TT Update

Good Morning All,

I've been gone for a while, working on the "double top secret" Design blog... but worry not, you didn't miss much.

Well, it would appear as if I'm all dressed up, with no where to go.  In other words, I finally figured out how to make the barrettes and forks and let's just say that they haven't been a resounding success... once again.  Glad at least that I still know how to make a stick.

So let me share with you a couple of reasons that I've been burrowing down these other various rabbit holes.   The driving factor is that our business is down by a whopping 30% from this same time last year, and folks, financially speaking, that hurts.  The simple fact of the matter is that in trying to support ourselves over the past few years, I think we've flooded the market, as I certainly haven't been getting worse at my job over the years, or at least I don't think I have.  So there's that.

The other reason, which actually is a supplement to the above stated reason is that I don't know how many sticks are left in these fingers.  My fingers hurt constantly, and it's from the repetition of making thousands of sticks.  So, in addition to the income side of things, I need to find something that is marketable which I can make, that isn't as demanding on my hands.  The other alternative, which I don't really relish is trying to get a real job again.  I don't want to do that, because I love what I do and I don't want to give it up unless I absolutely have to.

In terms of additional design ideas,  just like the "secret handshake only" Design blog, feel free to tell me what you like or don't like in terms of anything that I might be working on.  My obvious preference is to make that which you like, as I'm getting tired of practicing that which I think.

So here's your TT update, I hope that I haven't depressed you too much :)

Have a great weekend!

Doug

Friday Night Sale

The next Friday Night Sale will be held on November 18, beginning at 1:00 PM CST (US), 8:00 PM (CEST). We will de-activate all inventory Friday morning for price adjustment with an overall discount of approximately 20% - 25%. Everything will be re-activated at exactly 1:00, (Please check your own individual time zone to make sure the start time aligns with 1:00 PM Central Standard Time in the United States.)

The Design Corner

Hi All,

I've set up a new blog entirely focused on the design of clips and forks and whatever else we may come up with.  As it turns out, I can't have a portion of this blog that is private, so I just made a new one that is.

If you're interested in participating, just send me a note through ETSY, and I'll add you to the member list and send you a link to the blog.

Thanks
Doug

Update... 45 minutes later...

Wow, that went quicker than I thought, I was going to be happy with 2 volunteers over the next couple of weeks.  Josie, the charter member has now verified with me that I need your email address.  I wasn't sure if it was the user name or the email address, so thank you Josie!

Update and Friday Night Sale

Good Evening,

I'm actually making some decent progress on the ideas that I had.  I think that I might have an actual prototype sometime within the next week or so.  Once I'm at a point where I'm satisfied with all of the preliminary behind the scenes type of stuff that I've had to build, I may ask for some volunteers.  I'm thinking of setting up a private thread that specifically lays out different design thoughts that I have, but the fallacy here is that I know virtually nothing about that which I'm trying to create.  So, if you're at all interested in helping me design the 1st one, I may ask for some help.  Caveat... (this may all be a monumental failure, and if so, you can say that you had nothing to do with it, and I'll back you up).   :)

The next FNS is this Friday, November 4th beginning at 1:00 PM... the usual time.

Have a great night!

Doug

Sunday Evening Thoughts

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a good weekend.

I wanted to share the essence of a conversation I had last week sometime, or maybe the week before... who knows, it's all a blur.  I was asked if I could make a comb, and truth be known, I thought a comb was a 5 cent piece of plastic I use to carry around in my back pocket back in the 70''s, so my natural inclination was no.  By the same token however, I assumed that wasn't the particular case, so I asked for a link to whatever it was that she was referring to.  Kindly enough, she sent a link to what she was wanting, and I quickly recognized that it was way outside of my particular bailiwick, and whoever makes those are good!

While I couldn't make what she was asking for, even on my best day, my head did however explode!

As many of you know, I've gone down quite a few rabbit holes over the past 10 years or so, and I can assure you that there are at least 5 times more holes than any of you know, but I think the comb suggestion just might be the rabbit hole I've been seeking.

It's getting late (at least for me), so I don't want to get into any detail tonight, but I'm going to be asking once again for your help.  You see, I've been bouncing different ideas off of our friends and family now for years, and while I value their input, I don't think they "get it"... but I know you all do.

Stay tuned, you all might be able to help me design and develop a new product line or two... I even had to go buy some new tools this weekend.  I hope some of you might be up to the challenge, as things tend to get named for those that design it... Chloe... Princess Eve... Melissa... all of our hairstick names have meaning, and I need some new names!

