My old studio in Santa Fe had the same problem. I lost a whole set of mugs to a sudden gust one afternoon. Now I just crack a window and use a cheap box fan pointed out. It pulls the air and heat out without the direct wind hitting your work.

Both right, just different. Totally get troy's point when rent is due, but seth's approach is the long game. Panic lowering can trap you in cheap work hell forever. Once you have even a tiny bit of breathing room, setting a "couch" minimum like @the_seth said is how you climb out. It filters out the noise so you can actually do good work for people who value it.

Disagree with the whole lighting worry. Makeup always looks different depending on the bulb, so chasing a perfect match is pointless. Clients see themselves in various lights all day and rarely notice minor blending issues. Focusing too much on this just adds stress for no real gain. Trust your skills and let the makeup do its job. Constantly checking for lighting problems makes the process harder than it needs to be.

No way, @harper_owens, you're saying cherry wood from spring is still green? I always assumed dry feeling meant it was seasoned. Now I'm gonna have to look for those end cracks like you said.

I used to worry like @sandra_lane6 about kids ruining good wood. My view changed after starting my grandson on a scrap wood birdhouse. He learned to test stains on the bottom first, and that focus translated to his schoolwork. Now he helps me fix small things like picture frames, and his patience has really grown. Those Saturday projects taught him more care than I expected.