Craft Shows Coming up...

[Barbara Buhse]

I would like to attend this falls craft shows as a vendor this year (my first time) and will be offerinf personalized lasering in my booth (which will require ordering and shipping, etc). I'd like to have some things in the booth people can purchase right there, which are not personalized, like ornaments and such.
Does anyone know a good place to purchase patterns for 3-D or real nice ornaments? I have some disks from the laser company, but everything is pretty much flat and there don't seem to be too any that look special when done (most are flat and really don't look like more than you can buy in a store).
I thought about engraving some "teacher gifts" like picture frames, etc. also, but would really like some 3-D christmas tree ornaments. I have a sample of one that came from epilog, its a 3-D snowflake, but I don't know where to get the pattern.
Anyone know where I can purchase some cdr files, or perhaps you have created some you would like to sell me?

Barbara

[Shaddy Dedmore]

You can go to http://www.berrybasket.com
and seach the catalog for Ornament I'm not sure what you mean by 3D, but they have a lot of scroll saw stuff. If it says Downloadable, it's already in a PDF file which you can open in Corel and ungroup and get the vector image off of. Also, you might have to put together the vector file if it's too big (they are meant for scroll sawers to print out, so they spread some patterns over a couple pages, grrrrr). If you find a pattern you like and buy, then need help putting the patter together in Corel I can help. But the ornaments should all be on one page respectively, as they aren't too big. My crosses are from one of their downloadable patterns.

http://www.shaddysengraving.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/3layerCross.jpg


Buying the CD was a great investment for me. Ornaments were one of my big sellers in the crafty dept. And hands down, the most popular by about 5-1 sales was the one in the upper left
http://www.shaddysengraving.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/Ornaments.JPG

Sorry for the big pictures.

Shaddy

[Laura Zaruba]

Barbara,

I am also looking forward to doing some craft shows again this year. Last year I was just getting started and had little to no cash and carry items. Big mistake. The one thing that went over well for taking orders was personalized cake pans. I found a new supplier www.doughmakers.com (http://www.doughmakers.com) this year and I'm very excited; they have top-notch gourmet bakeware and I am very please with the company so far. They've been quick to respond to my calls and e-mails and even sent me a FREE engraver's sample pack w/3 lids and 2 pan styles! I had to buy the $200 minium from my previous supplier just to get some in to test. I was not that happy with them but they were the ONLY supplier I could find. Plus, DM seems to pack their pans well - last year I'd get probably 1 out of 6 pans that were scratched or dented to the point I couldn't sell them. Sure, I could pay to ship them back for a refund or exchange but who has time for all that? The DM pans are a little pricer so I don't know if they'll sell as well this year, but I feel better offering a higher quality product.

I'd love to hear your ideas for products, space layout, etc. I hope things will go better for me this year now that I have an actual showroom for people to come to once the craft shows are over.

Good luck!

[Aleta Allen]

Shaddy,

Nice work. You sell these as ornaments? I have some of the patterns like these, but it seems the size people make them are all different. What size works for your sales? Good luck this season!

aleta

[Shaddy Dedmore]

Aleta,
Sorry, the crosses were just an example of what you get from a pattern from them. They were originally pretty big and spanned a couple pages. I had to combine them, then I just made them about 4x7 to practice on my 4x17 sheets of alder and walnut. I think I'll keep them that size so i don't have to buy bigger stock.

The ornaments are 3-5 inches depending on style. The complex one in the upper left is about 3.7" in diameter (that's an average size of all the snowflake ones).

Shaddy

[Bill Stein]

Shaddy,

Would you share with us how long it takes to laser the popular orniment in the upper left corner?

Bill

[Shaddy Dedmore]

I use the thin plywood from laserbits, speed will change a lot if you use different thickness of wood.

I'm not sure, I'll have to time it because I usually do a 12"x24" sheet at a time. Probably a few minutes, longer than the others for sure. So you can see that following the 2-3 times the material and $1 a minute for laser time equation would make these right at about 5-6 dollars each. I sell them for $4 at the crafty booths (3 for $10, 5 for $15). The other less complicated ones take considerably less time so you make up some money there buy selling all for the same price. You could price the more complex ones higher, I just haven't tried that yet.

Sorry for the estimate, I just don't know for sure.

Shaddy

[Russ Yanda]

Is there a book or web site showing all the infomation about the Craft Shows around the country?

[Michael McDuffie]

Is there a book or web site showing all the infomation about the Craft Shows around the country?

I have a copy of Linda McCarthy's 2002 Fairs and Festivals.

