Irish Woodturners’ Guild Business Plan ver3 PL.pdf · Business’to’Arts’–’IWG’–’20154’EG’ Page’7’! IndustryAnalysis! The!IWG!has!approximately!750!members!but!we!estimate!that!there!are!some3,000

Irish Woodturners’ Guild

Business Plan

Business to Arts – IWG – 2015 -‐ EG Page 2

IWG Committee

Primary contact details;

Chairman Joe Laird [email protected] 0872698027 Vice Chair Eugene Grimley [email protected] 07866620879 Secretary Peter Lyons [email protected] 07711933053 Treasurer Sean Hogan [email protected] 085 1741429 Membership Secretary

Tom Larkin [email protected] 051 649 436

Website: www.irishwoodturnersguild.com

Table of Contents. page

IWG Committee 2

Executive Summary 3

Business Description 4

Value Proposition 5

Team/People Summary 5

Aims & Objectives 6

Industry Analysis 7

Comparators 8

Key strengths/areas we need to work on 9

Distribution Channel 9

Future Developments 10

Resource Requirements 10

Financial Analysis 11

Critical Success Factors 12

SWOT Analysis 13


Executive Summary.

The Irish Woodturners’ Guild (IWG) was founded in 1983 and is the oldest such organisation in the world. Membership grew steadily until its peak at 823 in 2005 and since then it has been between 700 and 800. There are now 20 Chapters (local clubs) spread right across the island of Ireland. Each Chapter holds regular meetings for its members and most of these meetings take the form of a demonstration often by a woodturner from another part of Ireland or from the UK and occasionally from a visiting European or American turner.

Shortly after the formation of the IWG “It became clear to those on the Committee that they needed to keep in touch with woodturners around the country. The Newsletter came into being…”1 Initially this was a modest one or two sided A4 sheet but by the early 1990’s the “Newsletter” had grown to several pages. Since then it has been developed by a succession of editors to its current 64 page full-‐colour A4 magazine called the “Journal” which is produced and distributed quarterly to all members, advertisers and the international woodturners who demonstrate at our annual Seminar.

As the magazine developed so also did the annual National Seminar. The IWG annual National Seminar has always attracted the top names in international woodturning. The Seminar is “hosted” by a local Chapter and moves around the country. Until 2008 the Seminar was a 2-‐day event with the demonstrations, competition stand and trade stands area all in a school with a nearby hotel providing the meals and accommodation. The 25th Anniversary Seminar was a 3-‐day event held in a hotel conference centre. Since then the Seminar has been retained as a 3-‐day event held in hotel conference centres on a two-‐year cycle. The Seminar continues to draw visitors from around the world and is widely recognised as the ”friendly” Seminar as it is as much a social occasion as a woodturning event.

The National Executive Committee is formed of a small but dedicated group of woodturners from a wide variety of backgrounds all of them very committed to furthering the status of the IWG both in Ireland and further afield. To this end the present committee have several objectives all of which are expected to provide a much better offering to the membership. Given that the vast majority of the members are hobby woodturners it is important that the IWG reaches out to them in a way that is not too demanding on their time and finances and yet helps them to improve their skills and increase the enjoyment they get from their hobby.

In comparison with other such organisations, the Association of Woodturners of Great Britain (AWGB) and the American Association of Woodturners (AAW), the IWG is very successful having in excess of 3.5 times the membership of the AWGB and AAW taken as a percentage of population. This can be attributed to the fact that Ireland is a small island and the IWG adopts a “mother hen” structure whereas the AWGB and AAW are both “umbrella” organisations with little direct contact with their members.

In the short term, the National Executive Committee would like to improve the exposure of the IWG to the public by having a presence at more national and local events. They would also like to expose the younger generations to woodturning by helping to reintroduce it onto the woodwork curriculum in schools. For the members in all the Chapters the National Executive Committee would like to ensure a consistently high standard of offering at all Chapter meetings. A headquarters building with office, exhibition and training areas is also on the IWG wish list.

