hi all, first time poster here so hope you make time to read this;
not here is how to, but rather how do we beat the recession?
I assume alot of you, like myself make their living from wood, or if you dont, top up your income making items in spare time. So how are you finding the market? Over here (west of Ireland) its a little slow, I do have a few kitchens to start, but they are nothing special and keep getting pushed back due to builders delay and cash flow.
As a result Ive had the last few weeks to do work around the house.
So here is my challenge to you all;
The woodworking mind is a very special tool, coming up with solutions to problems on a daily basis and able to design a thing of beauty and functionallity. Surely together we can come up with a product to retail/sell to help us thru these difficult times.
What do you suggest? I thought of a few pointers:
1) it must be feaseable, not too complicated but simple easy to make.
2) must be functional, if money is tight people wont spend on what cant be used.
3) must look good and be the work of a craftsman.
4) not available on the highstreet, the customer can only come to you for the product.
5) lets face it; most of our customers are of the fairer sex or they have the final say, so it must appeal to women. (tongue in cheek here)
6) got to be value for money.
what do you think?
If we can come up with something even if its only small, we can make things a bit easier for our selves.
Get those minds going!!
Regards to all
James
Replies
Sounds good. Should be easy enough to do. While we're at it, we should make sure to include perpetual motion and anti-gravity options.
What you've proposed is:
- must be easy to make (point #1)
- must be hard to make (point #4)
Your other points don't line up either (stuff that 'looks good' and is 'the work of a craftsman' is hardly ever 'functional') but I think the #1/#4 dichotomy is the hard part.
But if you're into believing that sort of thing is possible, that's cool. I have an ebay auction going on right now where you can buy some dehydrated water real cheap. :)
eric
eric -
NASA right?
TT
Gee, wouldn't a cooperative, online design effort put the item in the public domain? That would make splitting the profits a bit complicated, I'd think. ;-)
I'm marketing a special, hand-crafted recession-beating mallet for only $24.95. Extra value is that it doubles as an insect killer. ;-)
what kind of insects do you have in the us that need killing with a mallet!!??
The ancillary entomological use of the mallet is intended only for the smaller, slower moving insects. The insects that fly off with small children in their clutches usually require a shotgun of ample gauge. ;-)
As someone who once lived in Florida, I can tell you the cockroaches, specifically know as Palmetto bugs, are candidates!
View Imageforestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I picked up a fly swatter (plastic) in The Dollar Store for.......
Works fine.
ASK
I figure if we can build a printing press..... we could print our own money just like the govermets do!
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You are searching for the Holy Grail of woodworking along with a few million (billion?) other talented and ambitious people all around the globe. This doesn't mean that there isn't something new to be designed, built and marketed but I think you underestimate the difficulty.
John W.
Yep. I worked many long hours on an innovative design for a "chaible". Then, I found a bunch of them, made of steel, at McDonalds. ;-)
James,
I started my business last year and I've been keeping busy. My plan is to stick to my plan which is to custom-build unique furniture to my own designs. A lot of my work is carved, which is becoming my niche. In my spare time, I've been writing a book on the why of woodworking. Why do we woodwork? Why do we hold ourselves to such high tolereneces? Why... Don't take my writing of this book as not being busy. I'm writing this book on my down time around shop hours.
Why am I still busy? I can't give you a good answer without a whole lot of thought, but at first blush, I'm crediting the image that I've built up. People want my work. Not just work of my style, but my work.
and www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
"--not just my style of work but my work"
You've hit the "business nail" right on the head. I'm not a professional WW'er but I've been involved with the operation of a contracting business for many years. You show up, (on time), do a good job for a reasonable price and if you screw up, you fix it. Slowly but surely the word gets around and your customer base grows. People trust you, like your product and appreciate your business ethics.
Your WORK is only part of the package.
