# Out of the Woodwork Has A "Store"



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

Totally excited but didnt get to post here yet... (okay, I forgot... sorry guys. It's this mentalpause crap, I swear)
Anyway, we opened in Clare, Michigan last weekend. My daughter helped set up my little "shop"/shelf, and I have a poster showing other sign availability, as well as business cards on display. Keep your fingers crossed... P.S. cost for my "shop" is $25/mo and it's in a craft consignment store.


----------



## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

That's pretty nifty, Barb. A nice display and bound to attract attention and buyers. Congratulations.


----------



## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Barb,

Are you in Michigan? I thought you were down in Texas someplace. There was another consignment store in Sterling Hts too, the last I knew. Let us know what sells or is popular.

HJ


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

Gaffboat said:


> That's pretty nifty, Barb. A nice display and bound to attract attention and buyers. Congratulations.


Thanks Oliver. I hope so. Came in at the end of the season so may have to wait till next year for any real sales.


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

honesttjohn said:


> Barb,
> 
> Are you in Michigan? I thought you were down in Texas someplace. There was another consignment store in Sterling Hts too, the last I knew. Let us know what sells or is popular.
> 
> HJ


Yup. Only act/talk at times like I'm from Texas :lol: where in Sterling Heights? Never heard of a craft consignment store down here.


----------



## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Check pm


----------



## schnewj (Nov 18, 2013)

Good for you, Barb. Best of luck with the booth.


----------



## Shop guy (Nov 22, 2012)

Congratulations Barb! Your display looks inviting which is key to generating interest. It may not be the end of the season since Christmas is just around the corner. Might just be about the beginning of the season. Fla la la la la. Not only can't sing can't even fake it. LOL


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

Thanks. I can thank my daughter for that one. I had to go out and look for wire plate racks. Any *other *time, you'd find them everywhere!
While I was gone, she set them up in their respective places, and was ready for me when I got back with the stands. She did a great job.


----------



## vindaloo (May 30, 2009)

Hey Barb, good luck with this venture. May you have much trade.


----------



## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

. Looking good Barb, best of luck.


----------



## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Congrats....Barb.

Hope you do well and have some fun.


----------



## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Congratulations Barb.


----------



## BrianS (Nov 7, 2004)

Congrats Barb... looks real nice.


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

Thank you everyone for the well wishes. Tomorrow I work the park I did last year where my cousin lives. They're having a "carport" sale, and hopefully I can drum up some business.


----------



## old coasty (Aug 15, 2014)

Shop guy said:


> It may not be the end of the season since Christmas is just around the corner.LOL


Sure looks great Barb. The stores seem to think Christmas is here, having skipped Halloween and Thanksgiving.


----------



## twallace (Jan 15, 2012)

Barb ,,,,I admire your work but never commented. But I see your signs as professional. My humble opinion is that with your quality of work there is no "end of season". I pray that your business endeavour will blossom. It is also a blessing to have someone at your side giving encouragement. Best wishes.


----------



## rcp612 (Oct 22, 2008)

Congratulations Barb. Great looking display, and it should be well received. I wish you the best of luck!


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

twallace said:


> Barb ,,,,I admire your work but never commented. But I see your signs as professional. My humble opinion is that with your quality of work there is no "end of season". I pray that your business endeavour will blossom. It is also a blessing to have someone at your side giving encouragement. Best wishes.


Wow thank you Thomas. I'm truly humbled. I continuously question the work when done and wonder where I can improve my technique or wonder how I can improve. You're right, as well in your statement about having encouragement. Ken is especially supportive and loves to do it as well. I'm hoping to teach him how to do this and we'll be a true team in this endeavour.
Our daughter, while artistic in her own rite, when around will help and is supportive, but is busy with her own life.


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

rcp612 said:


> Congratulations Barb. Great looking display, and it should be well received. I wish you the best of luck!


Thank you Roger. That's the talent of my daughter :lol: she has creativity running through her veins as well, since her daddy has the creativity ability as well. They're my organizers and innovators (?)

One of these days I'll post some of her artwork. I may have one in my phone .


