Mirai tree sale

[rockm]

As a professional writer, I can say that Ryan Neal needs an editor. His writing tends to be self-indulgent, florid and wordy. My city desk editor when I was a young reporter, would probably smack Ryan upside his head with the .38 he carried to the newsroom for writing like that.

Mercantile is a long-winded, overly complicated word for a sale (and let's not get into "thoughtfully curated"). But whatever

 

[Lutonian]

I would agree, but disagree at the same time. The pot that Mirai sell are far from simple bonsai pots. He DOES represent artisans. But yes, he does like to use embellishing verbiage.

I didn't mention the quality of the pots. other potters of equal quality just call their pots, pots. You can tell the quality by looking and feeling as well as recommendations. Not by the term used. Not having a dig at Ryan but he does talk like a used cars salesman or life coach. It might just be the way he is or the way people from his area talk or he could be talking like that on purpose to appeal to a certain group of people, I don't know him so I can't tell. I wonder what Bigei calls his pots he sells

 

[rockm]

FWIW, I have a feeling some of the terms he uses are a result of where he is--near Portland . He is part of the arts "scene" there.

 

[Deleted member 47471]

I would agree, but disagree at the same time. The pot that Mirai sell are far from simple bonsai pots. He DOES represent artisans. But yes, he does like to use embellishing verbiage.

I’d like to hear a lecture on the fundamentals of acquiring the perfect parking space at the grocery store.

 

[Deleted member 47471]

Also, he is a well spring of knowledge and bonsai wisdom. I treasure his teaching and he is shaping me as I grow.

 

[leatherback]

I thought this thread was about the upcoming sale. Why the discussion on speech, focus on guns and local arts scenes. Then I would rather see inspiration on how nursery stock can result in trees that are similar to the work Rina does.

 

[dbonsaiw]

Spirited thread. We all know who Ryan Neal is and his skill level. Discussions about whether any one of his trees is worth X is pretty silly - the market determines price and the questions are do you want it or not and can you afford it? Personally, I am not buying any of them. I would, however, like to see the trees. More importantly, I would love to hear a discussion about the pros and cons of the different trees, ideas for future development, timeline and how one would proceed with the tree. As a newb, this is important information as I can't say I always recognize what I am looking at. Inevitably, and naturally, this type of discussion will devolve into a comparison of what is being sold for X and what could be developed from other material at a fraction of the price. In this context, the timeline becomes incredibly important because if one can really produce a Ryan Neal level tree from other stock in a relatively short timeframe, that's important information for understanding the tree in question as well.

 

[leatherback]

if one can really produce a Ryan Neal level tree from other stock in a relatively short timeframe, that's important information for understanding the tree in question as well.

I think many underestimate the insights he brings to the table.

It is this age-old story how you do not pay the mechanic for the 10 minutes of work to fix something that no-one else was able to fix. You pay for the decades of training and experience she brings to the table that make her able to fix the problem in 10 minutes.

Do not charge by time, but charge based on your experience and uniqueness.

 

[dbonsaiw]

I think many underestimate the insights he brings to the table.

I don't underestimate him at all.

for the 10 minutes of work to fix something that no-one else was able to fix.

That begs the question - am I able to fix this? If I can, then it's a different story. I don't personally believe Ryan is selling trees that I can easily recreate from other stock. Would love to be shown how wrong I am though.

Do not charge by time, but charge based on your experience and uniqueness.

He can charge however he wants. Add another zero to the price for all I care. I still think it would be helpful for someone to pick a tree or three and start a convo on why this is not just a nursery tree with 3 years of work.

 

[Maiden69]

Ryan continuously states that his intent with Mirai is not to sell trees, but to teach and empower enthusiasts into saying "I can do this"... that's the whole point of the streams, Q&A's, etc... but as any business or bonsai collector, he can only maintain so many trees. In addition, every ones time is not free, so the time dedicated to style, water, maintain, fertilize, etc... should be added to the price of the tree being sold.

Last year we went through this same argument, and I posted pre-bonsai trees being sold at the same time by Brussles and Wigerts that were at the same price Mirai was asking, but they also were at a "rawer" stage of development. People see the price and scream murder, without taking the time to do some research and see if they can get the same tree at a cheaper price. A lot of the trees that sell within minutes are usually bought by people that have done the research and know what trees they can get somewhere else and what not. Not only because they are a Mirai tree, but a lot of times because there is nothing alike on the market, or nothing similar at the same price range.

 

[CaptainFuzzy]

I have a very special tree, that so far I believe is a one of one North American tree that can be bonsai as a large central art piece worthy of the Mirai/Eisei-en touch. No one has successfully made my tree species into a long term thriving statement bonsai. Ryan’s team made it clear, that even though I placed it in a much larger pot and let it grow for several years very wild,and that it’s in optimal health, that because it came from a nursery, their “direction has changed”, and will not be working with nursery stock. They are also lacking in experience to work on the species I have despite it being the perfect west coast/California representation of Bonsai in my humble opinion. The overall point is, the team there is focused on wild and field grown dramatic pieces because it’s what commands high dollar. They are focused on what they know vs risking new ventures in knowledge for the next few years. They don’t care as much about the average or more experienced hobbyists the way they started out doing. Be cautious of buying anything that was once their nursery stock projects. To them they are junk trees. Give your money to the businesses and nurseries that want your success, not just your dollars. I personally will be pursuing one of their statement pieces regardless of my feelings anyway, because at the end of the day, time is what we’re buying here, and Miraia methods intersect maximizing results in small time frames, and making incredible work. It’s worth the excitement of exploring ethical yamadori vs dropping cash for the brand name.

