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Latest Posts Block

• Maker Markets & Craft Fairs: Everything You Need to Know Before Signing Up!December 16, 2022
  I have a love-hate relationship with doing markets. I love meeting new people and watching them interact with and react to our work. I love watching the shift in the faces of those who ask “so your husband makes all of this?” And I answer “we both do”. But markets are also very time-consuming to prepare for and require a ton of effort. The mental load of making sure you’ve ordered all your media, that you have all your supplies, making lists and checking them a hundred times. When there’s a market looming, the entire mood of our house shifts and our stress is usually through the roof. It also takes a lot of trial and error. It takes doing these events repeatedly to figure out what products do well and what demographic responds best to our work. You also have to keep doing frequent events in many different locations to really find your ideal demographic and target audience. We’ve learned that markets in the city typically bring out a younger crowd, who might not have the space or budget for a cutting board. Instead, the propagation stations are typically the first things to go. But when we do events in affluent suburbs with more established shoppers, the cutting boards and butcher blocks go quickly, but they often pick up a propagation station or salt cellar and ask “so what’s this for?”. These are patterns we learn through actually doing events. Each event has a price tag. You pay for your space but you’re also paying for the material to prep your space. The tables, tablecloth, display materials…etc. But every once in a while, you do a show that completely flops. Our latest one took place in a relatively well-off suburb. But the minute I walked in, I felt like we wouldn’t do well. And we didn’t; we had 4 sales for the entire weekend. Just to give you an idea, we typical make anywhere between $2,000-$3,000 at these events. We didn’t even reach $500 at this one. When you account for the cost of your space, the cost of your print-outs, the time and effort of tagging each individual item, set up, breakdown…etc., it was a definite loss. So what went wrong? This was a craft fair that’s taken place year after year. Many of the vendors are repeat vendors (like, even assigned to the same spot). People go specifically looking for them. And speaking to many of the vendors, the ones who did well were ones that have been attending for years. The crowd that came out was looking for kitschy items at a lower price point. Often times, they would look at our items and look at a single price tag, and leave without looking at anything else. As many of the shoppers stated, “we’re more into tchotchkes!” So having products that were more targeted for those who are looking for artistic pieces would not bode well. Another thing to look out for is to see how the company hosting the show is advertising. I should have seen the red flags when I noticed that their Instagram account is barely active and that there wasn’t a single post promoting this event. Which tells me that they used other methods of promotions like flyers and possibly Facebook, which speak to very different crowds. We’ve learned that some events will charge you so much simply because of the scale of the event. We’ve recently turned down an invitation to be vendors at Christkindle Market in downtown Chicago. It’s one of the largest events in the city around the holidays, it’s huge! We were so excited when they reached out, but when we were told how much it would cost to simply be there, we had to turn it down. And if you’re curious, it was $3,500 for some dates in November and $7,000 for a few dates in December, closer to Christmas time. You read that right! An event like that would be great for a small business that is able to mass produce items and have enough inventory that they can be sure will sell. But we wouldn’t even have enough time to make enough products to have, let alone break even with a price tag so high. But the biggest drawback to doing frequent markets is that for weeks leading up to the event, we’re so focused on making product to sell, which leaves very little time for anything else. There’s no time to experiment with new techniques, try new things, learn new skills. No time for creativity, to make pieces without having to wonder if they’ll sell. Overall, markets are fruitful if you have an understanding of what you want for your business. In the future, we’ll do less events and focus on selling through our website. We have such a supportive crowd on Instagram and our items usually sell quickly through there. For me, this is so much more about creativity than it is about turning profit. But the reality of life hits, and you realize that expenses add up. The responsibilities of bills weigh on you and you start to think of how you can make this hobby financially sustainable. I wonder if we’ll ever find that balance. If you’re interested in trying out the market scene, here’s a checklist of items we bring to markets: (the above links contain some affiliate links) I hope you found this helpful! Overall, I don’t regret any of the events. Each one was a learning experience that helped streamline our process. Next year, if we continue to do events, we’ll know what to look for!
