Got a news write up

[Wichman]

Yesterday a reporter called to get a story about me and what I do. Published online yesterday; now to see if I get a sales bump Saturday

https://www.eastidahonews.com/2023/09/local-craftsman-sells-artisan-wood-carvings-at-farmers-market-for-nearly-two-decades/

 

[Mark SW]

Very nicely done. You should see a jump in sells with the excellent write up.

 

[Dak0ta52]

Nice article. Hope it booms your business.

[meflick]

Congratulations and hope it leads to many new sales for you.

[rjweb]

Good job, RJ

[kmmcrafts]

That's a really nice write up.. I hope it boost your sales. 

[barb.j.enders]

Nice write up.  

[Joe W.]

Congrats!  But be careful what you wish for.  You may find yourself being busier than you want to be. 

[Roberta Moreton]

Nice!

[Wichman]

No sales bump; in fact a 75% reduction in sales vs last week. I'd start cussing, but I don't think I'd stop.

This will be my last year at the Farmer's Market, the sales just aren't there. I'm not making enough to sit there for 8 hrs, let alone the time during the week to make things.

I'll go a different direction next year; one craft show per quarter.

[Joe W.]

49 minutes ago, Wichman said:

I'll go a different direction next year; one craft show per quarter.

Same for me here. 
Life keeps getting in the way. 
And I'm not the speediest cutter in the game. 
And that's OK. 
Just trying to keep it fun and not a J - O - B.

[kmmcrafts]

On 9/25/2023 at 12:23 PM, Wichman said:

No sales bump; in fact a 75% reduction in sales vs last week. I'd start cussing, but I don't think I'd stop.

This will be my last year at the Farmer's Market, the sales just aren't there. I'm not making enough to sit there for 8 hrs, let alone the time during the week to make things.

I'll go a different direction next year; one craft show per quarter.

Sorry to hear about the slow sales, I also have seen quite a slowdown.. sales are doing "okay" but the higher priced things are not moving very well at all.. I think most people are not buying as much because everything costing more. 

[BadBob]

5 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

I also have seen quite a slowdown.. sales are doing "okay" but the higher priced things are not moving very well at all.

Same here; my shop has been in steady decline since February 2021.

2022 Revenue -23% from 2021

2023 Revenue -33% from 2022

This was after three years of steadily increasing.

[kmmcrafts]

4 hours ago, BadBob said:

Same here; my shop has been in steady decline since February 2021.

2022 Revenue -23% from 2021

2023 Revenue -33% from 2022

This was after three years of steadily increasing.

My last two years was only slightly down and somewhat expected because I gave up around 18% by stopping international shipping... This year though, currently over 40% decrease in revenue.. hoping this holiday season boost sales up some with many new laser engraved and option to personalize ornaments.. I'm always being asked to personalize something and turn a lot of that away so I'm hopeful this can turn around at least some.. but the economy is terrible right now and this auto union strike is going to trickle through the system just in time for the busy holiday times so I'm not too confident currently for this year.. Next year being a election year will likely be slow as well..

I've been considering pointing my domain to etsy again just to cut cost of the website fees.. I've also thought about aiming it to the goimagine mosaic site since it's included in the package I already pay for. I hate sending it to etsy because etsy shows the shoppers other items from other sellers.. and I'd rather bring business to a small company and help them grow their business ( that is also helping children ) than to help etsy that has grown too big for their own good and became greedy. They are also in a slump and offering kickbacks if you bring the shopper to them.. as they are declining too and they need the help to try to maintain their sales status on the stock exchange.   

[rafairchild2]

I think what everyone needs to consider is that inflation is eating away at discretionary budgets right now.  I know that I am being more prudent for those "nice to have" items.  

What I have been doing is working about 5-7 hours of OT each week.  Although I am on salary, I get straight time for anything over my 37.5 hours/week.  Kind of nice since my company needs my butt in the seat to make their money.   I use my OT not only to pad emergency funds, but also to buy wood or any other shop item.  This way I am not taking out of the regular budget.

All this to say, many people do not have that option, and with higher fuel, food and housing expenses, getting a handmade item is not really on the list right now.

Sad financial reality we are living in right now.

[Gene Howe]

With the Christmas season approaching, my woodworking projects are now various wheeled toys. I have a pretty sure sales outlet. My output isn't so massive that online sales attempts will be necessary. Toys are certainly not items of necessity but, parents, grandparents and other relatives and friends will be needing gifts for the youngsters.