Sign for a friend!

Greetings! Last week a friend of mine invited me to a whiskey tasting podcast he is building. When I got there, there were hundreds of bottles of liquor and we proceeded to taste some very good whiskey. The podcast hasn’t aired yet, but I knew he needed a sign to show off.

I have been trying to get my name and work in front of as many folks as possible, even at no cost. The best way to sell is for people to see the work.

This piece is 12”x12” and 3/4” thick walnut stock I had sitting around in the shop. It was designed with VCarve Pro and made with a 90 degree v bit. Run time was around 20 minutes. After carving, I sprayed poly on it. Next came the paint. Two coats of acrylic paint and additional sanding. Once satisfied with the look, another coat of spray on poly.

Please note, I didn’t misspell whisky. It is the way he spells it for his podcast. The podcast “The Whisky Friends” is available where ever you get your podcasts (hope I didn’t violate any rules by saying this)

So while this may not be a game or connect four, sipping and reviewing whiskey is quite fun. At next weeks taping, I am going to present it to him. Hope you enjoy!

Jake

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Nice work Jake. I love the contrast between the walnut colour and the infill of white graphics. Very effective!

I guess that is true. I have never quite managed to sell anything because I don’t want to have the pressure of producing things to order and then finding people have not had their expectations met. I end up giving all my stuff away. :laughing:

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@jepho Thebks Jeffrey! I appreciate the compliment. As far as selling, I only have sold one piece thus far. Didn’t try to make back my entire purchase of my mk2 in one sale. What I don’t want to do is make a bunch of stuff that I like and nobody else likes. That is why the made to order pieces. Vcarve pro has a save jpeg if the design that I can email for final approval before actually carving the piece. That should cut down on misspelling of names and words etc. the only thing it does not do is allow me to use multiple colors. Trust me, I have given away my fair share as well. If nothing else for eye candy in my website.

I am hopeful to at least cover my expenses over the next year, but then again I am just starting out.

Take care and keep in touch!
Jake

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:grin:

That is the luxury end of the market if you could sell stuff at LongMill Mk II prices. I got my machine to stave of boredom when I retired and I have managed to do that very well. I can sometimes spend 8 hours with the machine trying out different techniques.

I have also made stuff for people who liked what I could produce but I don’t feel able to charge for my time or even the material because I am not a professional machinist and I buy my metal or wood out of my pension so do not feel that it costs me too much.

That is a nice feature. I don’t know if Carveco Maker has it but a screen-grab can work if necessary.

With work of the quality you have produced, it should be easy enough to cover your costs. People like bespoke and unique stuff so there is a ready market.

You too.
Jeff

Jake, the sign is great, imaginative, and purposeful! By creating some fun projects and giving them away, I have “amassed” some business that has given me some ROI so that I can keep on having fun with my Longmill MK1 30x30. Good job in being creative when someone didn’t even expect it.

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@Wills Thanks Bill! The owner of the podcast is a friend of mine. He invited me out of the blue. The attendees are “whiskey snobs” that know their whiskey. Personally, I’m a Jack and water kind of guy, and know nothing of expensive whiskey. I didn’t want to seem like someone who showed up without something for the host. Went to my third one last Wednesday and again had a blast, tried 12 different kinds of whiskey, some good, some not so good. In the future, I will bring a bottle of something, but still don’t know good whiskey, although they appear to have corks instead of screw tops. Thanks for the compliment, it means a lot to me. I do agree, giving away projects, will generate business.

Jake