I am thinking about starting a new career in woodworking and looking for some guidance. After spending 25 years in furniture manufacturing (mass producing low end furniture) I am now in the insurance business but not enjoying it.
I want to work with my hands to make possibly custom cabinets or window treatments i.e. cornices or maybe furniture.
Any suggestions?
Replies
Hi furnichairs ,
If you want to target your local area to draw your income from perhaps first you should do some local research .
How many similar businesses are already there ? are they doing well or laying off . You can also check to find out the going rate for the type of work you plan to do .
You can ask if they are accepting applications for employment , that will give you an idea of how well they are doing presently .
Having more than one offering is a good idea especially when starting out , I am involved with a window covering business and do make cornice boxes mostly to be covered with fabrics some wood finish , as well as running a small furniture and cabinet shop . Keep your options open see where the demand is .
good luck dusty
It all depends on your skill and location.
If you are proficient, and live in an economically successful area, you will have plenty of work. The farther you are from either of those attributes, the harder it will be. Of course, either of those attributes can be changed.
Your market depends so much on where you're located, and there's no info in your profile on that. In general, it seems like cabinet-making is much more likely to be in demand than custom woodworking, an easier market to get into, and more likely to give one person the amount of work they need to go full-time. But that's relative -- what about your specific area.....are people remodelling alot? (that's dropped off in general since home equity loans got harder to get).
I live in a small, very affluent community (we, however, are peons), and the furniture guys/gals still struggle to break into the market and keep things going.
I live in Memphis which is a decent size market.
I am sooo not happy working for somebody else and might try my hand at developing some kind of niche. It is a scary proposition.
Thanks for your input.
You might consider talking to contractors in the area re doing some sub work for them. Also, consider 'craft' fairs and the like, both to get a sense of what others are doing, as well as, potentially, to hawk your service.
I went 'independent' a few years ago (in a different field) and every day brings a new challenge (or a new opportunity, depending upon your point of view, LOL).
Good luck!
Brad's comment about successfull people and their niche markets reminded me of something -- there seems to be a steady, maybe even growing market for the custom-designed entertainment centers to hold the big screen TVs and such. If you're old like me, you don't totally "get it" but nothing wrong with fillin' the need, LOL! The prices on those things are substantial.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thank you forestgirl. Good idea!
FG, I thoght the same thing about entertainment centers, but I think we're about a decade too late. Have you noticed that televisions are getting thinner and thinner? I think the future is in very thin TV screens that either project up from a cabinet (very cool) or just hang off a wall like a large picture. I wouldn't bet the farm on entertainment centers, with all due respect....
Jeff
These comments are very helpful and I am blown away by the kindness and openess of everyone.
I am kicking around the idea of making baby furniture or juvenile furniture as it is called.
I made a headboard a while back that had a stereo bulit into it. Another company took my idea and sold the heck out of it. It was so poorly built that they all fell apart.
Does anyone have any design ideas for this. I want to make this a quality piece. Might be a great item because you do not see anything like this around.
I have worked mainly in design, not the actual making...but now I want to make it myself. That is where the fun is I think.
Jeff, within the last year, I've seen several posts from guys (mostly) who've made wall units for multi-media rooms. Not the "entertainment centers" we remember from yesteryear, but something that frames the big-screen, provides a couple of places for a couple of the 28 speakers people put in the rooms (kidding!) and shelves for DVD's or display goodies, or whatever. And they seem to fetch 3K-5K, maybe more. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
In fact, here's an article about Steve Casey's wall units designed to accomodate the new generation of electronics. He also did a great blog on a unit for his own house was was awesome, but I couldn't find it.
Dennis
Woops, forgot to insert the link:
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/ProjectsAndDesign/ProjectsAndDesignPDF.aspx?id=25270
OK, I give...when I hear 'entertainment center' it congers up in my mind the traditional entertainment centers of old. Maybe I'm stuck in a pair of dimes, I don't know. I suppose a person needs to give it a good think and come up with a design that fits the new paradigm of what an entertainment center is, or should be, these days.Good call, I was wrong. Time to reinvent the wheel...Jeff
I read some of the lengthy discussions from Pro's in the business on the Woodweb. They discuss the building aspects, markets along with the business aspects of it all. The business aspect seems to be one of the biggest struggles for many. You know, accounting, legal, cashflow, dealing with people, personelle, design and organizing. I have thought of the same, and have toyed with the idea of building small custom items (after my renovation project is done) for friends or family while working to test the local market and try to build a reputation. I have read many horror stories of people who have opted to shift to a new woodworking career all at once. I fear one of my biggest challenges would be sacrificing quality to deliver a reasonably priced item, but you will have lots more experience given your background. I spoke with one of the industrial suppliers I deal with and asked what his most successful clients do and he said most have developed a niche market supplying high end products for kitchens, baths, closets.... with great customer service.
Good luck
Brad
furnichairs,
Here in SE GA the cabinet shops and the orange and blue big boxes seem to have a lock on cabinets, from the cheapest to really high end custom.
suggestions: the local womens club sponsers a Christmas Tour of Homes, with an art show at the City Hall. I donated a prototype quilt display case for them to auction, got good comments, hopefully a commission.