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

old coasty said:


> Sure looks great Barb. The stores seem to think Christmas is here, having skipped Halloween and Thanksgiving.


Thank you, Bob, and So true.. gets worse, it seems every year.


----------



## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Congratulations...display looks good...soon you'll be one of those "brick 'n mortar" types with a huge warehouse and showroom and catalog...

Good luck...much success...


----------



## chessnut2 (Sep 15, 2011)

This is great, Barb !! Best of luck.


----------



## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Nickp said:


> Congratulations...display looks good...soon you'll be one of those "brick 'n mortar" types with a huge warehouse and showroom and catalog...
> 
> Good luck...much success...


+1 What Nick said.


----------



## rwl7532 (Sep 8, 2011)

Network with the others who rent shelves at the same place. Exchange stories of successes and failures. 
Good luck!


----------



## Garyk (Dec 29, 2011)

Congratulations on your little shop, I hope it makes you BIG money. We have a bunch of consignment places around Pigeon Forge but given the location none for $25. I know several of the sign makers around here and they do quite well. Worked part time for Dollywood when I first retired and they make signs that have a carving on one end (cabins, bears & such) and put the name on at purchase. Just a thought for when you are snowed in this winter. Take up carving OR a small CNC would work nicely. Good luck with your venture -- hope you make your first million there.


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

rwl7532 said:


> Network with the others who rent shelves at the same place. Exchange stories of successes and failures.
> Good luck!


Vendors arent allowed to carry the same items as anyone else. Each booth/shelf/vendor has to carry something different. I'm the only sign maker... there are other wood workers but different styles.


----------



## rwl7532 (Sep 8, 2011)

OutoftheWoodwork said:


> Vendors arent allowed to carry the same items as anyone else. Each booth/shelf/vendor has to carry something different. I'm the only sign maker... there are other wood workers but different styles.


Well that works in your favor. Their successes and advice will be more forthcoming since you aren't competitors.

I assumed a variety of crafts when I made my comment.

Maybe someone found success in making items that were smaller; maybe someone found success in making larger versions of what they were making. Maybe they found teenagers who would work for less, maybe not. Everybody has a perspective and has a story. Listen and try to apply the story....


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

Thank you Nick Jim and Mike. Super excited and hopeful. Today while at my cousins I had a guy tell me that I need to quit my day job, do my signs full time, and get into Arts, Beats and Eats lol he embarrassed me with all the carrying - on he did about my signs


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

rwl7532 said:


> Well that works in your favor. Their successes and advice will be more forthcoming since you aren't competitors.
> 
> I assumed a variety of crafts when I made my comment.
> 
> Maybe someone found success in making items that were smaller; maybe someone found success in making larger versions of what they were making. Maybe they found teenagers who would work for less, maybe not. Everybody has a perspective and has a story. Listen and try to apply the story....


True.. guess what you intended wasn't the way I read it. My fault. With the place being so far away I doubt I'll get much of a chance to compare notes though. It's over two hours from me.


----------



## Roy Drake (Feb 10, 2014)

Barb, glad to see you're headed upwards. I show yours and others' sign work to my wife. She gets excited. Wait till she sees you're in business. Best of luck.


----------



## UlrichJ (Feb 16, 2012)

Wishing you the best!


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

Oh wow kewl Roy thank you. The guy yesterday had me blushing with all the compliments on my signs.


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

Thank you John 😊


----------



## SteveMI (May 29, 2011)

You are getting in at a perfect time. Friends that do crafting for a living tell me that they make over 50% of their annual income in the final 3 months of the year and that January is a good month also. 

I used to do puzzles in a similar business, one thing you need to keep up on for the most return is keeping your inventory at the store full. It is exciting and disheartening at the same time to go by the store to see people buying and only half dozen items left for sale on your display.

Hoping you have a great experience with this. Keep us all posted on the experience.

Steve.