It's for Wasington State only but she might know of others.

Creative II Productions
Linda McCarthy
2811 S. 301 St
Federal Way, WA 98003
253 839 4747
lindamccarthy@msn.com

[Pete Simmons]

The craft CD with the Snow flakes. What format are the pictures?

How difficult to get them into vector format?


Is it the Berrybasket CDB9 ?

[Shaddy Dedmore]

That's what I was saying was good, they're alread in vector format. It's a HUGE (93 pages) PDF file. You Open it in Corel and save it as a CDR. I ungroup the pages and copy the ones I like into a new CDR file.

THen you're done.

Some of the designs are pretty delicate. So I tried changing some things to Raster so it doesn't leave long skinny, only connected on one side pieces... but then it's no longer viewable from both sides. With the cuts going all the way through, it's 2 sided. But it's up to you.

For $15, it's worth a look even if you don't like it. Better than $60 for the 30 images that you get from Laserbits on their CD's. This has about 6 per page x 93 pages. THere are 5-6 or a few more of those kind that slip together making a 3-d one. But I didn't mess with those yet. Oh, and there's animals, religious, cars... all kinds of designs, not just snowflakes. all of my ornaments on that picture were from that CD. Some were solid and I had to add the string hole though.

(sorry to monopolize the thread, I'm just happy that I can finally answer a question I guess (c: )

Shaddy

[Linda Tetreault]

On the Berry Basket designs, I've done lots of them with 1/8 marbled plexi & they're beautiful. I have one customer who's having a whole xmas tree done in white snowflakes. There are also several snowmen that are real cute in white and I'm thinking florescent orange would make great halloween decorations & the best part about plexi is "no sanding or pre-finishing" just peel off the protective paper & you're done.

Linda

[Aleta Allen]

Thanks for the info on sizes, I think a lot of people make different sizes and I always wonder what sells. Thanks again for sharing.

aleta

[Doug McIntyre]

[QUOTE=Shaddy Dedmore]That's what I was saying was good, they're alread in vector format. It's a HUGE (93 pages) PDF file. You Open it in Corel and save it as a CDR. I ungroup the pages and copy the ones I like into a new CDR file.

Thanks to Shaddy for that bit of information - I have previously selected a few of the Berrybasket patterns, traced them in Corel and tidied them up. Now to find out that they are already vectors makes me feel a bit stupid! Live and learn.

[Barbara Buhse]

ok, these ornaments are great. and the cake pan idea is right up my alley...

now for more questions:

1) What wood do you use for the ornaments? I really like the ease of buying the 4" wide alder... is that OK?

2) Cash or credit? (I'll be able to accept credit, but there is no power at the booth, so I only want to take credit for things which need be ordered and personalized).

34) Can I possibly download a 93 page PDF file with a dial-up service? or will it take 2 weeks?

Thanks, you guys are always so helpful!


Barbara

[Barbara Buhse]

Aleta,
then I just made them about 4x7 to practice on my 4x17 sheets of alder and walnut.

Shaddy

shaddy, where do you buy your alder and walnut sheets?

Barbara

[Shaddy Dedmore]

I get my stuff from http://www.coloradoheirloom.com/ But I've also got from http://www.studioworkshop.com/ Both have been good to work with. They don't have prices listed so you'll have to give them a call.

For the 93 page file... you'll get it from the CD (CDB9, $14.95)

I don't do the big shows, so I haven't worried about taking credit yet. Seems like it's expensive. Others will have to help you on that one.

For my ornaments so far, I've been using the LaserBits plywood 12x24 sheets. I thought they were 1/16 thick, but their website says 1/8. So I don't know if they changed or not, I haven't bought for a while. I just ordered some 3/32 strips from CH, but I haven't tried to make some of the more delicate stuff yet so I'm not sure if it will be strong enough. Just have to try them and see. Don't forget to add up the costs and see if it's worth your time. :)

Shaddy

[Joe Unni]

Hey all!

Just taking my Sunday morning "quiet time" to look around other parts of SMC and happened upon you folks.

Now I don't do any lasering, but the craft side of my woodworking business will be gaining more attention this coming year. So it's nice to see/hear others experiences.



2) Cash or credit? (I'll be able to accept credit, but there is no power at the booth, so I only want to take credit for things which need be ordered and personalized).


Barbara - this is way out of the blue, but have you considered a wireless credit card terminal? I know should the crafts take off this year, I will give this serious consideration. No, I don't sell them but I meet with someone pretty regularly that does. If at all curious - don't hesitate to email me.

