It's always good to mark your work. I use to have furniture all over town. Doctor's offices, health spas, tourist centers, etc. Never got any work from any of them, so don't expect much.
Don't forget to put your website on there as well. Use every available way for the customer to see more of your work and contact you.
In fact, I would leave the phone number off of it and just have the website. Put you contact info on the website. You want people to see more of your work, so push them to it.
A better bet is to put furniture on consignment in coffee shops
and other funky hangout type places. That way you can hang
a price tag on it which starts the mental process in a potential
buyer instantly. Combine desirability with value. If you can
build a story into the work, such as advertising that the wood
is reclaimed, this enhances the desirability since it gives the
buyer material for social boasting to house guests.
Have you considered having a custom brand made up…. Not one of those cheasey ones from Rockler either…. but a nice imprint of your logo, company name and phone #
Puzzleman- The name of the company is Outdoorfurnituredesign and the page is the same thing .net so it'll be easy to put both that and my phone number on it.
I have used different methods to tag my work…including branding irons, engraving on the wood, brass plates that screw on and self adhesive tags. I was not good at my own letter engraving, the electric branding iron did not always produce the results I wanted and varied in different wood types…especially darker woods and harder woods and I did not like the protruding screws on the metal plates that screwed on.
The method that I prefer best are the self adhesive tags that are engraved.
I get them at Crown Awards and they come in several sizes and finishes.
I have "Made in the USA, my website address and my name" on them..
Any thought on maybe making a router template so you could insert the plaque flush? Might make it extra classy and harder for someone to pry off if you do have your pieces in public.
Russell, I wish you well with this venture. I wanted to note that the chairs and benches at a Botanical Garden generally take a heck of a beating. They are always very welcome when folks find them but sometimes the kiddies and even some adults can do a real number on them. I am the Facility Manager for a Botanical Garden here in Virginia and I am generally replacing a chair or a bench a few times a year. the other thing to keep in mind is if the furniture has a finish and needs to be refinished the garden staff generally does not get a lot of extra time to maintain that stuff. If you do something with the garden a consignment to their gift shop or visitor center might be a good way to go.
There's an upmarket garden centre a few miles away from me, one piece in the grounds always grabs my attention - it's only a bench but it must be 24' long.
I guess what I'm trying to say is yes, you might get some orders by donating a few chairs or benches, but I think you'd be better off making something out of the ordinary to showcase your talents.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
LumberJocks Woodworking Forum
2.5M posts
96K members
Since 2006
A forum community dedicated to professional woodworkers and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about shop safety, wood, carpentry, lumber, finishing, tools, machinery, woodworking related topics, styles, scales, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!