1 The Irish Woodturners’ Guild – The First 25 Years 1983 – 2008 page 104


Business Description.

The Irish Woodturners’ Guild (IWG) “shall be concerned with the promotion of WOODTURNING on the island of IRELAND, and, assisting Woodturners with all aspects of their craft/art.”2

The Irish Woodturners’ Guild (IWG) was formed in 1983 when a group of enthusiastic woodturners, having attended an international woodturning seminar in England, met to organise a small Seminar in Ireland in 1982. This small founding group along with others (almost 100 in total) formed the Irish Woodturners’ Guild as one all-‐Ireland body.

Numbers and interest grew quite rapidly and groups began to meet (informally at first) in different parts of the country especially near the larger population centres. Dublin, in 1990, was one of the first groups to formally create a Chapter. By the mid-‐nineties there were 10 Chapters most of which still exist and since the year 2000 the number of Chapters has risen steadily to the 20 in existence today.

Each Chapter, with the support of the National Executive, organises regular meetings that usually take the form of a demonstration by one of their own members or by a turner from outside the Chapter, sometimes from outside Ireland. The main purpose of these demonstrations is to provide examples of good practice and new techniques which can then be taken up by the members to improve their woodturning skills and enjoyment from the craft. Competitions are held at these meetings to let members see the work of others and to encourage the development of skills.

2 Irish Woodturners’ Guild Constitution – section 2

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Irish Woodturners’ Guild

Membership growth since its foundation in 1983.


Value Proposition.

The Irish Woodturners’ Guild provides

• regular woodturning demonstrations at local Chapter meetings across Ireland. Members usually attend their local Chapter but membership entitles them to avail of the demonstrations at any Chapter.

• A quarterly “Journal” – a 68 page full colour A4 magazine delivered to each member’s home address. The “Journal” is widely recognised as the best of its type in the world.

• an annual National Seminar – a world class 3-‐day event, uniquely, in a hotel conference centre with over 50 demonstrations by 8 main demonstrators 4 of whom will come from the USA, the UK and Europe. The IWG Seminar is known worldwide as the “friendly” Seminar and delegates arrive from all over the world many of them becoming “regulars” bringing friends and family on a holiday in Ireland to include the three days at the Seminar.

• at the Seminar, a National Competition, in 9 categories, open to all delegates as well as an extensive Trade Stands area with traders from Ireland and the UK. Both the Competition and Trade Stands areas are open to the public during the Seminar

• the opportunity to form a new Chapter where ten (10) or more members who request permission from the National Executive to do so.

Team/People Summary

PRESIDENT Willie Creighton – Mayo

Willie is a contractor in the construction industry. He is a past Chairman of the IWG and a very active member of the Craobh Eo chapter. Willie has been a Woodturner for 30 years and is very active at encouraging youth into woodturning. Willie has been on the executive committee now for 10 years. CHAIRMAN Joe Laird – Meath Joe is a full-‐time professional woodturner now working from his new studio at his home in Co. Meath. Most of his time is taken up with teaching and demonstrating in Ireland and internationally. Joe has been on the Executive Committee of the IWG since 2006 serving as Development Officer prior to becoming Vice-‐Chairman and assuming the Chairmanship in 2013. He is also the IWG’s representative on the GANS (Guilds, Associations, Networks & Societies) group within the Design and Crafts council of Ireland (D&CCoI)

VICE-‐CHAIR Eugene Grimley – Tyrone A retired Design & Technology teacher who, since joining the IWG in 2000 has become an accomplished demonstrator in both Ireland and the UK. He served as Honorary Secretary from 2006 to 2011. Eugene’s main interest is teaching woodturning and works with all age groups from 8 to 80 and with disabled turners in church halls, scout huts, theatres and a Woodturning School in Templepatrick, Co. Antrim.