Good luck and beautiful ornaments.

Thanks,
-joe

[Bill Stein]

I hate to show my ignorance -- but here goes. Without going into a lot of detail, how do people scroll saw these things? From what little I know about woodworking (almost nothing) I am just amazed that they can cut that kind of detail. And it seems like it would take a lot of time. Of course, people are always amazed at what I can do with a laser because of their lack of knowledge about what it can do and how it does it so the reverse is probably also true. Anyway, it has almost been keeping me up at night :) wondering how woodworkers do it.

Bill

[Lee DeRaud]

I hate to show my ignorance -- but here goes. Without going into a lot of detail, how do people scroll saw these things? From what little I know about woodworking (almost nothing) I am just amazed that they can cut that kind of detail. And it seems like it would take a lot of time.The scrollsaw can't match the laser's kerf width, but it can come close...and that's not really an issue except for inlay work. As far as fine detail is concerned, some of the blades I've used, it's hard to see which side has the teeth and which way they're pointed.:eek: And they'll turn in their own width.

Yeah, it's labor-intensive. One thing that helps, especially with thin material, is that you can pile up a stack of material and batch-cut multiple copies of a design in one pass.

[Bill Stein]

Thank you, Lee! Now I can get a good night's sleep. :)

Bill

[Barbara Buhse]

Hey all!


Barbara - this is way out of the blue, but have you considered a wireless credit card terminal? I know should the crafts take off this year, I will give this serious consideration. No, I don't sell them but I meet with someone pretty regularly that does. If at all curious - don't hesitate to email me.

Good luck and beautiful ornaments.

Thanks,
-joe

I have considered a battery operated terminal which stores numbers, but the battery lasts only 4 hours and it costs $500. I have not yet priced a wireless one, do you have one, how do they work? Do you need extra wireless service for this?

[Shari Loveless]

Linda,
Where do you order 1/8 marbled plexi? Would like to try some. Didn't see any on Delvies site.
Shari

[Lee DeRaud]

Where do you order 1/8 marbled plexi? Would like to try some. Didn't see any on Delvies site.Try http://www.sloanswoodshop.com/acrylic%20sheets.htm, need to scroll down aways...it's their stock #999.

[Barbara Buhse]

Thanks everyone... I have downloaded some bautiful ornament designs, and they look great. Now I have some questions about pricing...

Shaddy, you said you charge $4 or 3 for $10...

Most of the designs I have are intricate, and I wanted to charge $5 or 3 for $12... HOWEVER its much easier (both physically and Psychologically) for someone to pull out a $10 bill than $12. So, opinions please on whether to charge more (3 for $12, $5 each) or less ($ each, 3 for $10). Do you think I will make up the price difference in volume?
I am able to print 7 ornaments on a 24" x 4" piece of alder, and it takes about 20 minutes to do it.

Should I have 2 different price sturctures? One for the more complicated ornaments and one for the less intricate?
or should I just keep it simple?

Thanks again everyone.

Barbara

[Shaddy Dedmore]

I think it's going to depend on your market. Might be best to start with the higher price then see if people do a lot of looking, but walk away without buying. If you aren't selling as many as you'd like, maybe lower to see if it works, but do it as a... "this afternoon only thing", so you can raise the price back up if you are selling the same amount.

For me, I used 12x24 sheets, and it was filled with different ornaments. It was too hard to price them all differently so I came up with the general prices. Plus it was my fist time selling things and I didn't know what to do about pricing to stay in business. Now I still might not change it, but I understand it at least :)

But at 20 minutes ($60 per hour laser), + say $4.00 fir the alder (doubled to make $8.00), that's 4 dollars each right there. Without adding your time and effort into the price (and some might triple material costs and use $90 per hour). So charging more should be warrented.

Having 2 versus 1 pricing structures should be OK, just keep the piles separated. And if you're manning the booth yourself, you could do an occasional deal where if they buy 2 simple ones but want three, you could throw in the complex at the simple price... hmm, did I say that right? I could make a flow chart. ;) Sometimes I confuse myself

Oh, and I bet if I had the thin plywood ones that I made lying next to the thicker solid alder ones you made... yours would probably have a higher perceived value... I think they would look a little better.

Shaddy

[Keith Outten]

Design Time + Material Costs + Engraving Time + Overhead + Profit = Price

Your overhead should include shop and office expenses plus insurance, etc. You don't have insurance or a business license, you will one day so you better start thinking about these kinds of expenses. Consider the cost of your inventory, engravers tape, paint and art supplies, software, hardware, lens cleaning solution, book keeping and billing expenses, etc, etc.

