Sunday, February 26, 2023

Old business, new owner

Older Daughter, as you may recall, is taking over our woodcraft business.

These last couple of months have been very busy for her. Ever since moving back in, she's been working part-time at a nearby store until such time as the tankard business was off the ground with enough volume to support her.

The trouble is, working retail four days a week doesn't leave a lot of time (or energy) left over to put into the woodcraft business. In January, she was slamming to get an enormous production run (150+ pieces) to a customer by the end of the month, while still juggling her hours at the store. That's when Don and I stepped in to lend a hand.

Now that the sales season for wholesalers is ramping up, she's been contacting some of our old wholesalers and inquiring about their tankard needs. And wham, she got slammed with orders! Orders coming out her ears!

So she happily gave two weeks' notice at her store job and is now fully immersed in the shop on a full-time basis, filling orders. I don't think I've ever seen her as happy. Her hours are her own, and if she wants to knock off early or take a day hike, she can.

Even better, she's making money – far more than she earned at the store.

She bought a large year-at-a-glance wall calendar and is writing what we call "drop-dead ship dates" on it, to plan out her year. She's working at a steady-but-not-insane pace and is quite pleased with her output so far.

Don is still helping her in the shop for a few things (showing her how to change the band-saw blade, how to pin the lids on lidded tankards, etc.), but otherwise it's her gig. We're so proud of her!

UPDATE: Just a note, this is a wholesale-only business, with a minimum order of 30 pieces. She may have individual sales in the future, but she isn't set up for that now.

15 comments:

  1. From Nanny to business owner--Congrats! You deserve to be proud of her.

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  2. This is so cool. I am so thrilled for Older Daughter. What a wonderful gift to be able to hand down to your child.

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  3. Having a viable business to enjoy and work from home is perfect for today's crazy world. I'm glad she had the wisdom and ability to do this. Plus, the timing was right. From all the work you and Don have struggled through
    to get your new home functioning properly, I don't think ya'll would be cranking out many tankard. If so, it would have set you back with getting your home established.
    Still praying for YD too.

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  4. Those lil ones are so adorable!

    Blessings to you all.

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  5. That is wonderful! So happy for you all!!!

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  6. How does one obtain one of your tankards?

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  7. Is she taking new clients? And if so, where can we sign up?

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    1. For **wholesale only** inquiries, her email is:
      woodcraftsbylewis@gmail.com
      Right now she's not set up for individuals sales, though that might happen in the future.

      - Patrice

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  8. Is she taking new clients and if so, where can we sign up?

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  9. Those tankards look really nice; she's doing good work!

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  10. Love the variety of colours. Hand crafted is such an art.

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  11. Where can we purchase one of these beautiful pieces of art?

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  12. I would love to buy a shot glass out of wood would that be possible

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    Replies
    1. Not at this point. Right now all her orders are wholesale. She's swamped!

      - Patrice

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  13. FYI https://www.ebay.com/itm/293570647729

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