• How to Make a Salt Cellar (No Lathe & No hardware!)September 2, 2022
  My first time visiting Rockler, I was like a kid in a candy store. Aside from all the cool gadgets and fancy equipment, I was really impressed with their collection of hardwoods, both domestic and exotic. I bought a Morado turning blank on major clearance that I had planned to use to make a propagation station. But when I brought it home, I had a nagging idea to try something different. I didn’t know what that was yet, so the piece just sat in the shop for weeks (months). I remember coming across a video for how to make a salt cellar and immediately thinking that’s what I wanted to make. But all the tutorials were for ones that were pretty basic in design, so I wanted to make something that had a more organic feel. And that is how I got this guy: The funny thing about this is that I initially made this as a mini jewelry box. We don’t use salt cellars, and instead, we just pour a tiny bit of salt from the original container into our hands and take a pinch like the savages that we are. Anyway when I posted this Reel highlighting how I made it, it got a lot of positive feedback, so I decided to make a few more with some Olivewood that I scored. What makes this design unique is that each one I make is slightly different. I inspect the grain of each piece and let the grain dictate what kind of pattern I’ll carve into the top. Another thing is that the “hardware” that allows the top to swivel open is just a wood dowel. So it’s a simple and straightforward concept that doesn’t require a ton of precision and calculations. We brought these to a maker market we had in the city and these were the first products to sell out. I’m hoping to crank more out in the coming weeks, because they’re really fun to make and I love that while they may be similar, no two are identical. If you want to get your hands on one of these, follow along on our Instagram page to see what markets and events we have coming up! Or sign up for our newsletter to be the first to be notified when we list new products to the site. And if you want to learn how I made these, I recorded a more detailed YouTube video that highlights all the steps with links to all the tools and burrs I used for these pieces.
• One Room Challenge: My ExperienceApril 9, 2022
  The One Room Challenge is just that, a challenge to complete the transformation of one room in an 8 week timeline. It’s a challenge, not a competition, to share your weekly progress in hopes that it’ll motivate you to get it done. I’ll start by saying this, it’s important to try new things and experiences so you can understand what works for you and what doesn’t. But you have to be willing to have honest conversations with yourself when those experiences are not what you expected them to be and are no longer bringing you joy. I’m still trying to learn this. There’s a lot I enjoyed about the One Room Challenge. It exposed me to a whole community of DIYers, and many of them have become my friends. It was also weirdly comforting to know a bunch of people were thrust into the world of room renovations and transformations with a tight deadline together. We were in the chaos together. I enjoyed sharing the process and progress with others who wouldn’t normally think that these projects are accessible and doable. Before After (already messy with toys) But there’s another side of the ORC that I think most people don’t talk about. And I don’t just mean the stress of completing it in time for reveal week. So for background, although anyone can participate in the ORC, there are featured designers who are selected by Better Home and Garden (now it seems that Apartment Therapy is the new host). These designers often have a list of sponsors who will work with them. If not paid collaborations, then many of the elements of the rooms are often gifted. So tile, countertops, sinks, faucets, furniture, decor items or wallpaper could be gifted by different brands. While I absolutely support working with brands, the reality for the majority of other participants who are not featured designers is that they are paying for almost every element of their project on their own. It was difficult to remind myself that I was already at a disadvantage because I didn’t have the same resources as others. Some even hired the work out, which honestly woulda been my first choice if the budget was there. Most (not all) of the featured designers selected also happen to be in this space full time. This is their job. They’re designers or bloggers, or both. Social media, designing, content creating, or a combination of all three is their full time work and the main source of their income. Again, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. But for most other participants, this is all a side hustle. So having a challenge to keep you accountable is great, but it’s also easy to forget that while others can dedicate their days to this challenge, many of us are having to do this after an exhausting day (or night) of work. Or after we’ve wrangled the kids to bed. Or on weekends. This may be a me problem, I get that. But watching others make so much progress while I was trying to find small increments of time to get things done became less fun and more like I was just falling behind. It took Firas constantly telling me that I have an emotionally taxing job, 2 small kids, no childcare, and a small business to run to remember that I was not on the same playing field as others. By the 7 week mark, I realized that I was likely not going to finish in time. I exhaled and felt a wave of relief at the fact that I could stop cramming all this work in that crazy timeline and just take in all that I had accomplished. One year later, and the work is still not done. I was so burnt out that I haven’t revisited the project. But the room is still wildly transformed and is a whole lot more functional than it was before the ORC. The moodboard I envisioned for the space The biggest takeaway that I learned from that time is that I get much of my joy from making small specialty items. I enjoy woodworking much more than I enjoy large-scale DIY projects. I love working with hardwoods more than I like working with plywood and construction lumber. While I can admire my friends take on room renovations and basically transforming their homes with their own hands, it’s simply not for me. Participating in the challenge helped define my interests better and showed me that there’s many avenues of creating, and that lesson alone made the whole experience worth it. I’ll still be cheering my friends on as they share their weekly progress, but when they ask if I’ll be participating, my answer is still a big, fat, NOPE.
