I interviewed Seattle blacksmith Louie Raffloer for the Make blog a while back - he has the coolest shop, Black Dog Forge, in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood (I’m still all giddy about the induction forge). We talked recently about barter - blacksmithing is a really useful skill to have these days, and I was curious about some of the trades he does. He says he’s traded art pieces for acupuncture, massage therapy, dentistry, chiropractor services. He’s also traded his photography skills and taught classes in exchange for things like meals in restaurants, paper, and even a bus.
I was kvetching a bit about the fact that I only have girl skills; for example, I used to trade my homemade bread for help working on my car, but now you can buy good, artisanal bread for a couple of bucks, which makes that particular girl skill obsolete. He pointed out that people might want to barter for *my* bread - a good point in general, that if your skills don’t seem barter-worthy, you may be able to carve out a more specific niche.
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For those of you who are wondering about Patti’s bread, I can vouch for it being *extremely* barter-worthy.
Just because something is available for purchase doesn’t make it a less barterable skill. I can buy oranges, but if my neighbor is willing to trade his oranges for my lemons, why should I buy them? And bread making in particular will never be obsolete. Fresh hot bread from the oven is truly wonderful.
I’m going to take issue with the idea of girl skills, too. I was taught bread making by a guy who makes incredible bread. I know guys who sew way better than I do. And I know gals who wield a welder. So skillz is skillz and all need to develop them and share the results. Perhaps more to the point, we need to not denigrate the skills we do have.
I’ve been on a real foccacia-making kick lately, and now I’m wondering what Patti’s secret is to great bread. Love the barter idea, and Black Dog Forge looks like a very cool place. I’ve always wanted to get into metalworking, and Hunka owns a company that sells tools to metal shops. Whattya know.