Do any of you do bottle stoppers and light pulls? How do they sell?

Thank you.
Ted

On Sat, 21 Feb 2009 17:16:26 -0500, "Ted" wrote:

Do any of you do bottle stoppers and light pulls? How do they sell?

Thank you.
Ted

I'd say the best thing would be to try a few of each and see if they move..

I do both, and for me they DON'T sell..
Should depend on market and area, but you never know, some folks do very well
with both..

I'm living in the land of tequila and every home here has multiple ceiling fans,
so it seemed like a no-brainer to sell those items.. NOPE..

For some reason, folks here seem to like the plastic POS pulls that come with
the fans..

Another piece of bad marketing research on my part:
Being mostly a beer & wine drinker, I didn't know that tequila bottles have
plastic inserts in the neck to aid pouring..DUH..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

My experience is the same as Mac's.

EVERY house here has at least one ceiling fan, many have one in every
room. Most builders include 2 - 3 in every home they build now.
Throw in a nice patio fan, and it isn't unusual to have 4 - 5 fans in
a house.

At FIVE freakin' dollars each, I couldn't give away fan pulls. I had
nifty little odds and ends of burls, curly wood, off cuts of
laminations and all other kinds of cool little bits to make nice pulls
from. I made about 40 to test out, sold about 5 in six months.

A mixed bag with the stoppers. I liked making them, but they didn't
sell consistently. Priced from $10 - $20, I thought they would be
great sellers, but not so. When I finished up my last group of parts
to make them, I didn't buy anymore.

As always, YMMV.

Robert

On Feb 21, 2:16*pm, "Ted" wrote:
Do any of you do bottle stoppers and light pulls? How do they sell?

Thank you.
Ted

Hello Ted,

I haven't done craft fairs since 1996, but I doubt that the customer
interest has changed much. Bottle Stoppers were my best sellers, if
the wood was dark. Light colored woods wouldn't sell at all. Cocobolo,
redheart, and other dark exotic woods sold well, but not for $10.00 to
$20.00. I sold a few at $12.00 each, more at $10.00 each, and lots at
$8.00 each. I've only turned light pulls for personal use; however, in
England with all lights in the bathrooms having pulls, light pulls
sell quite well. If I remember right, Martin Pidgeon said that he had
sold thousands of them and was a major supplier in England. I haven't
seen Martin in a few years, so don't know if he is still selling light
pulls.

Fred Holder
http://www.morewoodturning.net

"Ted" wrote in message
...
Do any of you do bottle stoppers and light pulls? How do they sell?

Thank you.
Ted

Just got back from one of the top ten craft show in the eastern US. At this
show the turners were not selling much at all, I sold one bowl (had 3 in my
stock box by accident and put them out to help fill a shelf, priced them
high), The bottle stoppers and light pulls of wood were not selling the
ones made of glass were selling but not well. Metal items were selling well,
very well, Furniture was selling well, clothing was iffy and food was
gangbusters. Gimmick items were a nogo. My results was typical for the
majority. wholesale down by 70% and retail down by about 50%. Several
people went to the Philly show and reported pertty much the same sort of
action. All of the above information obtained from the gang hanging around
the smoking area. Crowds at the show were down by 60% or so but the ones
there were buying high end items not low end items. For me $45 is the high
end and I sold out of everything $30 and up, still have pllenty of the
cheaper items.The booth next to me sold out of $700 and up items and still
had plenty of stock in the $300 and down range.

I don't know how much a turner can expect to sell at a craft show
anymore. The market is pretty damn saturated with pens, mirrors,
magnifying glasses, candlesticks, lamp pulls, weed pots, etc. Those
are for the most part considered beginning projects, and they are out
there by the millions.

One of our local high schools has even sold pens and pen desk sets
they make in shop class as fund raisers. $15 for a slimline pen.

They were selling the old "Classic" or Parker style pens for $35 if
the barrels were made from lucite matching the school colors. The
word spread quickly here. The Cub Scouts got into the act as well.
We have total market saturation.

Poor work has shown up at every church craft show, raffle, and fund
raiser I can think of. Since most folks can't tell the difference
between a machine made bowl from Walmart and a nice salad bowl from a
good turner, they don't get much for their efforts.

I think at this time you might have to find a way to elevate yourself
to "artist" status to make a go of any kind with turned objects. The
simple little fun projects just don't bring enough money in to make it
a worthwhile monetary effort anymore. The stuff I make now, I almost
always give away. I still sell my oil lamps, but that is a tough
market as well.

I figure if I am not going to make a but a pittance for something, I
might as well not put myself in a position to get ****ed off about
it. My monetary goal was met with turning when I sold enough to pay
off all my equipment. Besides, if it makes someone happy to give them
a little Christmas ornament or something along those lines, mission
accomplished.

Robert

In message
,
" writes
ow much a turner can expect to sell at a craft show
anymore. The market is pretty damn saturated with pens, mirrors,
magnifying glasses, candlesticks, lamp pulls, weed pots, etc. Those
are for the most part considered beginning projects, and they are out
there by the millions.

