toby kant 'holster

Lately I've noticed a lot of people looking at furniture and then remarking that their friend makes furniture.  In most instances, it is a couple and it goes a little something like this:

"Toby knows how to make furniture."

"Really?  Toby?  I did not know that Toby could make furniture."


The furniture maker is usually a mutual friend.  They will talk for a few moments about his strange and wonderful character.

"Yea, he could totally make a chair like this."


"Really?  I love this chair!  Would he make one for us?"


"Oh yea, he loves making stuff.  That guy could build anything."


Freed from the consumer lasso!  They don't need to pay retail for these soulless chairs!  They have a genius friend that loves nothing more than making shit for people he had a class with once.

"I mean, he can't upholster it, but he knows how to work with wood.  He could totally build the frame."


"Oh yea?  Then we could just get someone else to upholster it!!"


AH HA!  Toby can't upholster.  No big deal though.  Just find someone else to add the springs, cushions, padding, and coverings. 

"We should have him do it!"

"We totally should!"

It's never going to happen.

I am all for people making their own things and I know there are people that are capable of building whatever they want and could make furniture or whatever else. But there is a lot that goes into making a frickin sofa.  Maybe Toby the genius knows how to work with wood, but what about all the rest of it?  Again, I don't doubt that there are people who can build a chair from wood frame to tailored covering, but I do doubt that all these people I overhear have friends that are actually willing do it.  Especially for friends who are only wanting Toby to do it so that they can save money.  Which means Toby would probably have to work for free and that could really cut into his free time for doing other projects.  And Toby definitely sounds like the sort of person that has a woodshop full of projects.