 

[Colorado]

As a professional writer, I can say that Ryan Neal needs an editor. His writing tends to be self-indulgent, florid and wordy. My city desk editor when I was a young reporter, would probably smack Ryan upside his head with the .38 he carried to the newsroom for writing like that.

Mercantile is a long-winded, overly complicated word for a sale (and let's not get into "thoughtfully curated"). But whatever

Haha. I think your comment is a joke, but with the bandwagon piling it on about Ryan’s speaking and writing I have to offer a counter perspective.

Personally, I enjoy his writing style. A lot. It’s intricate and descriptive. Yes, simple writing is great but it can also be BORING. Ryan uses technical terms because he is explaining detailed concepts.

Yes, he goes on a 5 minute explanation about how to prune a tree. But, consequently, it is much more informative than just saying “Pick up the scissors and cut the twig and you’re done.”

 

[Colorado]

As a professional writer, I can say that Ryan Neal needs an editor. His writing tends to be self-indulgent, florid and wordy. My city desk editor when I was a young reporter, would probably smack Ryan upside his head with the .38 he carried to the newsroom for writing like that.

Mercantile is a long-winded, overly complicated word for a sale (and let's not get into "thoughtfully curated"). But whatever

Also, I think you may need an editor too

*Ryan Neil

My services are available

 

[rockm]

Haha. I think your comment is a joke, but with the bandwagon piling it on about Ryan’s speaking and writing I have to offer a counter perspective.

Personally, I enjoy his writing style. A lot. It’s intricate and descriptive. Yes, simple writing is great but it can also be BORING. Ryan uses technical terms because he is explaining detailed concepts.

Yes, he goes on a 5 minute explanation about how to prune a tree. But, consequently, it is much more informative than just saying “Pick up the scissors and cut the twig and you’re done.”

I'm not talking about the technical stuff. That is what it is...Read through some of his blog posts that don't really deal with the mechanics of bonsai, but landscapes, etc. The prose is quite purple in some places

 

[rockm]

Also, I think you may need an editor too

*Ryan Neil

My services are available

Yep. I have one who cleans up things like that during my day job. I write fast and type with my elbows. You all are getting unedited copy.

 

[Sansokuu]

I would agree, but disagree at the same time. The pot that Mirai sell are far from simple bonsai pots. He DOES represent artisans. But yes, he does like to use embellishing verbiage.

When it comes down to brass tacks, Ryan Neil runs a business. A large part of Mirai’s success comes from Ryan and his ex-wife Chelsea’s building of the brand. She hired the photographer who does the Portland Timber portraits outside of the soccer stadium downtown here (they are a pretty famous landmark in that part of town) and hired designers/film and photography pros. So, floral language is part of the Mirai brand, whether some of us love it or not. People like to use alternate wording in other industries to give a feeling of uniqueness and exoticism as selling points, it isn’t just a Mirai phenomenon. A great example is the Patagonian toothfish, which they used to sell whole. No one wanted to buy this fish, it was hideous. So this guy marketing the fish decided to only sell it in steak form as “Chilean Sea Bass”.The rest is history. But I digress.

 

[rockm]

When it comes down to brass tacks, Ryan Neil runs a business. A large part of Mirai’s success comes from Ryan and his ex-wife Chelsea’s building of the brand. She hired the photographer who does the Portland Timber portraits outside of the soccer stadium downtown here (they are a pretty famous landmark in that part of town) and hired designers/film and photography pros. So, floral language is part of the Mirai brand, whether some of us love it or not. People like to use alternate wording in other industries to give a feeling of uniqueness and exoticism as selling points, it isn’t just a Mirai phenomenon. A great example is the Patagonian toothfish, which they used to sell whole. No one wanted to buy this fish, it was hideous. So this guy marketing the fish decided to only sell it in steak form as “Chilean Sea Bass”.The rest is history. But I digress.

I get it. My post was a joke--guess emojis aren't as effective as they used to be. I come from a newspaper/web reporting background. In my younger days, I became used to writing on extremely tight deadline, being smacked upside the head and yelled at by editors for overwriting. Quill-pen, puffy sleeve pirate shirt writing style (my city desk editor's terminology) didn't cut it in that environment.

 

[Ply]

Ryan is as much a wordsmith as he is a bonsai professional. And he happens to be very good at both.

But..
After watching about 50+ hours of Mirai live in a relatively short time, I REALLY wish he would just get to the point every now and then

 

[rockm]

Ryan is as much a wordsmith as he is a bonsai professional. And he happens to be very good at both.

But..
After watching about 50+ hours of Mirai live in a relatively short time, I REALLY wish he would just get to the point every now and then

 

[leatherback]

After watching about 50+ hours of Mirai live in a relatively short time, I REALLY wish he would just get to the point every now and then

congratulations. I cannot make it through a single video tbh. I keep sliding manually to see when he gets to what he wants to point out. Guess I am too much of an engineer.