Ev and Melissa got invited to one of their friends parties the other weekend, James. He's a lovely little boy and whenever he comes over here to play he's always slightly obsessed with the tractor we've got in the field. In fact I'm fairly sure he'd spend all his time in there and be quite happy!
So for his birthday I decided to make him a blackboard shaped like a tractor. I was a little bit worried as drawing is far from my strongest point and I had visions of him not being able to work out what it was! In the end he loved it, stopped playing with everyone else and pushed it around for a good ten minutes before his parents could hide it so he'd go back to playing with his friends!
It was really simple to make, just some WBP plywood cut to shape, then sanded to remove all the rough edges and painted with blackboard paint. I drilled the fixing holes in the middle of the wheels and one on the top of the cap (countersunk as well) and included some screws and rawl plugs for fixing.
As usual with this type of thing I had people telling me I should make them to sell. How much do you think they'd sell for? Do you think they'd sell?
Yes ....they would definitely sell. If I had a little kid interested in tractors I would spend $25 australian dollars on it . You could do ballerinas, scarecrows etc.and sell them at the markets!
ReplyDeleteI made my daughter one shaped like a little girl and she loved that one. It's just whether the cost stack up. thanks for putting a price down though - a bit of market research!
DeleteWe make stuff for ourselves all the time, I wish I had a pound for every time someone says 'you should make them to sell'. But in my experience, despite what the *say*, folks are very reluctant to pay the actual cost of such items - materials AND time.
ReplyDeleteThat's the trouble isn't, I grew up going to craft fairs with my mother selling dried flowers and it certainly isn't an easy way to make money!
DeleteThats cool. if you made them and customised them with the childs name some how it would be worth more. maybe look about on google. and that website notonthehighstreet Im sorry I dont have an idea of price.
ReplyDeleteCustomising them could add something although I'd have to use stencils as my handwriting is appalling!
Deleteif you did trains you could cut the name into the smoke from the chimney something like that. and there are always stencils.
DeleteCourse they would sell Kev. I suppose you have got to write down how much it costs to make and how long it takes you to make it? I would think at least a tenner, but I don't know your cost. My lads would have like them when they were younger. If you want to make a rod for your own back. Start painting the different makes on them. Most country kids can tell you what make and number a passing tractor is. Yours reminds me of our Ford 3000 and 4000. It's not just kids who are tractor mad - especially vintage ones! Good luck.
ReplyDeleteThats the trouble, the ply would cost more than a tenner! It's difficult as people have no idea what materials cost and expect stuff to compare with what's in the the shops. I'd have to have a sit down and work it out I think! I thought it looked like a ford as well, and I'm a John Deere man!
DeleteI should imagine they would be very saleable, especially at this time of year. You could make them throughout the next year and book yourself in at a Christmas Fair next year to sell them en masse. As for cost, you need to work out how much it costs you to produce them and then work out what you would like to make from doing it.
ReplyDeleteRule of thumb for retail is double the cost of manufacture plus 20%, but that sometimes goes out of the window for hand produced items.
I personally wouldn't go down the personalisation route unless you are artistic enough that you can quickly write names on things at a fair or are willing to take commissions and have the hassle of delivering to order, I used to find that this took all the fun out making things as and when I had time and was in the mood for doing so.
I'm certainly not artistic enough - so that's out! I've heard the rule of double materials but wood is getting so expensive now, I'd imagine the price would change week to week making it difficult to work out.
DeleteJust like Wanda said I rarely see where the profit margin is high enough on my own creations to ever begin selling them.
ReplyDeleteThat's cool though. Every young Male should be into tractors!!!
My youngests second word was tractor! So not just little boys!
DeleteLucky James!!
ReplyDeleteJane x
He seemed very happy with it!
DeleteNothing ventured nothing gained if you do go ahead then keep the shapes simple easier on yourself to produce, you can now get chalkboard paint in lots of colours.
ReplyDeleteI think they are a great idea, pricing for handcrafted goods is always difficult, what might take you an hour to make may take someone else 2 hours so working out a price for time is almost impossible, but work out the cost of materials double it and add a little extra on that is what I usually do. But dont undersell its easier to reduce a price if they dont sell than put up a price if there is a lot of demand through underselling. :-)
My troubleis when I work it out and then work out what I can earn "on site" then it's normally less. Although there has to be a price for being able to do it at home and in my free time in the the evenings.
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