Regards,
Mack"Close enough for government work=measured with a micrometer, marked with chalk and cut with an axe"
Mack,One thing that I really push for is consistency. I would rather deal with someone/something that is consistent rather than volitile. That way I know what to expect. There is nothing worse, in my view, than having high expectations and being let down. I figure the trick is to establish reasonable expectations and live up to them. Boy, that sounds so simple!It is absolutely worth it to pay the extra dollar to deal with someone who is accountable for what they do. Someone who will make the wrongs right. Your work is what gets the customer and your level of service is what keeps them coming back.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Thanks for that encouraging post, i was feel ing a bit dis heartened at first but you cheered me up!
i too find its all about the service as well as the quality, my customers love to come down to the workshop and see the work in progress, have a say in design etc.
however i would love to get back to having a product/item, even just a few small crafts to pay for bits and pieces.
i love the idea of the mallet, iwas going to make myself a new one and was thinking laminated birch ply, just wasnt sure on the handle (no lathe). advice welcome.
James
jamesbil,Hawthorn for that mallet. Attach a note about how the fairies will help guide your strokes and ya got a business.
James,One thing that I really push for is openness of communication between myself and my client. I think that I learned this from working with AZMO. The last thing I want is to complete a project only to learn that the client has been thinking for the past few weeks that they want it shorter, but didn't want to tell me. Having an open door to your shop is a good way to establish and promote that communication. Hopefully it doesn't cause any liability issues or prevent you from working.Since I started my business, I've been wanting to develop a small "line" of products which I can catalog. But so far I just haven't had too much time. I was really hoping to have such a catalog and some small pieces made up for this Christmas, but perhaps it will be next year. Or the year after. Though these small sales do provide additional income, I would really value the fact that it gets my name and work out more.What mallet? It would be quite simple to use a drawknife, carving tools, spokeshaves, and sandpaper to make the handle. You might consider leaving it eliptical too. That's a bit more comfortable and less prone to rolling (if you use a round head).See my above post to Mack, too.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodworks.com and http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com)
- Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
This ought to work, seems the DW's like to buy them to motivate the husbands....
AZMO
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Simple, easy to make, a casket made from mdf.
Functional, cheap to make. When Obama care goes thru us old people will need a cheap casket. Putting us out on the ice, so to speak will help pay for his communist form of government health care.
It can be made to look good, nice spray tinted laquer job, line the box with whatever is cheap.
I have never seen an mdf casket,must be unique I suppose.
Excellent value for your cheap kids that don't want to spend more than necessary on your funeral.
mike
Mike ,
I did some cabinet work for this guy who had a business that made " low cost cremation containers for the State I think ? they were made of like 1/2" CDX plywood and lined with a nice Blue Gas station paper toweling .
He also made containers to save the remains , it was a thriving business .
dusty
Look for Obama Wafers at your local grocer. (A.K.A.Soylent green)
Why do you think Obama set up death councils?
bill,
Not death panels. Comparative effectiveness boards.
Ray
Edited 8/16/2009 5:56 pm ET by joinerswork
Last year I made a few items for the craft/Christmas sale we had at work.I only sold about $200.00 that day with about $150.00 in follow up sales. People knew I was a woodworker, but it still helped to show them my work. I get a lot of "You made that?"
Now the word is getting around and people are asking for other things (picture frames, quilt racks). I know I won't make anything profit on the frames, but I might get an order for something else later.
I hope to make a child sized Shaker rocker to raffle off for a charity my company supports. (Other people/groups have bake sales, silent auctions...) This will give me another chance to get my name out there. I am toying with the idea to adding a 2 axis CNC type device to help turn the rungs. (I just happen to have some stepper motors laying around).
I'm not planning to quit my day job, but I might make enough to have a little extra cash laying around.
well, I actually am not worried about beating any recession, as I've lived thru enough of 'em to realize finacial matters ebb and flows. Being thrifty has helped me endure tough times, and has taught me that one can still accumulate tools,lumber,etc, if wisdom is used. as for selling my projects, or having any notion of building for profit, I'm not in the least interested. in fact, I only build for family, and close friends, and finacial costs are irrelevent in those situations. I don't consider myself good enough to compete with the truely talented WW'ers, but that's ok... I get enormous gratification in giving my finished projects to those who truely appreciate them... it is, after all, a hobby to me. I don't begrudge anyone who wants to turn their love of WW'ing into a biz,Bless 'em for it... but I also know that things change when it tranforms from a hobby into a business,most of the time.
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