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Iguanadon

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Everything posted by Iguanadon

  1. Iguanadon
    Hey Melanie, sorry for the delay. For my weekly market I take extras of about 8 or 9 breeds that I occasionally sell more than 1 of (I take 6 Dachshunds, then 1 or 2 of the Aussie, Black Lab, Doodle, Labrador, Frenchie, Pit Bull, Pug, Retriever). For my bigger events, I'll take duplicates of a couple dozen different ones. I simply hate it when I run out of anything and have to tell customers I've sold out of what they're asking for. They will rarely place an order, purely impulse buy.
  2. Iguanadon
    Well, just for kicks, I decided to do an inventory of all the dog breeds that I take to events in puzzle form. I display 47 and have another 63 less popular breeds in a bin to show when asked. I enjoy saying "Yep, I have 100 breeds with me today." And now I can start saying 110 since I now know exactly how many I do have. With the exception of maybe 3 or 4, I have sold at least one of every one. It's worth it as I get asked at virtually every event for an unusual breed and 9 times out of 10, the person is ecstatic to see their breed and will buy it.
  3. Iguanadon
    My first event of the year just ended, 2 days (Friday and Saturday). Large event with 160 vendors in a beautiful park. Weather was great, crowds were huge. I didn't make as much as I expected. Inflation is definitely tightening some wallets understandably. I sold a total of 62 pieces at an average price of $32.50 over the two days. Overall very happy. All vendors said the same thing "Sales were good, they just weren't fabulous." Next event in 2 weeks, one of my best 1 day events each year. See how it goes.
  4. Iguanadon
    No room and no time to cut 'em, so just doing away with them. Mixed emotions. They are what I started with and I enjoy cutting them as they're quick and simple... but not enough sales to justify them.
  5. Iguanadon
    I actually run a Facebook page dedicated to the town locals and I turned it into an Open House type event and a couple dozen folks swung by during the 11am to 2pm window I announced. I had said my intent was not to sell anything, etc, etc. But 1 person did buy a puzzle anyway. LOL
  6. Iguanadon
    I did a mock set-up at my house today and so glad I did it. Realized items I was missing that I had sold at my last event back in December and didn't remember... Arranged a couple of things differently with help from the wife. Displaying fewer non-dog puzzles to make room for more racks and other new items. Dog puzzles and leash holders are far and away the top selling group. This year going with black tablecloths versus white. It was very windy so I couldn't stand any puzzles up on the tables. Happy with how it looks and ready for my first event coming up Friday & Saturday.
  7. Iguanadon
    Hey strangers, long time no see... I hope everyone is doing well. Busy times as always for me with the day job and two side businesses. Winter has been stockpiling season. I cut about 250 puzzles to bulk up to around 500 on hand, and now working on key/leash racks. 44 of them stacked in the photo below. I'll store them as they are and then I'll finish them and add hooks as I need them. Hope to cut another 100 or so before my first event of the year coming up in mid-April. What's new and exciting?
  8. Iguanadon
    Hilarious... you do know me pretty well. LOL I won't be surprised if I go back to rattle can... it is very simple.
  9. Iguanadon
    Hey Kev, no, I don't have a compressor. I'll see how this goes. Won't be the first time I spent a few dollars that didn't pan out. LOL
  10. Iguanadon
    Great info everyone, keep it coming...
  11. Iguanadon
    I started making these key/leash racks and I've been using rattle can spray finish (image below) but I'm ready to upgrade and some folks recommended the Titan sprayer (image below). Well it just went on sale for $200 and I think I'll jump at that. Now my question is, what would you recommend I use in it? What type of finish? Thanks for your suggestions and assistance.
