Best of the Best sellers

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Those that sell your finished products and projects, what has been the best of the best projects??  I know many times through the years things change and they can change from show to show and I get that, but what the question is, over the long haul what has been your top of the line can not miss seller??  If you choose to show off a little please do so we always like to see photos and bragging is a good thing. We all probably go to shows with various projects which is always a good thing to try to help in sales. I get that. I also get some people here specialize in one particular area such as puzzles. That is cool too and if you want to show them go for it. It would be nice to include where and what type shows you do. Any other facts or tidbits you want to brag about go for it.  Such as what price range have you found to work best. What woods or materials you use work best and help in the selling. What type shows seem to work best for you and your area. Did it take awhile for that project to take off and did you have to tweak it over the years and are you still tweaking it?? I post this here to maybe in some small way help those that are just starting out and wanting some examples and helpful hints. 

I will start it off since I am posting the thread. I make a large variety of projects and have made over 900 different ones. I have narrowed my inventory down to ones that do well and are easier for me to carry to shows these days as I get older and not as nimble any more. Clocks of all kinds have been a great line to sell and will always continue to be. Thought that is a broad field I will bypass that.  But surprisingly enough I would say I added a line of baskets that are great for table center pieces and other things that from the very first show till even today these are good sellers and have to say my best sellers of all time. I say that because of the numbers which I have no idea but do know it is many.  I tried thinking when I introduced them but have a hard time pinpointing it but will say early 1990's. Seen the pattern in Wood magazine and decided I want to try these. In the magazine there is one size and two different versions, one wall mount which was half a basket and the large version. I made both but found the wall version a bust and stuck with the center piece. I then after a couple years scaled it down and made my own version of a smaller size and those are the ones that have taken off and even today still outsell the large ones. The large version uses 125 pieces as the small ones use 85. Have no reasoning as to why one sells more than an other. I sell them $50 small and $65 large and have kept this price through out with raising $5 half way through the years I have carried them. Could I get more probably but have found this price range to be the best and it works for me. I do these in batches and have a system to make and works well. I make them in all varieties of domestic woods and a few exotic woods. I have started introducing spectraply woods and for those I make only small but have to charge $65 for because the wood is very expensive. I hope to add more colors this year. But I have included a photo of them as well as photo of the baskets I am talking about. They are fun to make because I know they sell.  Sold 3 at a show this Sat. Have order on another. 

So what say you and lets brag a little. The best of the best.  

[OCtoolguy]

Thanks John. You do some great work.

 

[trackman]

You say you have a system to making baskets. Would you detail how you go about it?  They look good. 

[Rockytime]

Great display of beautiful items!

[dgman]

I do two shows a year, one in October and a two day show in November. And I just started selling on Etsy. I sell all kinds of scroll saw work. I guess my best all time sellers are the compound cut mini bird houses, Christmas ornaments,  the Sea life puzzle.The Angel Puzzle and the Nativity puzzle.

Edited December 9, 2019 by dgman

[Dave Monk]

Beautiful baskets for sure.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

5 hours ago, trackman said:

You say you have a system to making baskets. Would you detail how you go about it?  They look good. 

When I say system it basically steps and I make each step a part of the process. Such as one day I will run boards through the sander one side. . The next step would be to mill the correct width and thickness of strips that I cut from the sanded boards. The next would be to cut to proper size pieces and sort them in boxes(different species) . I will cut thousands of pieces at this time. Next I pull out my jigs for building and start to build. This takes the longest of time in this project but I will have two baskets going at one time. One with the one side done already and working on second side, and the second just start the first side. I keep doing this because it takes time for glue to dry so can not rush things. Works out well. After all are complete I have a dipping day and dip in Danish oil and let to dry. That is it.  

[flarud]

My uncle and I made those back in the mid 90's.  He sold them at Flea Markets.  We had a pear shape one, a full heart, half heart for the wall, I think a full circle and a half circle.  I also made some round ones into wishing wells.  They sold good.  We mostly used Cedar. 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

2 minutes ago, flarud said:

My uncle and I made those back in the mid 90's.  He sold them at Flea Markets.  We had a pear shape one, a full heart, half heart for the wall, I think a full circle and a half circle.  I also made some round ones into wishing wells.  They sold good.  We mostly used Cedar. 

I have seen other shapes as well. I also seen people who actually nail the pieces and to me that looked unprofessional. The thing with these is the layers lock in the next layer and makes it very strong so no nails needed. Now I do glue and nail the feet on because that is where the most stress can become. I also seen the design used for outdoor planters and wishing wells. 

[flarud]

I like your feet better than what I used.  I used wood to make a small square pad.