Wood_smith's Blog at LumberJocks.com http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:22:34 GMT My second trade show BUT my first woodworking show http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/28159 I just wrapped up my first experience as an exhibitor at a woodworking show- the Hamilton Woodworking Show in Hamilton, Ontario, about 45 minutes from Toronto airport. It was a great experience, a little smaller than I thought (they say the number of exhibitors was down this year), but my pouches were well received.

The most popular one was the original plywood pouch, I think it’s a pouch most woodworkers can use. It holds several sheets of 3/4” plywood, but you can use it for other sheet goods, drywall, and boards if they’re 8’ long or shorter.

Staying with a friend and using my air miles made doing the show 1500 miles from home a lot more affordable than one 150 miles from here! I’d like to be able to attend more shows, including a venture to the U.S. one of these years, but since this is still only a part-time venture, it will have to be ‘slow and steady’.

I want to thank my fellow LJers who have given me encouragement since I joined here. One thing I’ve found at the wood show, is that woodworkers really make you feel welcome!

and the new Kerry-All Truck Pouch- a soft-sided cargo box

]]> Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:22:34 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/28159 Wood_smith Wood_smith My first trade show http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/22843 Although I had always intended my Kerry-All Pouches to be only a woodworking product, interest from farmers and machinery dealers has forced me to expand (in a good way).
And since the regional farm mechanization show is only every two years and my budget is still small (this is still only a part-time business), I decided to do the farm show this year, and the regional building supply dealer show next winter.
It was an incredible learning experience, and I’m guessing many (most?) trade shows are similar, as far as the great support from show organizers and fellow exhibitors goes.
Everyone treated me with the same respect and consideration the John Deere dealers got. I thought, being a one man show (and that can be tough at a three-day show!), I would feel like a small cog in a big wheel, but I didn’t.
For someone with a rather new and unique product line (or at least I think it is), getting my stuff out there isn’t easy, who’s going to Google “Kerry-All Pouches” or anything close? It’s not like I’m selling another line of cowboy boots, or something. Trade shows appear to be one good answer. So many people told me what great products I have, lots of “why didn’t I think of that?” or “I was thinking of doing something just like that a couple of years ago.
And the best ones… “Can you make me a cover for..” or “a pouch for…” tons of great contacts, more sales than I expected for a first time exhibit.
Why am I telling you all this? “It’s just stuff for farm equipment, we’re woodworkers here…” True, but a lot of you are probably thinking about doing your first trade show. I’m here to tell you to go for it! I’ll attach a pic, and you’ll see I had nothing fancy; I think the most expensive thing was the $60 banner I put up with my name and logo on it.
Some homemade pine holders for postcards, three cheap display stands ($12 each on eBay), and some other literature (brochures, business cards, etc.).
I know trade show exhibiting isn’t cheap, but I think well worth the investment compared to online or magazine advertising, etc.
Oh, and I’m also here to blow my own horn… just a little bit!

http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad5/KerryAll/2011Farmshow_1.jpg!

]]> Wed, 27 Apr 2011 05:12:36 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/22843 Wood_smith Wood_smith The Kerry-All Pouch is going to be on tv !! http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/15872 ...alas, only on local cable, but a good start..

Our local cable television company has a local interest tv ‘magazine’ show. They shot a video clip of the Kerry-All Pouches Friday at a local building supply dealer. This dealer has been instrumental in helping me launch the various versions of the Pouch, including the original Plywood Pouch, the long and narrow Trim Pouch as well as an 8-foot Drywall Pouch, or cover and a 12-foot model.
They’ve tried prototypes and given me feedback which I’ve put to use in making the Pouches better for all my customers. For that, I would like to say a big thank you to Stratford Home Hardware Building Centre!

Hopefully I’ll be able to put the video clip on my website for everyone to have a look at.

Stay tuned!!

]]> Sun, 23 May 2010 04:58:40 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/15872 Wood_smith Wood_smith A brand new pouch! http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/14877 The pallet pouch was designed for covering pallet loads of seed, feed, fertilizer, but someone suggested it would make a good cover for those who keep a small wood pile outside their home or shop. Keep your firewood dry.

When I had a wood fireplace, I used to use plastic tarps. This works much better. It’s on the website.

]]> Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:48:01 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/14877 Wood_smith Wood_smith My website has a whole new look... http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/14752 Well, I wasn’t happy with the original website, or the web hosting service I was using so I got rid of them both. I subscribed to Yahoo web hosting with Site Builder software and, with many helpful suggestions from you good folks here at LJ, I now have an almost 100% new site.

I am going to get some new pictures to replace some of the ‘just fair’ ones I have, but the original subscription was running out and I wanted to maintain my web presence, so I’ve used some of the old ones for now.

Take a look, and please let me know what you think.

http://www.kerrywoodworking.com

]]> Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:57:26 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/14752 Wood_smith Wood_smith What's wrong with my website? http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/14134 ...I don’t know if there’s anything wrong with it, but I haven’t been getting many enquiries or followups. I’m wondering, is it because many haven’t found their way to it? OR it’s not interesting enough.