  12. Iguanadon
    And that's a wrap... the season/year is over. Finished on a high note with 3 fabulous holiday markets in a row without any being rained out which is unusual. Today was amazing 70 degrees and sunny. Anyway, for those interested... This was my best year since beginning 5 years ago, even with 3 of my major events cancelled due to Covid. Sold a total of 772 pieces (443 puzzles and 359 key/leash racks). This year was only slightly better than my previous best year (2018) and that year I sold 1,112 puzzles and wasn't doing the racks back then. So I like the fact that I sold 350 fewer pieces but made as much in revenue due to the higher selling price of the racks. $33.86 avg price this year compared to $23.22 avg price in 2018. This year was 24 events (16 of which were my local weekly market) with the lowest event of the year being $355 and the highest being $4,120. Pics from today's final event.
  13. Iguanadon
    Very true Dave and I actually put a dab of glue in a couple of spots on the backside just in case. Since it'll be hanging on a wall, unlikely to come apart, but prefer to play it safe.
  14. Iguanadon
    There are some days I curse Harvey Byler under my breath while I'm cutting... Those days happen to be when I have to cut Shih-Tzu's... LOL His attention to detail is amazing... and infuriating at times. I just cut this one, still need to spray coat it and add hooks. This one will absolutely test your skills.
  15. Iguanadon
    Fabulous idea and great work!
  16. Iguanadon
    Good thought about the shaker pegs... I have a bag of 700 of them I thought I'd get requests for and use when I first started making the wall racks. But everyone requested the metal hooks. LOL
  17. Iguanadon
    I had a customer ask me on Saturday "Do you do anything soccer related? My daughter needs something to hang her medals and ribbons from." Hmmmm, good idea... I do now... I made these to display at my final 2 events of the year coming up. See if they stimulate any orders.
  18. Iguanadon
    Had first holiday market yesterday and it went well. Started out chilly and a bit slow but picked up later and was windy all day. It was only 6 hours from 9am to 3pm. Always a good event each year. Sold 17 puzzles and 19 wall racks for a total in sales of $1180. Next Saturday is at the same location and should see an increase in traffic and sales as folks officially get into the holiday shopping mood. Weather looks good, cool, but less windy. Photo of a jumbo Stegosaurus wall rack someone ordered literally as I was packing up, shown in comparison to the puzzle version.
  19. Iguanadon
    Thanks Dick, yes, seriously, I couldn't have stumbled upon a better gig. Even after 5 years I very much enjoy making the items as well as going to events and selling them... I can see myself doing this well into retirement... in another decade. LOL If I ever do start getting burnt out I can simply reduce the number of events.
  20. Iguanadon
    Hey RJ, map business is doing well. It's "selling season". signing businesses up for next year. Hearing some concerns from some businesses about staffing, supply chain, material costs, etc so some are tightening up and not advertising in both of our products, while others are upgrading to larger sized ads. But hopefully I'll fill in the gaps with some new signings. Here is the current year map. I have 4 spots on the back to fill.
  21. Iguanadon
    Yeah, considering 3 bigger events cancelled, I still have a slim chance of beating my best year. 3 holiday events coming, but probably at least 1 will be affected by weather, it's just the norm. We'll see.
  22. Iguanadon
    I have 3 holiday events remaining but wanted to get a count of what I sold so far in 2021 so I can start preparing for my winter cutting/stockpiling. Snapshot below shows top sellers in each category. Those crazy Dachshund people keep me busy. LOL A good year. Key/Leash racks almost matched puzzle sales. Around 310 puzzles and 280 racks this year and had 3 large events cancelled due to Covid.
  23. Iguanadon
    What a week! An amazing 2 days at Autumn Topsail with near record sales and 22 custom orders kept me busy this week. Every breed of dog you can imagine... a Basenji? Sure! A Wheaten Terrier? You bet! A Dalmation? But of course! Any breed, any size. Check out the oversized Aussie that was requested. I have so much fun making these things. This is just 1/3 of the custom orders I received and cut this week. Now I have to ship them all out.
  24. Iguanadon
    Instead of gluing patterns to the wood? No, haven't tried that. The engraving area is pretty small so wouldn't work for many.
  25. Iguanadon
    Yes, I believe it does.
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