I am making a series of "demo's" - a large and small table, hope chest with drawer, boys "sea chest" toybox, quilt display case, that I will tote around to arts and crafts shows-not for sale that day, but to get my name out there.
Acquire Sketchup or some similar 3D program to do draft diagrams for the customer. I am working on a small TV stand/drawer piece, and the woman was thrilled when I shoed her a basic 3D drawing. Most customers are not comfortable/can't visualize a Top,Side, Front view format. This piece has to fit a very specific space, and match her decor, something not available at any store.
My wife heard that the large motel chains are getting rid of their Ent. Ctr. big boxes to install flat screen TV's. Sure enough, we have seen several going for pennies at the auctions we attend.
Now for the next, equally hard question: How to price my work. When you figure that out, drop us all a line. Good luck, and enjoy the ride!
Pete
Edited 1/11/2008 9:29 am ET by PCM
"My wife heard that the large motel chains are getting rid of their Ent. Ctr. big boxes to install flat screen TV's. Sure enough, we have seen several going for pennies at the auctions we attend." Ooooo, hotel entertainment centers = UGGGGGGGLY!! ROFL.
"I am making a series of "demo's" - a large and small table, hope chest with drawer, boys "sea chest" toybox, quilt display case, that I will tote around to arts and crafts shows-not for sale that day, but to get my name out there. " A great way to go. I bought a mortiser from a guy east of Seattle who had made quite a bit of money makeing such things, and stools and table/chair sets for preschools, all kinds of stuff. They were cute, sturdy, and he knocked 'em out fast. He used a notebook with pictures of the items displayed nicely, and a few models.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
FG,
Yes, the hotel ctrs are ugly, but they are so much cheaper than the equally ugly ctrs sold in stores that they will (are) quickly being snapped up.
This thread has really brought out a lot of great ideas, a lot of them obviously from hard experience. Never miss an opportunity to advertise, or even better, do a "Dog and Pony Show". Whenever I have a customer come to my shop to do a final approval on the stain/finish for the piece(s) I am working on, I just happen to have a custom piece in progress prominently displayed, and of course a portfolio of pics at the ready.
Pete
I like the idea of building Family Heirlooms. We have become largely a "throw away" society, cost is king. There are some thing I inherited from my grandmother, but cannot think of much other and I am not really all that old.
I bet the Juvenile market is a tough one. At that stage of life do we have a lot of extra $? I would try to target an affluent population.
Brad
Good advice!
Yep, those struggling young families don't deserve decent furniture. Let em go to Wall Mart and buy what they can afford.
Sound about right to you? Not to me. I wouln't focus my business solely on this market, but I sure wouldn't abandond it either. Opportunity is where you find it, and starting out in business eliminating market segments is a good way to fail. There are young families that are affluent. I read about it on the internet. It must be true...;-)
Jeff
Dear Furnichairs,
Before you make the change for good, you may want to read this article by Hendrik Varju, who made a successful transition from lawyering to woodworking.
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/subscription/Workshop/WorkshopArticle.aspx?id=29745
(You need to be a subscriber to FWW.Com to read the piece.)
Best of luck to you,
David Heim
Managing Editor
FineWoodworking.Com
Back when I had young in's, I needed some bunk beds. Hard to find, I finally bought a set from some retired guy making them from framing lumber?!! This was before I was into woodworking, I was young and trying to support my young family.
I'll bet there's a market for decent yet reasonably priced bunk beds, childrens beds, childrens bedroom furniture. Give that a look.
It's all about understanding how people live, what their needs are, and finding a niche you can fill. Figure that out, then the next hurdle is getting your work out to a few folks, who (if they're happy with your products and services) tell their friends, who tell their friends, and so on, and so on.
Once the ball is rolling, you may find yourself with another problem. Too much work! Unexpected success has killed more than a few businesses, so be prepared...
Good luck, I'm doing the same, slowly...ever so slowly...
Jeff
I used to do the finishing for a local store that sold unfinished furniture. We sold several bunk bed sets of really crummy quality, the owner said "why don't you make these and we will sell them". I looked around for plans, and guess what I found out: Bunk bed designs are now controlled by a (or maybe several) gov't agencies because of the potential for "Lil Dumpling" to be trapped between the top rail and the wall, or thrown completely off onto the floor when the bottom bunk user kicks up.
Just food for thought: check out the liability factor.
I agree with everything else you have said.
Pete
You are correct about the government controlling bunk beds. The cunsumer protection agency had to jump in when a lot of imported metal bunk beds started collapsing and actually caused a few deaths in small children.
I would'nt build bunk beds for that very reason. I couldn't imagine having to deal with injury or dealth of a young child due to something I built.
I would be the first person to agree that liability MUST be accounted for with proper design and production. Check to see IF there is any governmental regulations affecting design and construction. Beyond that, I'd not shy away from building bunk beds, baby cribs, whatever, so long as my products were well built and properly designed, and if necessary, meet ALL governmental regulations. A child can trip and hit his head on your coffee table, so are you not going to build coffee tables? There are risks in life, no matter what you do.
But like a buddy of mine likes to say, hey, that's just me. Everybody must judge what risks they're willing to take.
Nothing would make me more proud than to have a young family purchase an heirloom quality bassett built by me for their new baby, knowing that from then on it will be handed down from generation to generation. What an honor that would be...
Jeff
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