Time for a New (Old) Direction?

[tuck]

We all know the economy is still stuck in the mud for many (most?) of us. There are some signs that the tires are starting to spin, but little assurance that the old truck is starting to actually move out of the rut it's in. Many folks are hurting still, fighting hard to hang on, and I'm one of 'em. I don't feel any shame with that,...it's just the facts and I know many folks just like myself who are running out of belt notches to tighten.

I purchased my Bot PR second hand years ago with the idea of making custom signs. Mind you, I'm just a guy in the woods with a small shop and an old Bot and some experience as a sign designer/fabricator. It went well until the bottom fell out of the housing/building market. I had found a niche making routed HDU identity signs for new subdivisions. You know,..."Fox Trail Run", "John's Creek", "The Meadows at Silver Lake", and many other pretentious names for fancy subdivisions that had no foxes, creeks, meadows or lakes, lol! It was lucrative enough but those days are over around here and I've had a difficult time replacing that business. Times are tough, yep.

I was talking about all of this with a friend of mine recently. He said, and I quote; "You know, Mark, the economy does suck but people that still have lots of money to spend are still spending lots of money. You need to figure out how to use your talents to go get some of it." That got me to thinking about two of my real passions that I have neglected for too long,...art and woodworking. I'm basically self-taught at both but I reckon I ain't bad at either. (Jack of all trades,...etc.) The following two pics are examples of work I did back in the 80's, before CNC. You can't tell it from the pics, but these are routed panels (2.5D) that I did with a hand router and a dremel, then hand-painted the reliefs. In both cases, the reliefs were filled with clear bar-top epoxy coatings. This first one was a prowling marlin 2' x 6' oak panel that became a large coffee table. I remember I sold it, but for how much I can't recall:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f332/Superfan52/Marlin.jpg

This second one was cut on plywood but otherwise the same methods. The photo itself somehow got smeared with orange and yellow paint, so please excuse. That's the buyer propping it up, and I remember I sold this one for $400.00. Again, this was about 25 years ago:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f332/Superfan52/shark.jpg

I did others but don't have the photos anymore.

I have never cut 3D with my Bot, only 2.5D or 2D. I don't have the software required for 3D, but that can be rectified with $$$ I know. I can't help but imagine how nice something like these could look in true 3D relief and then hand-painted and finished as either wall plaques or furniture. I'm not sure how I would market the work, but that old saying keeps popping in my head; "Build it, and they will come."

I don't have a lot of money and the wolf is at the door. Should I go for it, guys, or fold up shop and get a job as a Walmart greeter?:confused:

[kubotaman]

Mark if I were you I would try it. I looked at your site and I can say that you can really draw. Me? I can't draw a straight line! In a few years if you don't try your plan you may very well look back and wish you had. Im am sure there are a lot of us out there wish we had done something different. Go for it, if you don't suceed at least you can honestly say that you tried your best and that is all a person has to do.

[CNYDWW]

" I'd rather be a failure at something i love then a success at something i hate" - George Burns. " Nothing should be any more complicated then absolutely necessary" Albert Einstein. Two sayings i try to live by.

[CNYDWW]

We all know the economy is still stuck in the mud for many (most?) of us. There are some signs that the tires are starting to spin, but little assurance that the old truck is starting to actually move out of the rut it's in. Many folks are hurting still, fighting hard to hang on, and I'm one of 'em. I don't feel any shame with that,...it's just the facts and I know many folks just like myself who are running out of belt notches to tighten.

I purchased my Bot PR second hand years ago with the idea of making custom signs. Mind you, I'm just a guy in the woods with a small shop and an old Bot and some experience as a sign designer/fabricator. It went well until the bottom fell out of the housing/building market. I had found a niche making routed HDU identity signs for new subdivisions. You know,..."Fox Trail Run", "John's Creek", "The Meadows at Silver Lake", and many other pretentious names for fancy subdivisions that had no foxes, creeks, meadows or lakes, lol! It was lucrative enough but those days are over around here and I've had a difficult time replacing that business. Times are tough, yep.

