# curiosity selling or not



## jacob34 (Mar 14, 2012)

I have seen some forums and blogs where people are selling their projects and am just curious how many jocks are really selling. I know there are professional cabinet makers and other professionals who are running a business but I am talking about guys who are doing it for a hobby. If you are selling what are you selling? I read the blog from the jock talking about his road into craft shows with his cutting boards. I think he worked in a carpentry business of some kind to begin with.

I know we all after a few projects especially one we are proud of think to ourselves I could sell this. I know that there are sights and shows and places to sell ones projects so just out of curiosity I am asking who is actually selling projects that do not work in wood for a career.


----------



## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

I sell to a very small market, but sell nonetheless.

I design and build custom arcade stick enclosures (the buyer does all of their own wiring andsetup).

Small market, but I'm being kept very busy at the moment.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/NiteWalkerGR/SimpleCase%202/IMG_1886.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/NiteWalkerGR/SimpleCase%202/IMG_1887.jpg

And my own:


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

I re-sell some of my restored tools.

When I was in the carpentry/woodworking business I created a catalog and did flea markets and trade show. I didn't do great but it sold a lot of higher end remodeling jobs, which was a plus. This was about 20 years ago so the internet wasn't as prevalent. I've thought about selling some woodworking, but …....... to many hobbies…..


----------



## Gatorjim (May 12, 2012)

I don't yet but it's what I hope to do when I retire.


----------



## redryder (Nov 28, 2009)

If you go to ETSY.com and hit the "woodworking" link, you will see over 97,000 items for sale. Many of the vendors have sold a lot of items if the price and product is right…...............


----------



## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I don't do much spec work at all anymore. I used to and the
storage issues were nuts.

If you can find a product that will always move at a price
that allows you to put in the time and feel good about how
you're investing that time, make that and sell it.

Making anything over and over again becomes tedious. A job.
Even making guitars. The difference with things like high
end guitars and furniture is you get to delight clients and
get warm fuzzies in addition to a check. This is not the 
easiest sort of position to get into in the marketplace.

If you find something you can stomach making over and over
again and you make enough money selling it to feel like
you are getting a bit ahead, go for it.

If you want to make good money without investing a lot of
energy in a specialized high-end skill like marquetry, you need 
square footage and decent machinery in order to be a 
"yes man" when clients ask you to build some big, heavy
behemoth to hold their TV or whatever. There's money 
in such jobs if you have the equipment.

These are just some thoughts. I hope they help somebody
get clearer.


----------



## canadianchips (Mar 12, 2010)

Last year I built a lot of items on SPEC. Went to trade shows and farmers markets. Was SKUNKED ! I did get contacts at those shows and built custom items for people.This year I am going to try different markets. Each market has its own crowd (Flea Market is where I buy a lot of items cheap to re-do),craft shows are SMALLER items,I have a website this year,hoping that will help. MY problem is: I enjoy making them, I am NOT good at selling--my wife does that better,we are a TEAM at the shows.


----------



## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

If I can ever get to the point where I can retire I might do it to give me a little more income.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


----------



## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

I've sold a few pieces, but nothing regular.


----------



## jacob34 (Mar 14, 2012)

I would think you would make more if you knew the nich you want to hit, but then how do you get the product out there. Most of the sites I see for woodworking product seem to be swamped with stuff, if you had something different I would think you would run the risk of someone getting fed up and moving to another site before they get to you.


----------



## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

There's a guy in AL that I met on another forum who is NOT retired, though he is old enough, I think. He'll make 30 or 40 really nice, innovative and unique (redundant?) cutting boards each week, and a lot more around Christmas. He sells out almost every weekend at various shows around his area. I assume he makes a decent profit, though I've never asked. 
He has mentioned that he gets very little sleep. 
We tried the craft show thing with various items, mirrors, boxes, toys and etc. Showing and selling is hard work! The show prep and breakdown after, as well as the travel, soured us (wife always helped) and we eventually quit. However, we always showed a small profit and got to meet some great folks and see some new country. 
The greatest profit we ever made was from custom commercial cabinetry, though. We never advertised, worked from our home shop and kept fairly busy through word of mouth. 
If you can work well with designers, contractors and home or business owners, you can do well. 
I'd guess that building cabinets, counters conference tables and the like for commercial use, comprised 70% of our work. We did a lot of work for NAPA and Safeway plus smaller businesses. Usually, nothing fancy. Just boxes and flat work and some laminate, a few curved counters and displays. Nothing the average woodworker (and that's me, for sure) would find difficult. A lot of those jobs resulted in smaller jobs for individuals who worked at those offices or whom we met during installations.
We are retired now and enjoying just puttering. But, if we were still in our 30s or 40s, we'd still be at it. Just writing about those days brings back some great memories.