• Making a Chessboard for Our Son’s Fifth BirthdayApril 3, 2022
  Our son has recently gotten very excited about playing chess. He’s managed to figure out how pretty much all the pieces move (the knight is still tricky) and enjoys playing against us. So with his fifth birthday coming up, we figured building a custom-made chessboard out of hardwood would be a great gift that he can cherish for years. Since we started woodworking a couple years ago, he’s always taken an interest. He loves identifying different woods and offering input on what he thinks looks good. He loves purpleheart, so we decided to make this board out of purpleheart and hard maple with a black walnut border. In addition, we built a base that doubles as a storage area for chess pieces (which we’ll probably make out of epoxy soon). Check out the entire build process on our YouTube channel:
• How We Got HereJanuary 22, 2022
  One of the my first reupholstery projects If you told me five years ago that we’d be running a business while juggling all other life things, I think I might have laughed. I’ve always wanted to share our journey with DIY and small builds, but I never thought it would be like this. Funny story, I actually did start a blog years ago and quickly told myself lies like “you don’t have time for this” and “you’re not really good at this” and quit soon after publishing my first post. We were married pretty young and soon realized we could not afford many of the things we wanted in our home, so we started building small furniture and upcycling thrifted goods. I got into upholstery, painted a mural in my son’s nursery, stenciled a dining room because we couldn’t afford wallpaper, and even built a coffee table. And I was so excited about all the things I was doing, I just wanted to share all the possibilities on such a tight budget! But with a full-time job, motherhood, and all the things that come with them, I started feeling overwhelmed with the most mundane tasks, and the projects and hobbies eventually stopped. I continued to watch others on social media, jumping from project to project, and I would often think “I could do that if I wasn’t so lazy”. Fast forward to 2020. We had just had our second son, my maternity leave was over, and I was back at work. Two weeks later, the world shut down. While people picked up hobbies and crafts because they were home due to the lock down, my work life was thrust into chaos. As you can imagine, being an ICU nurse at an already busy Chicago hospital that was now designated “The Pandemic Center of the Midwest!” meant that there was no slowing down for us. I was still nursing my son who refused formula, which meant that I was pumping at work, and also meant that my hormones were all over the place. Add to that watching otherwise healthy people die of this virus that people had been denying exists, despite all the medical intervention in the world. There are few things more heartbreaking than setting up a FaceTime call so people at home can watch their family member die. Or after scurrying for most of your shift, trying to keep someone alive only to code them towards the tail end of your shift, and packing their belongings and finding notes and pictures of their young children. All while coming home to be with Firas and my two young sons, isolated from the rest of our family. Needless to say, it was a rough year. I came home one day and Firas had been experimenting with cutting boards. He was so excited at how the first one turned out, he started experimenting with other styles and wood species. “Can you believe there’s a hardwood that’s naturally purple?”. We started going to the lumberyard together regularly. I would put designs together and he would make them. We made boards for our parents, siblings, and some friends. Soon, strangers started requesting boards. We opened an Etsy shop, and Firas looked over at me and said, “let’s use your old inactive IG page to advertise, you already have almost 200 followers there.” I was hesitant at first, but the extra money would be helpful. And then realized I could start eventually sharing projects through that platform. We have learned so much since then and continue to learn everyday. Like the fact that you shouldn’t use Red Oak for a cutting board. As we grew, so much of the profit from our sales went straight into reinvesting in our business; from upgrading tools, to hiring a graphic designer. Fast forward to today, we’re incredibly grateful for this journey so far and we have so much more in store. We are still learning every day. Like the fact that Firas doesn’t care much for the social media aspect of it all. We’ve made friends and have already been given exciting opportunities. This venture has brought on so many unexpected things; the fact that I get to watch Firas be creative and experiments with his designs, both of us learning new skills together, and more importantly, that this has been a healing experience, one that has given me moment of peace in the midst of chaos– and now, I’m ready to grow.

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