Iguanadon

I've actually done both. I always would pack up all my puzzles and take them with me, leaving the tent and tables overnight, but once, I decided to leave everything and just zip up the walls of my tent. The venue was only 4 blocks from my house and I knew the cops were watching over everything. I arrived the next morning and a freak windstorm had hit about midnight and just about blew my entire tent, tables, displays and puzzles away. Fortunately some nice folks reinforced my tent and I only lost 2 puzzles due to damage. Lesson learned, never do that again. P.S. For a typical 1 day event, my setup time is down to about 45 minutes but I take my time and it takes an hour. Tear down is only 25 minutes. I'm nothing if not efficient.

After the threat of a rainy holiday weekend, we dodged the bullet and had great weather yesterday (and today). Week #1 of the farmers market went very well. Big crowd, lots of vendors and I broke a personal record selling 42 puzzles during the 8am - 1pm event. I've averaged 27 each week the past 2 years (about 24 weeks). Next week I'm going to experiment by not taking my "kids puzzles" that I sell at half the price of my signature puzzles. I simply need the table space now that I've expanded the sea critter collection so much with several new CAROLINA BEACH and KURE BEACH options. I enjoy making the kids puzzles, they're quick and easy and they are a bit sentimental in that they are what I started scrolling for my grand-daughter. But I want to see how it goes without them for a couple of weeks.

My wife's favorite entertainer... she's still slightly in mourning since his death.

Anybody go to the event in Ohio yesterday/today? I just got a call from Harvey Byler Sr. and he said that Harvey Jr. attended yesterday and met Steve Good. I had mentioned Steve Good to Harvey Sr. a couple of times letting him know that Steve is kind of a "guru" of scrollers and is very popular and has quite a following, so it was kind of cool that Harvey Jr. got to meet him. I just wondered if anyone from here happened to go and saw an Amish gentleman wandering the event. He'd have been obvious in that he was the only one not taking a selfie.

I use the Amish font... Harvey Byler hand draws every one of mine. LOL

I had someone who saw me at an event contact me and ask me if I could put anything they want in the animals and I said "sure"... I've done names, I do beach towns, etc. Well she has 2 beach homes and sometimes like boats, folks name their beach houses. So she asked for FLIGHTED DESIRE and LUMINOUS OASIS in a couple of beach critters. Then she mentioned that she's a realtor and likes to give her clients a gift when they're closing on a new home and asked for one that says RUPP FAMILY. All done as non-puzzle and I'll glue the animals to the bases once they dry. At first I didn't really enjoy making non-puzzles, but they're starting to grow on me as I cut some now and again.

And that someone will also post a comment making me have to see what someone said.

Sorry - Ignore... duplicate post

Today was the 1st annual Woofstock dog festival... Strike 1 - It's the first year of it Strike 2 - It was originally scheduled in April but got rained out and this was the reschedule date so advertising/marketing was thin leading up to the new date. Strike 3 - They charge $10 admission So, I still came home with $410 in my pocket, but only sold 17 puzzles. I didn't take the usual batch of kids puzzles that I sell 2 for $25 because I wanted to display more dogs and from that aspect it worked out well, but overall the event was slow. It was only 4 1/2 hours long so at least I'm home at a decent time. No more new events... no more "festival" type events without first attending to see if it's worth signing up for the next year. I'm fully booked the rest of this year with "sure thing" events, so I don't have to waste my time at other events this year. Local farmers market cranks up 2 weeks from today. Looking forward to staying near home for a while. Funny/Odd thing though... A woman came up and was looking and said to her son "Ethan, look at this one, it's cool." And I asked "Did I hear you say his name is Ethan?" She confirmed and I reached over and showed her an Elephant with the name Ethan in it that I use as an example to show people that I offer custom names. She said "OMG! I love elephants and with my sons name in it, it's perfect!" She bought it. LOL Iggy

Ha! Hey JT, you're a funny guy... give it to the dog to solve! LOL It's a very good question and you'd have to see the folks when they walk by, see the animals and their reactions. It's really quite fascinating. Women and men, they all are just kind of mesmerized, curious, fascinated to see cute little animals. A lot of times people don't even realize they're puzzles until they try to pick one up and it "wiggles". Then when I point out and explain that they're puzzles they're even more amazed and then I tell them that they're individually hand cut and the conversation really takes off. The women usually are fascinated due to the "cuteness" of the dogs or other animals. Men are fascinated by the precision and detail of the cutting although they also get all soft-hearted when they see their favorite dog breed. Dog owners are the most passionate and they are the reason I take 70 breeds of dog with me now to every event. When they ask for and see their breed, their hearts melt. However there are a lot of people that are simply in love with elephants, giraffes, mermaids, unicorns or dragons and simply MUST have one. Out of the 242 total sold this year so far, 72 of them have been dogs or 30% which is consistent with 2017 total sales of 33% dogs. Then of course living at the beach, the sea critters are very popular, especially now the ones that I make that say CAROLINA BEACH and KURE BEACH in the bodies (my local island) The simple kids puzzles I sell at a lower price point account for another 28% of total quantity sales. I do my best to ensure that everyone takes the time to look at all 140 different dogs/animals because I'm almost positive they'll spot one that either they are passionate about or they know someone else who is. I sell them as "They all stand upright and are meant to go on a bookshelf and look nice." That's literally what I say, to every single person that comes up to the booth. I've definitely hit on a cuteness factor and Harvey's amazing artwork and attention to detail in the dog breeds and other animals hooks them. I also hear all the time "Wow, this is so unique! I've never seen anything like this." Just another 'wow' factor to go along with the cuteness factor. I'm sure we could get some psychologists hiding behind a curtain at a couple of my events watching and listening and figuring out the psychological nerve my puzzles have struck. But until then I can only guess. Iggy

