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Joe and Todd, points taken. Thanks for the reality check.

Joe Hinkle Pipes wrote:That is a fairly accurate assessment of the Chicago show Todd. But i also saw some overpriced dog shit getting hard looks, and occasional sales. Its kind of fun to see, in a stomach turning "he isnt actually...? no... HE DID!!??" sorty of way. but that is a fraction of a fraction of a percent.

That does melt you brain, doesn't it.

Ratimus wrote:Joe and Todd, points taken. Thanks for the reality check.

And hopefully the takeaway is positive, rather than thinking "My pipes are crap cuz they didn't sell" you can say "this is not a platform that worked to sell". It didn't and doesn't work for most of us.

I sold a pile of pipes at Chicago. Not ONE off the show floor. Not one.

People were literally more interested in the hugely fuzzy Squatch-skin bags. So I told my wife that SHE had a good show at least!

Having never been to Chicago, my expectations were unrealistic.

I figured if I can't sell any there, I can't sell them anywhere. Other than instagram (less than 200 followers) and Dan Nemets' site, I don't get any exposure. So along with continually striving to improve my product, I think I need to try getting my name out there more.

I'm a slow and steady kind of guy, so I've got plenty of patience. Any ideas for increasing my exposure (here come the bad jokes) would be much appreciated. I'm clueless as to how to even start.

Social media and persistently attending shows are the two best ways to get exposure. Nothing else beats it and you get out of it what you put into it. The problem for makers is that social media can really eat away at your pipemaking time.

wdteipen wrote: The problem for makers is that social media can really eat away at your pipemaking time.

So true. Social media can be very useful though, if you can find the right balance. Making a regular appearance on different groups and forums can be really beneficial, even if it's just a couple of posts per week just to get people familiar with who you are.

You are on reddit right? thats a built in captive audience situation for you where you know some of those guys on a personal level. Make a serious switch from Ryan as some dude, to Ryan the pipe Prince. When you cease to be a guy, and become a pipemaker people tend to notice. (pipe King is a registered trademark of Nate king entertainment inc.)

Not on reddit. Never took it seriously as a platform for anything other than a bunch of people vying to get the most upvotes on their irrelevant attempts at sarcastic humor in response to every post. Maybe it's worth a second look; I'll check it out. Would need to make friends before I can tear open the shirt and show the superman costume, though. Maybe I can become the Baron of Burners...then again, someone might mistake me for one of those Nevada-bound orgy-goers...then again AGAIN, that might not be such a bad thing.

not on reddit? where they hell have i seen ratimus before? pipes magazine forum? lets talk more of this nevada orgy...