----------



## jacob34 (Mar 14, 2012)

I am in awe of the guys who do the shows and flea markets as the commitment in it self is daunting let alone the sitting and the set up and break down, more than I would want to do. I briefly thought about after I finished the third project for my dad's odd ball request for tanks and other military items, that I could make them into a simple kit pretty easy that would be simple to build yet look in my opinion better or at least for a older age group than the kits I was seeing out there. Not to be confused with the finished product available which are in many cases nicer.

After reading some of the blogs and moving out of the excitement of finishing a project I think it would be next to impossible to make money off the idea as well as it would make my workshop into well work and I as a new wood worker might get soured on that and end up avoiding the shop because it has lost the fun.


----------



## hunter71 (Sep 4, 2009)

I never sell any of my projects. I do give some away to family and friends. I did try the local craft shows and might have sold something if the weather was better. Glad I didn't now because I can say "I don't sell"


----------



## RTex (Nov 1, 2010)

Well, I went to ETSY.com for my first visit today. I viewed all 41 pages of the woodworking section and I must admit I am a little shocked. I have never criticized another woodworkers project and I hope I never do, so all I will say about a lot of the items is that they were wood. I won't even start on the pricing…...whew. But, different strokes and all that…..if it works for ya, then by all means go for it.


----------



## jacob34 (Mar 14, 2012)

I agree RT most of the stuff I saw was not something I thought hmm I really want to buy this.


----------



## Finn (May 26, 2010)

I make and sell small crafty items at monthly and yearly craft shows and festivals. Total of about 25 a year. I have one scheduled the next three Saturdays. I make small plaques and signs, cedar boxes with inlays ,toys, and intarsia. I display about 85 items on shelves I fabricated for this purpose. Takes me about 2 hours to set up ready for sales and 1 1/2 hours to pack up to leave. I average $300 in sales at the monthly places and about $1600 on the once a year ones. Pays for my hobby only. I stay close to home so no overnight trips for me. I have an adequate pension so I just figure I have a self funding hobby. I just started bringing a scroll saw to the show to use to keep me busy during slow times. I do a lot of inlays there. If I could sell the stuff I make without going to the shows I would. I find under $20 items sell best. I do get special orders at these shows also. The one item I make the most $ at is toys. They usually sell.


----------



## greasemonkeyredneck (Aug 14, 2010)

Sales?
Ha! Ha! Ha!

No seriously.
I was selling things on a fairly regular basis before the economy went completely south. Now the only time I sell anything is December, for Christmas presents. Even that though if iffy. I donated a lot this past year to a couple of churches. As for sales this past Christmas I sold exactly a grand total of $0. 
I think if I made smaller, cheaper objects, I may sell more. A lot of people are interested in my work, but I make kind of expensive projects. I don't want to make smaller object though and refuse to take the fun out of my hobby by building things I don't want to. So lately I've just been doing what I want. 
I also have been told that I could really sell a lot of my work if I took a lot less money for it. There is no way I'm practically giving away a project though that I have eight or a hundred hours (for example) in. I'd rather hang on to it and either give it to a family member or friend, or donate it to families at Christmas who wouldn't have anything otherwise. I figure if I'm going to give it away, it may as well be for a good cause.


----------



## jacob34 (Mar 14, 2012)

Jim sounds like you have a good time with it, I love the chain saw. No internet sale?


----------



## jacob34 (Mar 14, 2012)

William I don't imagine the economy will yield high rewards anytime soon


----------



## Finn (May 26, 2010)

jacob: no…...... no INTERNET sales. Wooden items have to be handled and seen in person to sell well…in my experience.