HON. SECETARY Peter Lyons – Down

A retired manager from the manufacturing sector. Also experienced with computers and testing equipment. Peter was the IWG Journal Editor for 4 years before taking on the Honorary Secretary position. A wood turner for more than 20 years he is also Secretary of the Ulster Chapter of the IWG. HON. TREASURER Sean Hogan – Kerry

Retired telecommunications engineer since December 2014. Treasurer of IWG for last 4 years. Sean served for 8yrs as Treasurer of the Kerry Chapter and is now vice-‐chairman.. He has been a member of IWG since 2001. Sean’s interests are DIY, Electronics and anything to do with hand skills.

JOURNAL EDITOR Rich Varney – Dublin

IT professional with 20+ years software development experience. Currently studying for an MSc in Interactive Digital Media at Trinity College Dublin. IWG Journal Editor for 3 years. A woodturner for 12 years and an active member of the Dublin Chapter of the IWG.

MEMBERSHIP SEC. Tom Larkin – Tipperary

A recently retired Chemical Engineer, Tom has been woodturning for over 30 years and was a founding member of the Southeast Chapter. An accomplished demonstrator and teacher, he uses his experience gained as a Technical Trainer in a large Multinational company to get full transfer of knowledge.

Aims & Objectives

Our aims are to:

a) Further woodturning as a craft entity b) Provide a forum for the exchange of views and common objectives amongst its members c) Encourage the development of educational and training facilities for Woodturners d) Be a clearing house for information from and to woodturners and other craft and art bodies

or organisations e) Undertake other activities as may be in accordance with its aims.3

Objectives:

a) Increase membership b) Provide free or subsidised training for our members c) Provide demonstrator training to improve the quality of the demonstrations in the Chapters d) Develop the “Journal”, perhaps get an outside the guild compositor/editor. e) Provide high-‐quality Master classes from internationally renowned woodturners open to all

our members.

3 From Irish Woodturners’ Guild Constitution – section 2

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Industry Analysis

The IWG has approximately 750 members but we estimate that there are some 3,000 to 5,000 turners in Ireland. Many of the professional turners working in Ireland have learned their craft through membership of the IWG and most still support the activities of the Guild. Others have specialised in a narrow field within woodturning and feel that the Guild has little to offer them. Pressure to make a living means that some others do not have the time to fully support Guild activities.

However, the majority of the woodturners in Ireland are hobby woodturners working occasionally at their lathe, are unaware of the existence of the Irish Woodturners’ Guild. These turners are getting ideas from “Woodturning” magazines or similar publications and, in some cases, from the internet via YouTube. Many will still be making simple type woodturnings and not developing their skills. Other potential members might be unaware of the development and progression in woodturning in recent years, or they might not have a Chapter close enough to them to enable regular attendance.

In Ireland there is no other group offering what we do. Nonetheless, the requirement to attend meetings to get the most from membership does cause problems due to the fact that the average age of our members is 58. What we offer to our members is similar to that offered by comparable organisations such as the Association of Woodturners of Great Britain (AWGB) and the American Association of Woodturners (AAW).

Having more Chapters across the country might help, especially if they could meet at weekends rather than midweek, but small Chapters currently struggle to offer what the bigger Chapters can do. An ability on the part of the IWG to offer more in the way of financial support for (small) Chapters might help to improve the overall offering to members. Another solution may be to encourage all existing Chapters to move to weekend meetings at central locations and add in demonstrator training to improve the number and quality of demonstrators available to the Chapters (travel for the demonstrators improved if meetings are during the day at weekends).

Whilst the IWG annual National Seminar is a very well-‐respected event it is all about demonstrations by international woodturners. Our service to our members would be improved by having a separate annual event where internationally renowned woodturners would be brought to a venue in Ireland to provide masterclasses for our members. The cost of this to members is likely to be prohibitive unless the IWG can subsidise or have someone sponsor the event. It would also be worth considering having such an event on a biannual basis with the Seminar also becoming biannual on alternate years.

As an interim measure in improving our service to our members we are piloting demonstrator training in February 2015. We would like to move on to offering member development courses to improve the skills of the members. In order to benefit more members we would propose to offer these training events at several locations around the country.


