carving for a little extra on the side

[Rik]

hey guys,

 

been thinkin for a while of what to do on these windy days when i cant safely climb, have had many thoughts, all of which seem to end up with.... nah.. thats stupid, thatll never work.

 

my latest thoughts are trying to make my carving pay of itself a little, i carve with the saw but also i do smaller and more 'delicate' things..

 

wondering if anyone does/has done this and if so, can it work? i was thinkin maybe setting up a website alongside my business one, maybe local craft shows, a few of the local shops, etc?

 

any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated as always cheers guys

 

Rik.

[wisewood]

Rik, that sounds like a great idea mate, crack on with it.

What about having a carving section on your business website, that way potential customers have the option to have a carving keepsake of their tree after you drop it.

Another option for selling is online, ebay, folksy,etsy.

Lots to think about, but you need to get images of your wares out there!

All the best with it,

Si

[Rik]

Yo Si,

 

cheers for the advice! nice idea about the carving section on my site, hadnt thought about that tbh, makes complete sense. and id never even heard of folksy or etsy, looks like ive been in the dark about these things! i shall get picturing and see what i can figure!

[wisewood]

Yo,

Etsy is an American art/craft selling platform and Folksy is the UK one. There's quite a few others too but I've had no experience of them.

It's a bit of a pain setting up your shop/s but once you do it's easy enough to list new items to sell.

Etsy is a lot easier to use, Folksy can be frustrating at times. Both are great for selling smallish items and you get buyers from all over the world .

Shipping costs tend to limit interest on big stuff though.

I used to be a full time sculptor until the kids came along! I now work part time in between looking after the girls, selling little pendants and bits and bobs on line helps keep my eye in and keeps things ticking over until I can return to full time carving. It's definitely an avenue to check out mate.

Si

[Rik]

thats some wicked info cheers! sounds pretty positive from where im sitting.

 

may i cheekily ask what kinda things you found sold the best? (of the smaller stuff) i have so many ideas and thoughts but have no idea what people are looking for and are interested in?!

[wisewood]

thats some wicked info cheers! sounds pretty positive from where im sitting.

 

may i cheekily ask what kinda things you found sold the best? (of the smaller stuff) i have so many ideas and thoughts but have no idea what people are looking for and are interested in?!

 

I sell a fair few pendants, little totem animals do ok, http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/members/wisewood-albums-animal-totem-pendants.html

Also giant knitting needles of all things

Rustic bread boards are selling well locally too.

I've a few things up my sleeve that I think will be popular, you've just got to trust your gut.

Get your ideas down on paper and do lots of research. Look on etsy and see if anyone else is making similar things, if they are can you compete? If they're not then maybe there's a niche.

What kind of stuff have you got? Post some up Rik you never know you may sell some on here:thumbup:

[Rik]

yo si

 

ive been a busy lad, those pictures of your pendants are really lovely the giant knitting needles?! id have never in a million years thought of them!

 

have had a good look at the folksy and etsy and a couple of others and am gonna definately be setting up a shop on there hopefully this weekend!

 

ive got a few little bits, ill get some pics up, im hoping smaller little simple things might sell well so i can make them simply and fairly quickly. id like to do a bit more chainsaw tuff but i think the postage costs may be a little big due to the size and weight so i'll try keep them local!

[wisewood]

A sound plan Rik:thumbup1:

Look forward to your first international sale mate:001_smile:

[Marko]

Woodland Craft Shop: A gallery of individual hand crafted items for sale - ideal for a unique gift or a one off present you can list any unique piece of work for a flat fee of £2.50 which is good for higher priced items and isn't time limited.