Ed, I certainly can't speak to 15 years ago, but when I started turning in early 2009 I turned only wood. Then, for some stupid reason I turned a piece of plastic. Now, I rarely turn wood unless the stock is a very unique burl, highly figured, or has some other type of WOW factor. "Average" looking pieces of wood I try to segment into something unique. There are just too many awesome plastics out there, not to mention casein, ebonite, bakelite, etc. I am by no means an expert at any of this but my theory is that is I want to sell any pens I need to have something that stands out from all the other talented pen turners. Modding pens with unique material is what I am going for.
Mike