HomeBiz
Christmas Gift to Craft Business
by Rhonda, the "hockeymom"
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My craft business started when I bought my husband a scroll saw for Christmas. I wanted to paint a few things for myself. In the past I have enjoyed painting ceramics with my mom, so painting on wood, would be just as fun. After Christmas came and went, summer time came but there wasn’t any time for my husband to get cutting. Would you believe another Christmas passed and the saw was still in the box. Finally, that summer he built a table for the saw and set it up in his barn out back and started cutting.

We started out simple

We made tulips to put out in our flower garden and then found a local wood pattern shop and expanded to garden animals to add to the flower beds (bees, worms, hummingbirds, etc.). A few friends and family saw them and suggested that I sell them. I thought, “No way I'm a painter not a salesman”, and handed the job over to my husband. At this time he was on strike from work and we didn't know how long the strike would last. Friends and family had bought our crafts from us.

We were thinking they just wanted to help our financial situation, every little bit did help. I was also thinking of trying a craft show, but as my husband was selling to his aunt she volunteered to take the yard ornaments into work and see if anyone would be interested in buying them.

At first I was a little scared of failure. I was concerned that none of them would sell. A phone call came the next day from my husband’s aunt saying she had sold all of them and needed more. I felt so proud that my first order sold so well. This is how my woodcraft business got started. My husband cuts the wood and we both hand sand the wood together. I do the painting and spray them with a sealer. The orders just kept coming in and we could hardly keep up with it but the extra money sure did help.

Two years later

I am still busy painting during the down time in the colder months. The finishing spray needs to be used outside. I have over twenty adorable yard ornaments to choose from and also expanded to holiday, kitchen and bathroom wall hangings.

You never know when a gift
can turn into a small business.
Rhonda

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