Have a good night, and a great week ahead.

Doug

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*  Update - Monday Early Afternoon

Hi Everyone,

I suspect that there may be some curiosity, so I wanted to fill in some of the details for you. 

The comb suggestion somehow made me look at things from a more 3 dimensional perspective.  If I can figure the math out, I think I may be able to begin producing both clips and forks, engraved and inlaid of course.  The mere thought of making these 2 items in the past simply made my head hurt.  Some of you may recall that I've done both forks and barrettes in the past,  but I was never really happy with them, thus their discontinuance.  This time around I think I've got it figured out, again, assuming I can figure out the math (I should have paid closer attention in school, I distinctly remember saying that I'll never need this stuff, but I was wrong).

So that unto itself is a big deal in the TT world, but here's the cool part.  I'm having to build a number of templates, with each one requiring tons of hand sanding, that's what I've been doing for the past 3 hours, and it was only 1 template.  Once I get the templates and multiple jigs constructed, you all get to have some fun.  I'm initially working on the clips, which will be called the Timberclip.  After I'm satisfied (again, assuming I get there), I'll be able to layout schematically the primary template for you all to see, and if you so choose, you can design the shape of your own Timberclip, which will be named after you, if I decide to use it.  Theoretically, the same will hold true with the forks, after I tackle the clips.  I'm tinkering around with different design ideas for the original clip, but I'm still a long way from that stage.  The only requirement that I'm going to make however is that the design be yours and yours alone.  I don't have the time to do the research, and I don't want to find out 6 months from now that I unwittingly knocked off an existing artist or company's design... Ficcare comes to mind, and I won't do it, so don't ask. :)

So there you have it, I've got to go make a stick now.  Have a great afternoon!

Doug

Friday Night Sale

Good Morning,

I hope everyone is doing well this Fall morning.

Well, we made it back from Virginia after attending my son Scott's wedding.  I had forgotten just how pretty northern Virginia is, but the traffic is horrible.  Only compounded by my ineptitude as it relates to Google Maps.  We spent the better part of our travel time being hopelessly lost in a foreign land.  I finally had to ask a waitress to un-cluster my phone, so we could eventually crawl back to the airport.

We stayed at a 600 acre breathtakingly beautiful complex called Airlie.  Given the discounted fares that we took advantage of, we were the first to arrive, and the last to leave.  The last day we basically went 4 wheeling over the entire property and have some memorable photos.  The wildlife was incredible,  and they say that it's home to the largest swan and bald eagle reserves in North America. 

I had to give a speech at the rehearsal dinner, that I lost more than my fair share of sleep over.  In the speech, I gave out 3 wine bottle stoppers and 1 hair stick.  Unfortunately, we somehow managed to delete the pictures.  The stoppers were engraved with the various family names with different designs and pertinent details.  On Scott and Alyssa's, I had the entire wedding party engraved and inlaid, they turned out pretty cool I think.  I gave Alyssa the stick and it was red and white paua and it told the story of their journey together up to the wedding with memorable milestones and the names of her bridal party.  The top inset had her new married monogram, it was a good one.

The wedding was great, but it was an outdoor wedding beneath a tent and the remnants of the hurricane were still alive and well.  40-50 mile per hour winds, and about 60 degrees, we were very cold.  But they did it, they are now Mr. and Mrs. Royer.

We finally made it home, lost luggage of course, but it was a great week, but we were glad to get home.

So, the next order of business is the FNS:

The next Friday Night Sale will be held on October 21, beginning at 1:00 PM CST (US), 8:00 PM (CEST). We will de-activate all inventory Friday morning for price adjustment with an overall discount of approximately 20% - 25%. Everything will be re-activated at exactly 1:00. (Please check your own individual time zone to make sure the start time aligns with 1:00 PM Central Standard Time in the United States.)

My boys, Scott on the Left and Sean on the right

The Wedding Couple

Erin, classing the place up a little

 

 

Wedding Time

Well, the big day is approaching, and it looks like we get to fly into some hurricane(ish) type weather, it should be an interesting series of flights.  When we return, I'll post some pictures of the gifts we made last weekend, I think they turned out ok.  In the meantime, the TT shop will put on vacation mode until next week sometime, and I'll be flipping the switch early tomorrow morning.  If we should have any down time in the interim, I'll try to respond to ETSY conversations, but don't hold your breath, as it sounds like it's going to be a whirlwind.

I want to thank you all for helping us get here, we truly appreciate all of your support. 

Thanks
Doug & Erin