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I cut a lot a lot of the Peterson animal puzzles, the Fox Chapel Wooden Puzzles and patterns from William Berry. My wood choice is 1" Basswood (Linden) that I buy at 5/4 and plane down. The finish is simply mineral oil. Then I shrink wrap them.
For the 1" Basswood, I find the Olson #5 PGT to be the best. I have an assortment of FD, but the teeth aren't as deep so clearing the sawdust out of 1" stock takes longer.
These are pictures of my products and the display I made at a store in the mall. This store is where you pay by the month plus commision and volunteer a day per month. I think the rent is a great deal for the level of mall it is in.
I break even or less than $100 for January thru September and then starting in October it ramps to 10 fold in December. For my product and price point(~$30), it isn't anything you could rely on as part of a living. Other people in the store have many items for over $100 and make real money. There are other products that sell much better.
I did a lot of outdoor shows and venues in 2009, 2010 and 2011. They had highier return per weekend by far. I'm going to start shows again in the next month or so with the puzzles.
My biggest lesson learned is that you need to figure out your earnings expectation before choosing a product. I need to sell more than 20 puzzles to make $500. Although I can make 40+ a week, the market to sell that many in a week isn't there.
My biggest customer demographic (80%) from January to October is aunts and grandparents buying for birthdays or even baby showers. Then the last three months shifts to parents buying for Christmas.
Another thing I have observed at shows is to not show up with a product that was in a magazine or online the prior months. More than a couple times I have seen four different vendors trying to sell the same ornaments or toy, which causes nobody to sell enough or cut throat price drops happen to hurt all of them. You need to do something to your product to make you different and add value in the customers eyes.
Steve.
For the 1" Basswood, I find the Olson #5 PGT to be the best. I have an assortment of FD, but the teeth aren't as deep so clearing the sawdust out of 1" stock takes longer.
These are pictures of my products and the display I made at a store in the mall. This store is where you pay by the month plus commision and volunteer a day per month. I think the rent is a great deal for the level of mall it is in.
I break even or less than $100 for January thru September and then starting in October it ramps to 10 fold in December. For my product and price point(~$30), it isn't anything you could rely on as part of a living. Other people in the store have many items for over $100 and make real money. There are other products that sell much better.
I did a lot of outdoor shows and venues in 2009, 2010 and 2011. They had highier return per weekend by far. I'm going to start shows again in the next month or so with the puzzles.
My biggest lesson learned is that you need to figure out your earnings expectation before choosing a product. I need to sell more than 20 puzzles to make $500. Although I can make 40+ a week, the market to sell that many in a week isn't there.
My biggest customer demographic (80%) from January to October is aunts and grandparents buying for birthdays or even baby showers. Then the last three months shifts to parents buying for Christmas.
Another thing I have observed at shows is to not show up with a product that was in a magazine or online the prior months. More than a couple times I have seen four different vendors trying to sell the same ornaments or toy, which causes nobody to sell enough or cut throat price drops happen to hurt all of them. You need to do something to your product to make you different and add value in the customers eyes.
Steve.
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