----------



## jacob34 (Mar 14, 2012)

Sounds like a lot of work time and patience required for maybe making a couple bucks


----------



## Finn (May 26, 2010)

" Sounds like a lot of work time and patience required for maybe making a couple bucks" 
Yes it is, but when I had less items to display I just set them on tables and it took 1/2 hour to set up and to pack up. The time spent setting up the larger display is not a big deal to me. After all, most of that day I am just standing there waiting to sell something. I may just as well be setting up my display. The reason I sell anything is so I do not have to just throw them away after making them. I do all this as a hobby, not to make money. A business makes things in order to sell. I sell things in order to make them. IF I wanted to make money I would go get a job…ugh!


----------



## AJLastra (Apr 19, 2012)

I regularly make antique reproduction furniture and other period specific pieces for a local gallery which is in the process of doing an exclusive show of my work in november. I'm hoping that show will generate a lot of commission work. I have in the past been asked to make one off pieces, like a home office desk for a doctor who was referred to me. This all started, believe it or not, from making PENS!!!! Yeah, no kidding. I made a number of pens and it hit me one day that maybe I could use the wood itself to make the items unique so I started making pens from old growth olive wood from the Holy Land for Christmas. We couldnt keep them in the store they sold out so fast! I just finished a drop front desk that has a sortof Lloyd Wright feel to it. Made it out of mahogany and tiger maple. The unique thing about the desk is that its made to be used with a lap top so its base foot print is small and could fit in any space. The entire piece is hand rubbed shellac and varnish….....a beautiful look but it will need a lot of care to keep any scratches from being noticeable. But that was another partof the "uniqueness" of the piece. I did a number of sample boards and showed them to just about everyone I knew and simply asked, what do you think about a finish this shiny for a desk? I may be getting a bit off topic here, but I just wanted to say that we can make great stuff and sell it if you find the right market, think outside the box, and aren't afraid to take a few chances.


----------



## jacob34 (Mar 14, 2012)

Jim from everything I have read on here selling at shows and small items or none furniture seems to be that you need to do it out of passion not desire to live off it. Aj I can say with confidence all my projects are unique to me.


----------



## AJLastra (Apr 19, 2012)

I like that response Jacob. All of your projects SHOULD be unique to you. I dont work wood as my living. I prosecute criminals for a living so going into the shop is a refuge for me from the mayhem that most of the world doesnt see first hand. I've made some items that I have and had no intention of selling. I made them just because I liked the project or what it represented. The best stuff i've made I believe are those items I've made for family. I live 11 hours from my mom and dad and brother and sisters and it always makes me smile when I go visit during the summer and all of them still have Christmas items I made still out in full view. I get a kick out of that. You cant put a price tag on that. And I just KNOW we have uncountable members on this site that have had the same experience. I agree with your comment that we do this because we have passion for it and not necessarily because we can make money from it. I feel very blessed that someone out there likes what I make enough to want to showcase it for other people. But I can guarantee you, if that gallery didnt exist, it wouldnt matter. I'd still be out in the shop making dust and noise just because.


----------



## jacob34 (Mar 14, 2012)

Aj I can completely relate as I am sure most of us on here can, my house is filled with five kids ranging from 4 to 16 both bookends being girls. So while your jobs far exceeds the pressures of mine I can relate to the love of the shop piece of mind of the simplicity of being able to focus on one task and push all else out for a time.

It does speak to your commitment, passion and talent that you have people wanting to see and show your pieces. I like to make items for family as well, my first piece of furniture was for my 6 month niece and the satisfaction of completing was a high point of the shop so far.


----------



## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

Jacob, I did shows for a living and know many people that is their only income. It is possible to make an income at shows, you have to know how to sell, have product that sells and do the big shows, not the little local ones.

I still do shows but have transitioned my business model from all retail to mostly wholesale. Still do about 15 - 20 shows a year. The only shows that I do are big sales makers or have the potential to big money.

Doing shows is hard work but there is the camaraderie of the time with other vendors, talking with customers and having a pocketful of money that is mine on the way home. Not to mention, I get the freedom or curse of being my own boss.


