that we are bringing Architects, interior designers and builders into our network to help us connect with and educate clients as to the value of what it is we do. That's marketing and then some. And it is working. Sales are way up since we began this networking.
So that's a start. Hope that answers your question. For more you can sigh up for our newsletter on the web site. We'll keep you posted on new developments.
Brian

I agree with Michael about involving the client. That is not the process I will always use, but certainly for custom work it will be a critical part of how we create value in our work,
By making it speak the client's vision. As creative people part of what we do is tell our story through our work. If we can help the client through that process we become a vehicle for their inspiration.

I just got this conversation in my inbox and don't have time to read all of these great responses, so I apologize if this point has already been made. This sounds like in the hand tool vs power tool debate. If you are awake at the bench, skilled with your tools, know the wood you are working with and are working conscientiously, you are likely to create beautiful pieces with or without dovetails. I prefer to pay attention to the quality and spirit in which something is made than whether it has dovetails.
I don't make drawers but recently did try my hand at dovetails. It was pretty fun! What a shame to avoid that joint just because you don't know how to cut them. There are good reasons to chose another option, but I hate to have my design decisions be based on a lack of basic skills. Why not learn dovetails, get to know the experience, then make a wise decision on your own?