Part of your overhead fees should be set aside to repair your engraver...IT IS GOING TO BREAK DOWN ONE DAY and parts are expensive.

[Barbara Buhse]

Thanks Keith, all of those things are a big consideration. My biggest mystery cost is the electric. One day I'll have to stand by the meter and see how much faster it goes when the engraver is on...

Shaddy, thanks for the practical advice. I think I will try the more ecpensive price like you said first. I really wanted to charge $5 each, $12 for three, so thats what I'll do. I do have a few that are very simple, maybe I'll give them the lower price. Also, the really complicated ones (there are only three of them) I amy just offer as a "set" for $15.

Most of the fairs I signed up for are at churches or schools, so I am making a custom ornament for the occasion (an image of the church as an ornament) and of course, that one will be much more money, since I will share the profits of that particular one with the organization.

I do have other things in the booth, so I guess I shouldn't fret over this detail quite so much. I'm hoping people wil order more of the other higher priced gifts I have too. The ornaments are there to get people to the table...

By the way, I made over 60 different designs... I have no idea how many of each I should have on hand! I know the real complicated ones will sell well, as for the others... who knows? At least I have a big tree of my own so I can use all the leftovers!

Barbara

[Tim Hickman]

To give a little history, we have earned our living since 1999 with craft shows. We have been doing it with a CNC Plasma system cutting steel. I just recently bought my laser this year.
Craft show pricing is a tricky thing. I try to get a 3 to 1 ratio for my material price. If it cost me $5 to make it, I try to get $15 over or $20 for the sale price. I have some welcome signs that I have been selling for $20 since we began. The price of steel has shot thru the roof lately, so at one of our largest shows last fall, we raised the price to $21.50, our sales the first day dropped by 65% from the year before. We dropped it back down to $20 the next day, and out did previous sales. There is something about a common denominator bill, IE $5, $10, or $20. After changing prices, I heard women telling others that it was only $20, I never heard anyone say its only $21.50.

Also, know your market. A flea market type show, not juried and includes buy and sell, will get a different mind set. Same people that are at a true a&c, but they want you to give it away. They are always looking for a deal. I usually tell them that the dog or horse sign they are looking at will go back in the trailer and it doesn't eat much until the next show.:)

I could write a book, so I will stop now.

Tim

[Laura Zaruba]

Tim,

I don't know about the rest but I'd love to read your book. :) Since you seem to have much more experience than myself and probably several others on here, I invite you to please elaborate on your experiences. Maybe start another post if you like, but if you have the time I've got the interest. :)

Laura

[Barbara Buhse]

Thanks Tim, it was very practical info. After much debate... I think 3 for $10 is the way to go. I do have a few ornaments which will be an odd number(maybe 3 for $13), they took way too long to charge 3 for $10. and yes, I would also like to hear more about your experiences too.


Barbara

[Pete Simmons]

Laura

Are the pans anodized or painted? How do they laser?

What power/speed settings?

[Laura Zaruba]

Hi Pete.

I'm pretty sure they're painted. I laser at 75S 100P on my 35 watt. It doesn't laser to pure silver metal, it's almost like the exposed metal is dyed the color of the lid, but it's a nice contrast and no one has ever complained.

The only complaint/request I've had is that I don't engrave on the side of the pan. I considered using Cermark and lasering the bottom, but the time/material cost wouldn't be worth it; people don't want to spend over $30-35 on these.

[Pete Simmons]

I spoke to Doughmakers today. The lids are painted.

I got the samples from them and lasered one at 70 speed 100 power. 35 watt Epilog. It came out fine.

I have them posted on my website. I won't put the address as some may take it as an ad.

Doughmakers has been very helpful to me.

[Shaddy Dedmore]

Showing off work I don't think ppl take as ads.

You could just post the link that goes right to the pic (right click over the picture and View it, then copy the link that shows up in the address bar}.

I'd like to see it

Shaddy

[Barbara Buhse]

I'd like to see apicture of the negraved cake pans too.

Barbara

[Alan Young]

Click on Pete's name on the post and select visit Pete's home page. You will find the pictures there. Nice work Pete

Alan

[mike klein]

Hey Shady, Just wondering which cd you got. I purchased the one called 'Holiday Scrollsaw Ornaments' and tried what you were talking about (loading the pdf into corel, saving as cdr, then ungroup), but it don't seem to work for me. Maybe I got the wrong cd?

[mike klein]

Forget it...I was loading the wrong file...My fault