Comparators The Irish Woodturners Guild is the oldest such organisation in the world. Woodturners from the USA and the UK were guests at the early Irish functions and it did not take long for similar organisations to be set up in these countries. The table below shows what the three bodies offer in comparison with each other and with the Men’s Shed organisation which is growing rapidly in Ireland.

Irish Woodturners Guild (IWG)

Association of Woodturners of Great Britain (AWGB)

American Association of Woodturners (AAW)

Men’s Sheds in Ireland

Founded 1983 1987 1986 2011 Members/population 750/4.58m 3,000/64.1m 15,000/317m N.A. Membership National body

only for all services – 33% of fee returned to the Chapters

National body plus local club membership

National body plus local club membership

N.A.

Members meetings Monthly meetings* locally organised in Chapters

Regular meetings locally* organised in Clubs

Regular meetings locally* organised in Chapters

Regular, often daily, opening* for members to work

National Seminar Annual 3-‐day Bi-‐annual 3-‐day Annual 3-‐day N.A. Local Seminars Approx. 7 local

1-‐day events Some local events organised locally – Usually 1-‐day**

Several 1-‐day and some longer events**

N.A.

Insurance for activities

Provided for all IWG approved events

None provided except for National Seminar

None provided except for National Seminar

Provided/paid for by sponsor

Member training None On demand and free to the member

On demand Often paid for by sponsor but provided by external agencies

Website Yes Yes Yes Yes Magazine Quarterly 68

page “Journal” Quarterly 36 page “Revolutions”

Bi-‐monthly 72 page “American Woodturner” also available on-‐line

N.A.

Demonstrator training

No Yes Yes N.A.

* Most meetings held by “Chapters” of the IWG take the form of demonstrations, often by visiting demonstrators. In AWGB Clubs and AAW Chapters many of the meetings will take the form of “hands-‐on” sessions where more experienced members will undertake to “teach” those with less experience. Men’s Sheds are different in that they provide premises and equipment for members to work either independently or cooperatively on a variety of DIY projects. ** Overall National figures are not available.


Our key strengths are: -‐

• Fully integrated national organisation a seminar held totally under one roof which is the envy of the world.

• An excellent members’ Journal, the best in the world. • An active web site, with Facebook and Twitter links

Areas we need to work on: -‐

• Bring all Chapters up to a minimum standard of monthly meetings for their members by giving demonstrator training to those of the membership who want to demonstrate, as is currently offered by both the AAW and the AWGB.

• Member training by professional woodturners, as offered by the AWGB.

Distribution channels.

How people hear about the IWG.

Word of mouth Meet a current member of the IWG Events/Courses Woodturning courses given by IWG member

Demonstrations given by IWG members at various events Exhibitions/ Large Scale Events Bloom Garden Festival (Phoenix Park, Dublin)

County Shows across the country Craft Shows

Website/Social Media www.irishwoodturnersguild.com www.facebook.com/irishwoodturnersguild

Print Media Quarterly Journal sent out to all members


Future developments

Short term

• Make contact with all public bodies that put on exhibitions with a view to offering them our services.

• Education for those Chapters who fall short of the attainments of our best Chapters • Have a presence at the annual Techno teachers conference with a view to offering training

to the teachers through their “up-‐skilling” grant scheme

Medium term:

• Help Chapters who do not have premises or lathes to get those things • Employ a part time person to help with the Journal and other secretarial work. • Get national premises: for Meetings, Exhibitions, Sales Events & Member Training

Long term

• Get replacement or “trainee” officers to ensure progression in the National Executive Committee

• Arrange free/subsidised training for members with approved tutors. • Make efforts to contact all woodturners in Ireland.

Resource requirements.

Short term developments:

Task Cost Total cost Chapter Visit for assessment. Regional representatives of the National Executive Committee to visit local Chapters twice in a year.

€60 x 20 Chapters X 2 visits

€2400

Have a presence at the annual Techno teachers conference. Cost of stand Printing of “welcome” pack for teacher delegates Travel expenses for at least 2 representatives of National Executive to attend the Conference

€200 €300 €120

€620

Presence at public exhibitions. Bloom-‐ Purchase of Stand Printing

€984 €100

€1084 Chapter funding for smaller Chapters, to help them get more and better demonstrators.