I recently saw someone in the UK selling turned pens on there for little
more than cost. He was retired, so considered the money he got in return
funded his hobby. The problem is the quality was poor, but that doesn't
matter as the buyers see "Cheap" so all pens must be cheap hence
destroying the potential market.

This is happening in everything over the years. One of the best examples
was employment Companies had experienced engineers on good money. Then
as education standards changed lots of Graduates were appearing on the
market expecting to get the same with no experience. They soon realised
they needed to reduce their demands, with each subsequent group lowering
their expectation even more as the market approached saturation, so they
could get the position over someone more experienced. The net result was
the whole salary structure was devalued, with only a few getting the
higher figures. They cut their own throats.

Lathes are being targeted for pen turning and other smaller craft
objects, you can

From a recent local store

"Penturning can be fun and profitable too!"
Pen making has been very popular in America for some time now and the
word is spreading fast with an increasing interest in this fascinating
and absorbing pastime in this country

I buy my tits direct from China, but they also make completed pens. I
wonder how long it will be before some just start selling them
instead...

--
John

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 09:17:35 +0000, John wrote:

I buy my tits direct from China, ...

Do the nipples slant upwards?

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

In message , Larry
Blanchard writes
On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 09:17:35 +0000, John wrote:

I buy my tits direct from China, ...

Do the nipples slant upwards?

I blame it on my glasses, Beer that is Teach me to use a computer
under the influence
--
John

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:54:29 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

I think one key here might be "Craft Shows"..
I quit doing them about 3 years ago and started doing "Art Shows"..
The difference? I sell a few less things but since they're "art", they sell for
roughly twice as much as the "crafts" did..
Talk about marketing.. lol

When a pen is a "one-of-a-kind" "work of art" is sells for at least $50..

Forget to hollow out that bowl or form? It's art now and someone will probably
buy it for at least $50....
Hollow out that bowl and someone will give you $10 for it because it's a bowl
and bowls are to eat out of.. Go figure..

I don't know how much a turner can expect to sell at a craft show
anymore. The market is pretty damn saturated with pens, mirrors,
magnifying glasses, candlesticks, lamp pulls, weed pots, etc. Those
are for the most part considered beginning projects, and they are out
there by the millions.

One of our local high schools has even sold pens and pen desk sets
they make in shop class as fund raisers. $15 for a slimline pen.

They were selling the old "Classic" or Parker style pens for $35 if
the barrels were made from lucite matching the school colors. The
word spread quickly here. The Cub Scouts got into the act as well.
We have total market saturation.

Poor work has shown up at every church craft show, raffle, and fund
raiser I can think of. Since most folks can't tell the difference
between a machine made bowl from Walmart and a nice salad bowl from a
good turner, they don't get much for their efforts.

I think at this time you might have to find a way to elevate yourself
to "artist" status to make a go of any kind with turned objects. The
simple little fun projects just don't bring enough money in to make it
a worthwhile monetary effort anymore. The stuff I make now, I almost
always give away. I still sell my oil lamps, but that is a tough
market as well.

I figure if I am not going to make a but a pittance for something, I
might as well not put myself in a position to get ****ed off about
it. My monetary goal was met with turning when I sold enough to pay
off all my equipment. Besides, if it makes someone happy to give them
a little Christmas ornament or something along those lines, mission
accomplished.

Robert


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

I agree and found that this to be true, also. Last year I stopped
doing any show that has the word "craft" attached and profits went
up. In fact the closer you can get to "fine art" the better.

Ted J.



wrote:

I think one key here might be "Craft Shows"..
I quit doing them about 3 years ago and started doing "Art Shows"..
The difference? I sell a few less things but since they're "art", they sell for
roughly twice as much as the "crafts" did..

On Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:53:25 -0800 (PST), Ted wrote:

I agree and found that this to be true, also. Last year I stopped
doing any show that has the word "craft" attached and profits went
up. In fact the closer you can get to "fine art" the better.

Ted J.



wrote:

I think one key here might be "Craft Shows"..
I quit doing them about 3 years ago and started doing "Art Shows"..
The difference? I sell a few less things but since they're "art", they sell for
roughly twice as much as the "crafts" did..

For sure...
I'm a "juried member" of the San Felipe Fine Arts Association..
Out of 12 or 15 members, I think that 9 are juried, but it sounds impressive to
some folks..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

.. If I remember right, Martin Pidgeon said that he had
sold thousands of them and was a major supplier in England. I haven't
seen Martin in a few years, so don't know if he is still selling light
pulls.

Fred Holder

Fred:

Martin still does his Acorn pulls AND wedge door stops. He's quite
a character.

On Feb 26, 2:50*am, charlieb wrote:
. If I remember right, Martin Pidgeon said that he had

sold thousands of them and was a major supplier in England. I haven't
seen Martin in a few years, so don't know if he is still selling light
pulls.

Fred Holder

Fred:

Martin still does his Acorn pulls AND wedge door stops. *He's quite
a character.

Thanks for the upgrade. I always enjoyed Martin and glad he is still
doing his Acorn Pulls and wedge door stops.

Fred Holder
http://www.morewoodturning.net