I was talking about all of this with a friend of mine recently. He said, and I quote; "You know, Mark, the economy does suck but people that still have lots of money to spend are still spending lots of money. You need to figure out how to use your talents to go get some of it." That got me to thinking about two of my real passions that I have neglected for too long,...art and woodworking. I'm basically self-taught at both but I reckon I ain't bad at either. (Jack of all trades,...etc.) The following two pics are examples of work I did back in the 80's, before CNC. You can't tell it from the pics, but these are routed panels (2.5D) that I did with a hand router and a dremel, then hand-painted the reliefs. In both cases, the reliefs were filled with clear bar-top epoxy coatings. This first one was a prowling marlin 2' x 6' oak panel that became a large coffee table. I remember I sold it, but for how much I can't recall:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f332/Superfan52/Marlin.jpg

This second one was cut on plywood but otherwise the same methods. The photo itself somehow got smeared with orange and yellow paint, so please excuse. That's the buyer propping it up, and I remember I sold this one for $400.00. Again, this was about 25 years ago:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f332/Superfan52/shark.jpg

I did others but don't have the photos anymore.

I have never cut 3D with my Bot, only 2.5D or 2D. I don't have the software required for 3D, but that can be rectified with $$$ I know. I can't help but imagine how nice something like these could look in true 3D relief and then hand-painted and finished as either wall plaques or furniture. I'm not sure how I would market the work, but that old saying keeps popping in my head; "Build it, and they will come."

I don't have a lot of money and the wolf is at the door. Should I go for it, guys, or fold up shop and get a job as a Walmart greeter?:confused:

Ya know tuck, when people ask me what i make in my shop i ask. What do you want? Then when they have a blank look on your face i'll tell them. If i can't make what you want, i'll find someone that can. When there's no niche that you can fill, diversify. Cutting plywood for a small cabinet job? Toss in push sticks for table saws and like in the scrap. Sell them 10 for $10 etc. In the passed year i've done everything from signage, POP displays, toy boxes, stencils, rustic furniture, entertainment centers, kitchen cabinets, furniture repair and even a few paddles with peoples names carved mirrored or holes in them to make a distinct impression.

Regards
Randy

[joe]

Here in America, that's what it's all about. Following our dreams.

There hasn't ever, ever, ever been more big money concentrated in such a small group. It's a wealthy time and we're all rich. I mean real rich. Look at the cars, and grocery stores, bass boats, everything. My grocery, Homeland, is jam packed with delicious food. People are spending money like there's no end and there's plenty of good, profitable work in our land.

When I'm up to bat, the intent is to bang it out out of the ball park. First base isn't for me. So what are the keys to tapping into markets? Quality loosen up money. Apply to clients with money and smother them with high quality. Go fishing were there are big fish. They're easier to catch. That's because of less competition. For me, it's all about quality. They will remember that more than how much it cost.

The challenge is to find your client base and lead them with your talent. General, common work, pays less. Find a specific client base and service them with quality. Lets go fishing for lunkers. O, a lunker for me is only $15K. Your bait is art and you have plenty of it.

Get off your behind!

Joe Crumley
www.normsignco.com (http://www.normsignco.com)

[tlempicke]

Here are a couple of ideas;

Find a cabinet shop that will sell you their Corian sink top cutouts. These will V Carve just great and we did pretty well at one time by making grave markers for pets out of 6X9 pieces of that stuff. A friend of mine is a vet and as a gag one day I made up a grave marker that said "Fluffy, our cat. She could Eat and S**t". He thought it was not a bad idea so I made up a couple that were a bit more serious. We were getting $45 with $20 going to the vet.

Another resource that you have now is E Bay. People go for personalized stuff. An E Bay store costs next to nothing to set up and once you have made a sale you have a name and address for your mailing list. Plaques, nameplates, mailboxes, anything you can engrave a name on. You can make the backgrounds for a lot of this stuff in advance and just carve the name when you need to. Don't get too fancy. The sample files in Shopbot are enough to try it out.

Campers and Motorhomers go big for personalized stuff. Got a dealer nearby? How about a personalized plaque to mount on the cabinetry inside? The markup in camping gear is HUGE! A plaque with the customers name and just incidentally the dealers name would probably sell pretty good. Sell the dealer something pretty simple and leave your brochure in the new unit with bigger fancier stuff in it. I personally know one guy who had a four foot wide plaque mounted over his refrig. I never asked what he paid for it but I would be sure it was several hundred bucks. He was a car collector and it had a '55 Chevrolet with his name on it.

[michael_schwartz]

When things are slow I head to the scrap bin and start making stuff. Many don't realize that while craft style items may not be bread and butter, they can still bring some cash flow. Make friends with buisness owners, do something nice for them and in turn they may sell such items without asking for a commission.