----------



## jacob34 (Mar 14, 2012)

Puzzleman I am curious though would you recommend trying to do it as an income? And how many vendors have you met that did not do it very long? I hope to some day feel comfortable with my woodworking to decide to try my hand at it.


----------



## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

I have just completed my 43rd guitar in 33 months. I have a number of people ready to give me deposits, (four, to be exact), but this economy has almost stopped me. Even though I'm a legitimate business, its always been part-time, trying to build it up for when I retire in about three years. When gas hit $3.50 nationwide it was like a switch and sales just about dissapeared.

I am also looking into some other items, mainly bandsaw jewelry boxes with a twist - made like musical instruments, motorcycles, things like that. I think people have done the wave, heart and other symbolic love curve boxes to death. I know another luthier who is living off pens and exotic wood tool chests, his guitar business is also dead. (How would like to have a ten drawer tool chest of purpleheart and bubinga?) He did OK for a while on violas, upright basses, and fiddles, then that dried up.

I wouldn't even think of trying to do things like cutting boards, pepper mills, or anything anybody else is doing. Way too much work and not enough profit. There are bowl turners out there who do work so beautiful it's breathtaking, and they just sit on the shelf with three digit prices on them. I think if you cannot find a niche, it's a tough road right now.


----------



## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

I have been making pretty good money making oak boxes for the company where my step son is a manager.
He works (with his brother) for a company which installs audio-video system for the LDS church world wide.
The boxes I make are used to hide switches, sound and video controls and other similar things.
When I receive an order I can make around $1000.00 in a weekend.
I get an order on average every six to eight weeks.
If that was more steady, I would retire.
A friend of mine has a pretty good business as cabinet maker, he keeps busy all year long. Soon he is going to have another full time occupation, I might pick up some of his workload.


----------



## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

Jacob, This is my 10th year of doing it full time. It took alot of courage and I dipped into my 401K quite a bit. But I would never turn back and now have more than I had when I started. In my time, I have met several people who have been doing shows full time for over 20 years. It all starts with having a product and being able to sell it. Everyone I know that makes it, does not sit at the back of the booth and read a book. Those are the hobbyists. We are up and talking to customers, and when we don't we are usually talking to each other about shows and ideas.

At the show I just did in Tulsa, in my block there were 11 booths that I personally know that their entire income is coming from shows. There could have been more, but I don't know everybody in the block.

Shows can be very profitable if you are in the shows where you can make sales. Most people on here do not show their work in high caliber shows. The booth fee scares them away. I do shows where I can spend over $1,000 for booth fee. The cheapest show that I do is a $180 booth fee and I only do that because it is a local show. As they say at the casino, if you don't gamble big, you won't win big. You have to find the shows where there is sufficient people (over 100,000 attendance preferred) in areas with a higher average income (over 60k). To see some of the shows that I do, check out my website and on the top navigation bar, click on "See us at…". There are links to each of the shows that I do.

If want more info, let me know.


----------



## Pdub (Sep 10, 2009)

I do a craft show once a year. I got invited to join the group when they lost their scroll saw person. I have expanded to include cutting boards and a few boxes. My scroll sawn Christmas ornaments sell pretty well. I bought some of Sheila Landry's patterns for this years show, so hopefully everyone will be excited to see something new.

I also have the luxury of working on an Air Force base, so I sell retirement shadow boxes on a fairly regular basis.


----------



## bullhead1 (Mar 29, 2012)

Another option depending on what your making is to find a store (probably not a chain store) that sells related items and see if they will sell on consignment. An example would be if you make outdoor furniture and planters try working with a green house. I know you would have to give up some of the sale price but you'll get your product infront of more people. Attach an instruction/handling/care manual with the product with your contact and other products you can do. That way you can get direct referrels from customers.


----------



## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/12/22/pkg-pleitgen-german-xmas.cnnhttp://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/12/22/pkg-pleitgen-german-xmas.cnn

just a thought. Many years ago, when my daughters were girls, we made christmas ornaments to sell at shows and they sold like ………..Poof, gone


----------

