This past weekend was The Prodigal Carpenter's first experience participating in a Festival or Artisan Fair. For anyone who has undertaken one of these, we don't have to tell you the amount of hard work that goes into preparation, facilitating, and post event handling. We learned a lot from our "initiation" into the outdoor market world. 1 Nothing replaces personal interaction with potential customers. The feedback was invaluable. It was affirming to have so many folks express admiration for the quality and craftsmanship of our products and admire what we do. 2. Know your Target Market. Handcrafted items of high quality are not produced inexpensively They take time, craftsmanship and quality materials. Consequently they're not what everyone is looking...
My wife and I are participating in a local artisan festival this weekend, so there have been a multitude of "bases" to cover in preparation. Nothing done well comes easy ......... and we hope do this well! Being "new" to it, however, we've made list after list over the past couple of weeks in an attempt to not leave any critical task unaddressed. Those who've taken the "entrepreneur" plunge understand...... business licenses, tax numbers, business cards, payment processing, packaging etc. etc. Meanwhile the work in the shop goes on..... Artisan Boxes Wooden Culinary Utensils...and Cutting Boards Sanding, Gluing and stirring up Sawdust:) The results are piling up...... We're looking forward to some...
You know what you’re eating when you grind your own beef and the cost is better than what you pay for the grocery store mystery grind, but be careful, the guests you invite over once are going to want to be invited back. In a recent post we shared the "how" of grinding your own beef mixture. Here’s a cost breakdown of our most recent meat purchase for creating our own “grind”: Chuck roast: 8.86 lbs @ $2.98 London broil: 8.11 lbs @ $2.98 ...
Looking at an old exterior door, seeing a weathered piece of wood, exposed to wind and sun, cold and rain; we see what age and elements do to the natural beauty of God’s creation. Within the weathered, worn and distressed, however, is where the prodigals exist. What a joy to take something once treasured and restore it to a place of beauty; brand new, yet still aged, recreated and yet honoring the original creation. What we love more than anything is taking those pieces of useless scrap and transforming them into something that can be cherished once again; realizing that apart from restoration, these old beauties are destined for the scrap heap or nearest landfill. Everything we do is...