I know one thing I need to add, is a video showing how my products are loaded and unloaded.

Since you folks are woodoworkers, could you take a peek sometime and give me your critical assessment?

And feel free to be ruthless! and, as has been kindly pointed out… put the URL in, Lloyd..sorry:

http://www.kerrywoodworking.com

]]> Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:52:49 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/14134 Wood_smith Wood_smith A little history on the Kerry-All Pouch http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/14090 If you’ve ever had to buy a sheet of plywood, drywall, or something from a building supply store and it’s raining (or snowing- this is PEI), what are you going to do?

This used to happen to me a lot. I’d be making a cabinet for a customer, or myself, and need something at the local building supply store. Back then I had a pickup truck (Big Red, my daughters used to call it when they were small), but it only had a 6 1/2 foot box, and a sheet of plywood is 8 feet long. If it’s raining, or snowing, or even if the roads are wet, chances are you’re going to splash a little bit of something on that bare plywood.

Did you ever try to sand dried water spots off a 1/4” sheet of oak plywood? Damn near impossible. And heaven help you if you don’t notice it and put a coat of stain on it- you may never get them out, unless you sand so much you run the risk of going right through the thin finish veneer layer.

So, being Internet savvy, I sat down at the keyboard and decided to find something to use, to carry my plywood home nice and dry to the shop. I looked for days and days. I know, why not just use a tarp? Well, you could, but how much work is it to take a tarp at least 9’ x9’ square, fold it in two over the sheet of plywood (especially if you’re alone- the warehouse guy just went for coffee), then find the bungee cords under the seat of the truck (oh, that’s where the rest of that Big Mac went!), and then wrap it all up?

So, I thought, why not create something? The tarp idea is good to a point, let’s start there and make it better. So, out comes the old-fashioned paper and pencil.
Let’s see, we want something to put the plywood in…

Brainstorm #1—“in” ..okay, hmm, how about a pouch. How do we make a pouch out of a tarp? Fold it in two. Good plan. How do we hold it together? Glue? Naw, too messy.

Brainstorm #2—sew it! Gotta find someone with an industrial sewing machine.
But how to seal the open end?

Brainstorm #3 -Velcro, the world’s favorite fastener…

And there you have it- the Kerry-All Pouch.

]]> Sun, 28 Feb 2010 05:47:01 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/14090 Wood_smith Wood_smith The quality of projects on here is amazing... http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/13866 I have to say how amazed I am every time I click on the “projects” link. The quality of work on here makes me think I’m looking at a high end furniture/woodworking shop… which, of course I am.
But when the people who are doing this excellent work turn out to be such nice down-to-earth people, I am truly grateful to be a member of Lumberjocks.

I tip my hat to each and every one of you (well, I don’t usually wear hats, except maybe a toque when I’m out with the snowblower!).

]]> Sun, 21 Feb 2010 01:51:00 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/13866 Wood_smith Wood_smith Do you folks click on the banner ads on LJ? http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/13845 Like pashley, who has vented his frustration on selling from his website (“Dang it, what sells?!”), I’m the same way with advertising. Some have suggested banner ads, like the ones on these pages. I e-mailed and received the rates from LJ’s advertising office, and while reasonable, they’re still pretty steep for someone in a part-time business (at the moment).

What I’m wondering is, do you folks read these ads? Do you click on them? Do you buy stuff on the websites you get directed to?

All the advertisers talk about the millions of views their websites get, but I am a bit gun-shy after my experience with magazine advertising. My next door neighbor subscribes to one of the two magazines I advertised in and admitted he never reads the ads, especially the ‘Woodworker’s Corner’ classified ads in the back. I always did, mostly because I was looking for new products, and figured new guys like me could only afford small ads.

If I start selling enough pouches to pay for those big ads, I might just buy that BMW instead!

Any comments appreciated…. Happy Friday!!

]]> Sat, 20 Feb 2010 02:11:12 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/13845 Wood_smith Wood_smith Woodworking forums vary a great deal... http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/13754 ...I’ve only been on this forum for about a week now, and I can’t begin to say thank you for all the welcoming messages, and the kind comments about my pouches. Another forum (that shall remain nameless) that I stumbled across and joined about a week earlier was pretty good, but had some negative comments at first. The forum suggested new members introduce themselves and talk a little bit about what they do. I did that, and some people said it was blatant advertising. I re-checked the forum rules and it said if you are representing a company, please be up front about it.

In fairness, several members (including the forum moderator) came to my defense and I appreciated that.

A third one I joined about the same time, had comments about my pouches like “hmph, you’ve invented plastic” and “where I come from, we call that a tarp”.

I appreciate constructive criticism and have received some in the past several months, which have resulted in improvements to the pouches, such as the tie-down loops that were one member’s idea.

So, thank you, good folks, for the welcomes and I look forward to trying to be a useful member of this forum. I would also like to say that Lumberjocks is, by far, the most professional looking, and well done of all the forums I’ve seen and/or joined.

Keep up the great work.

Lloyd

]]> Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:28:22 GMT http://lumberjocks.com/Wood_smith/blog/13754 Wood_smith Wood_smith