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

SteveMI said:


> You are getting in at a perfect time. Friends that do crafting for a living tell me that they make over 50% of their annual income in the final 3 months of the year and that January is a good month also.
> 
> I used to do puzzles in a similar business, one thing you need to keep up on for the most return is keeping your inventory at the store full. It is exciting and disheartening at the same time to go by the store to see people buying and only half dozen items left for sale on your display.
> 
> ...


Thank you Steve. The lady told me that in the winter months there are super slow because Claire is a tourist town. but I will definitely keep in mind your words of advice anyway


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

excellent..
glad to see this...
I so hope the best fer ya....


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Best of Luck Barb. Looks good.


----------



## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Barb, $25. a month is a bargain. My wife used to have to pay $200. for her space at an antique mall to sell her Victorian Lampshades and she couldn't sell enough to pay the rent, and that was in the early 2000 when things were good. To top it off the mall took another 10% of the sales. She lost quite a few items that were stolen when she was not there also. 
Are you going to do online sales too? Sometimes that generates a little business.
Good luck on your venture, Your signs are so nice.

Herb


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

Stick486 said:


> excellent..
> glad to see this...
> I so hope the best fer ya....


Thanks Stick. I have a few other things I wanna throw up there, we'll see how it goes.


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> Best of Luck Barb. Looks good.


Thanks Chuck


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

Herb Stoops said:


> Barb, $25. a month is a bargain. My wife used to have to pay $200. for her space at an antique mall to sell her Victorian Lampshades and she couldn't sell enough to pay the rent, and that was in the early 2000 when things were good. To top it off the mall took another 10% of the sales. She lost quite a few items that were stolen when she was not there also.
> Are you going to do online sales too? Sometimes that generates a little business.
> Good luck on your venture, Your signs are so nice.
> 
> Herb


I know, Herb; that's the reason when she told me $25 a month and she had one spot open I didn't hesitate to grab it up. I plan on paying for 4 months or more at a time here pretty quick because when Ken goes on unemployment in December things will be tight till spring when he goes back to work. Not sure about doing online orders. That would require the post office and postage, and not sure I wanna deal with that right now. That's too bad about your wife losing things and the cost was crazy. This lady takes 20% but I just adjusted up for her cost, and I can make the items low enough to where the 20% markup isn't so hard on the customer.


----------



## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Are you going to offer custom orders for customers wanting special signs?
Herb


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

Herb Stoops said:


> Are you going to offer custom orders for customers wanting special signs?
> Herb


Yup; well, actually, it depends, really. If they're visitors, then i have to charge S&H. I have a little sign hanging on the side showing a picture of the custom signs with a little blurb about them. You can't read it but you can see it in the second picture.


----------



## Shop guy (Nov 22, 2012)

Good morning, Barb. You're up early this morning.


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

lol Richard I'm up every morning that early. My day usually starts around 5:30 a.m.


----------



## marecat3 (Nov 30, 2010)

Good luck Barb.


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

marecat3 said:


> Good luck Barb.


Thank you, Mary


----------



## TWheels (May 26, 2006)

OutoftheWoodwork said:


> lol Richard I'm up every morning that early. My day usually starts around 5:30 a.m.


I've recently had my days end round that time!

On a more serious note, I wish you the very greatest success with your new "store", and I hope it helps you and your husband get through his period of seasonal "unenjoyment" (I love that very descriptive word)


----------



## marecat3 (Nov 30, 2010)

guess I am lucky around here they either charge a percentage or charge for the booth. Not many charge both.


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

mftha said:


> I've recently had my days end round that time!
> 
> On a more serious note, I wish you the very greatest success with your new "store", and I hope it helps you and your husband get through his period of seasonal "unenjoyment" (I love that very descriptive word)


Thanks Tom, and back in the day, I had some nights end in the morning as well. Now I'm lucky to make it past the 11:00 news :lol:


----------



## Shop guy (Nov 22, 2012)

2 mornings a week we are too.. 3 mornings at 6:00 and Sunday whenever usually later. Lol


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

Ken's been working 7 days to get cash to help get money in our savings. Needless to say no real "sleeping in" for him. The latest has been around 8 and that was yesterday. If I sleep till 7:30 my day is shot; feel like I've wasted half the day.