Three events in the books... Event #1 - Goal of selling 100 puzzles - Sold 97 Event #2 - Goal of selling 100 puzzles - Sold 96 Event #3 Today - Goal of selling 50 puzzles - Sold 49 Coming up a little short, but at least my goal/expectations are within reason. Today's event was unusual in that of the 49 sold only 4 of them were the kids puzzles which I sell for 1/2 the price of my main puzzles. So, dollar wise I did better than usual which was nice. Event #4 next Saturday, WoofStock dog festival. Goal of 50. Let's see how much I miss it by. :-) Then I have a week off before my weekly Farmers Market begins Memorial Day Weekend. Iggy

Maybe I should bet on the upcoming Kentucky Derby... Last Saturday - Sunny 75 degrees Forecast for this Saturday - Sunny 76 degrees Forecast for next Saturday - Sunny 77 degrees I'm guessing I'll get rained out of 4 farmer's markets in a row at some point this summer as payback. ;-)

Mrs. Iggy saw an ad on Facebook of someone selling a bunch of shelving, displays and racks from a business. I arranged to go take a look this morning and snatched up 3 of these stacking metal basket systems. They're on wheels and they came with dividers. Absolutely perfect for my stockpile of puzzles. I was able to get rid of 12 boxes full of puzzles that were not easy to organize or search through when I needed specific ones. As soon as my shed is inspected by the town tomorrow I'll be able to clear out the garage of lawn and garden and beach stuff and re-arrange my puzzle area. I can't wait. Now I need to cut more puzzles to fill up the baskets. LOL

Perfect weather coming up for Saturday #2... We'll see how Saturday #3 shapes up in a few days as the 10 day forecast gives me a glimpse.

Hey Brian, Spring Daze was great again. I matched last years sales... to the penny, which is pretty amazing. Yep, Gail stopped by and she said you're doing Lazy Daze, is that accurate. I hope so, this year I want to beat you. I want revenge!!! ;-)

It was just li'l ol' me working the booth all day. The most difficult part is writing down what is being bought. But otherwise it's not too "hectic" most of the time, but very steady. I had a box lunch delivered to my booth that I took a bite of every chance I got but I'm used to being a one man operation and am able to sustain. We'll see how that works out as I continue to age. LOL I always feel kind of bad for my vendor neighbors that have to hear my "sales pitch" hundreds of times. :-D I finished cutting 6 puzzles this morning for the next event coming up Saturday, now it's time to do some yard work.

You're a very cruel person. LOL I just printed off the ones I need to cut this week in advance of my event next Saturday. Puzzle season is in full swing!

My biggest 1 day event is DONE! It was my best 1 day event last year selling 96 puzzles. And today, I sold... 96 puzzles... and not only that, but I made EXACTLY the same amount of money. That's like a one in a gazillion possibility... well not quite, but it's still mind boggling. Perfect weather, huge crowd. 96 puzzles in 8 hours = 1 every five minutes... EXHAUSTING. Load in time for my zone was 5:30am-6:30am, I got there at 5:45. I just got home after the 2 1/2 hour drive. I'll see ya all in about a week. :-) Iggy

I didn't have anything this past weekend. The 3 Saturdays begin tomorrow. Biggest event is the first one. Leaving today to head up to Raleigh around noon and will spend the night with friends. My designated unload time based on my booth location is very early tomorrow morning between 5:30 and 6:30. It's a very well organized event. 150 vendors in and out in a set order by groupings.

Two out of three Saturdays looking good so far... This Saturday - Sunny and 75 degrees Next Saturday - Partly Cloudy and 72 degrees (long range forecast, certainly subject to change but looking good)

I've shared it before and happy to share it again, below is a freebie for anyone that would like to try one of Harvey Byler's puzzles. A custom one I had Harvey make that says "RESCUE", one of my most popular puzzles. And you can see over 450 of his creations on my site. Scroll down to the patterns area. www.WoodcraftByScott.com Let me know if you have any questions and enjoy! Iggy Rescue1.pdf

Hey Brian, nicely done. As mentioned, puzzle blades are for 1/8" or maybe 1/4" thick wood. For 3/4" use #3 or #5.

Hey RJ, still using DeWalt's. The Hawk is sitting in my shop looking at me with puppy dog eyes. So far the plan for the year is working out... stockpile during the winter so that I can cruise through the year. Based on last years sales and the events I'm signed up for this year I'll sell 1600 puzzles. Half of them are already made. LOL

Hey Larry, it's very much a hobby for me. I have a full time job and I've started up a new business (local advertising map). The puzzles are my relaxation. I get to cut between 1 hour and 3 hours a day depending on everything I have going on. I never feel that I MUST get out there and cut. Sure, when I have a major event coming up I make sure I have everything I want to have on hand, but if I don't get as many cut as I'd like, oh well. My event the Saturday after next for instance I'd love to have another 50 of certain items, but I won't be able to do it as I'll be replenishing next week what I sell this Saturday. As you said, to each his own. I love every minute I cut them and setup and sell them. It's pure enjoyment... except when it might rain. :-) And if I end the year with $20,000-$25,000 extra in my pocket I'm even happier. And so is Mrs. Iggy cuz we use it on fun stuff for the house.

LOL and to further blow your mind... some say that the term "Black Friday" for the big shopping day after Thanksgiving is named that because it refers to the single day of the year when retail companies finally go “into the black” (i.e. make a profit).