Financial Analysis

Total Income €96327 Objective Income 2016/17 €125880

Total Expenditure €86438.73 Objective Expenditure 2016/17 €92600

€0.00

€10,000.00

€20,000.00

€30,000.00

€40,000.00

€50,000.00

€60,000.00

Membership Adverpsing Seminar Grants Individual Insurance

Sponsorship

Income Actual Income 2014 Objecpve Income 2016/17

€0.00 €5,000.00 €10,000.00 €15,000.00 €20,000.00 €25,000.00 €30,000.00 €35,000.00 €40,000.00 €45,000.00

Seminar Insurance Journal Chapter Grants

Commiqee Other

Expenditure Actual Objecpve 2016/17


Critical Success Factors

The ability of our committee to successfully attain funding, we must ensure that our officers get proper training to ensure we are capable of achieving this.

Communication between the Executive Committee and the Chapters is patchy at times; we need to ensure that this improves. This will ensure a more co-‐ordinated management of the organisation.

Set an annual budget for the incoming year to include all our activities. At the end of the year review it to measure our performance against budget and to highlight areas for improvement.


SWOT Analysis Strengths

• We have 750 members in 20 Chapters across the island of Ireland.

• We publish and distribute a Quarterly Journal to a very high standard.

• We organise an annual 3-‐day National Seminar seen as the best of its kind.

• We were pioneers – 1st organisation of woodturners in the world.

• We provide insurances for the Chapters and as an option for those members who require Public Liability Cover.

• Executive Committee of the IWG oversees all the activities of all the Chapters.

• We help the green agenda by using windfall wood. By providing wood shavings for animal bedding and also making useful items for people to own.

Weaknesses • Managing logistics as Everything done on

a voluntary basis. • Communication from the National

Executive to ALL members. • Independence and diversity of Chapters

can be a hindrance to development. • Geographic spread even on a small

island causes difficulties in monitoring what is going on across the country.

• Confidence in what we offer is low because our size makes it difficult to fund all that we would wish to do for our members.

• Future planning and organisation is slow due to entrenched opinion and lack of meeting time.

• Web site updating needs more professional input/help so that we reach a wider audience.

• Revenue stream is restricted to membership levels that are currently fairly static.

• H&S requirements are affecting our ability to get insurance for our activities.

Opportunities

• To develop our membership base as woodturning has a wide appeal in age, gender and skill level.

• Google hangout for improved communication and on-‐line meetings.

• New Chapters to spread our influence in those areas where we are not represented.

• Grant opportunities to allow the IWG to do the things it can do to become a better woodturning organization.

• Education and skills training for our members

• Community – emphasise the social nature of our activities.

• Crossborder, cross generators • Men’s activities – Men’s Sheds -‐

cooperation between the two bodies. • Green agenda • Increase membership and human

resources • Year of Design – opportunity for greater

exposure to the public.

Threats • Internal politics (IWG) where more

entrenched opinion is resistant to change.

• Lack of communication down to member level as Chapter Officers do not see the need to pass on information from the National Executive.

• Insurance claims based on the current policy could bring down the whole organisation.

• H&S is difficult to implement across all Chapters given the varying number of members and the diverse nature of their venues.

• Journal editor has been a voluntary position but to maintain its quality payment for an editor is becoming a necessity.

• Succession planning for National Executive Officers is difficult due to a general unwillingness to serve on the Committee.


• On-‐line offering • Schools woodworking – Techno teachers

can be upskilled in woodturning as part of in-‐service training.

• Dept. of Education (RoI) to give support to the schools/teachers who wish to include woodturning within the woodwork curriculum.

Documents

Irish Woodturners’ Guild Business Plan ver3 PL.pdf · Business’to’Arts’–’IWG’–’20154’EG’ Page’7’! IndustryAnalysis! The!IWG!has!approximately!750!members!but!we!estimate!that!there!are!some3,000