----------



## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

Looks like a great opportunity Barb. My wife placed fabric goods in several similar shops in the past and a number of them "discounted" the rent or their percentage fee if she was willing to spend a few hours working in the store each week. All in all a positive experience but unless the store is well located and advertised business can be slow. You might htink about a simple web page showing your work and referring to the shop location. Just a thought.

Good hunting.


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

JFPNCM said:


> Looks like a great opportunity Barb. My wife placed fabric goods in several similar shops in the past and a number of them "discounted" the rent or their percentage fee if she was willing to spend a few hours working in the store each week. All in all a positive experience but unless the store is well located and advertised business can be slow. You might htink about a simple web page showing your work and referring to the shop location. Just a thought.
> 
> Good hunting.


I have a fb page as well, which is on my business cards and I'm slowly gaining attention there. Anyone who's on fb, I invite to find me as OutoftheWoodwork. My Michigan Wine Bottle Holder is my profile picture and it's listed as a local business. Thanks for the well wishing, and as for the volunteering, it's a 2 1/2 hour drive up there. Kinda hard to work the shop.


----------



## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

OutoftheWoodwork said:


> I have a fb page as well, which is on my business cards and I'm slowly gaining attention there. Anyone who's on fb, I invite to find me as OutoftheWoodwork. My Michigan Wine Bottle Holder is my profile picture and it's listed as a local business. Thanks for the well wishing, and as for the volunteering, it's a 2 1/2 hour drive up there. Kinda hard to work the shop.


FB is a good plan but I would encourage you to expand with a simple web page as well. The key word searches can be very helpful. The 2 1/2 drive would certainly be a deal breaker on the support side unless you tied it to a restocking day.

All the best.


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

JFPNCM said:


> FB is a good plan but I would encourage you to expand with a simple web page as well. The key word searches can be very helpful. The 2 1/2 drive would certainly be a deal breaker on the support side unless you tied it to a restocking day.
> 
> All the best.


Jon I don't have the time or a place to work to be able to put that kind of time into a web page. Perhaps when we have our house and our lives settle a bit I may, but not right now.


----------



## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Word of mouth keeps me busy. I am on several fishing forums, and have a lot of friends there. That's where the current kitchen remodel job came from, and the liquor cabinet before it.

Then my wife and I, and our adult kids are all on FB and they share our projects with their friends, and they share with their friends, and so on...example: Shelley's wet bar!

Also, on FB, I get tagged with projects from the internet and folks say..."Uncle Mike, can you build this for me?" :surprise::grin:

And so it goes! :dance3:


----------



## gjackson52 (Jul 4, 2015)

Very cool ! Congratulations on your venture !


Gary


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

gjackson52 said:


> Very cool ! Congratulations on your venture !
> 
> 
> Gary


Thank you, Gary. Hoping to get up there soon to check my inventory.


----------



## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Good luck, Barb.


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

You've done a great job on that Kitchen Mike.. and fb has gotten me exposure as well. Thank you for the good wishes


----------



## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

OutoftheWoodwork said:


> Jon I don't have the time or a place to work to be able to put that kind of time into a web page. Perhaps when we have our house and our lives settle a bit I may, but not right now.


Understand the time issues. Keep it in mind.


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

JFPNCM said:


> Understand the time issues. Keep it in mind.


Oh I plan on it. Thanks


----------



## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Best of luck with the store Barb . Just a thought , maybe put your avatar on the back of your signs , this way people will know the person behind all that hard work .

I'm thinking they'll be selling like hot cakes :grin:


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

ejant said:


> The dog growled


What the... This is NOT what I quoted.... GRRRR


----------



## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

RainMan1 said:


> Best of luck with the store Barb . Just a thought , maybe put your avatar on the back of your signs , this way people will know the person behind all that hard work .
> 
> I'm thinking they'll be selling like hot cakes :grin:


rofl Rick you need to quit


----------



## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

OutoftheWoodwork said:


> rofl Rick you need to quit


Yes ,can you tell I don't get out much :grin:


----------

