Archive for the ‘hardwood’ Tag
The Board Chronicles is an ongoing series of articles about the adventures of Mr M’s Woodshop as a vendor at community festivals & craft fairs. Learn about the horrors of The Road. Read the impossible demands of the people that know what I should really be doing. In short, it’s the comedy of errors that has become my life, presented here, like my cutting boards, as simple unvarnished truth. All for your amusement … and for the good of vendor-kind.
I was very excited about journeying to Northern California to be a part of the California Artisan Cheese Festival in Santa Rosa. I’ve always been focused on serving pieces, and this seemed like a very nice, targeted event.
The year was 2020, and then the world went to hell.
The 2020 event was cancelled due to covid, of course, like almost every public event in California that year. And again in 2021. And, for many events especially early in the year, 2022 was not different. For 3 years, this event was lost to me.
Finally, 2023 became a new opportunity. Thank goodness.
This Festival is a series of events over a long weekend with artisan cheese classes, food pairing events, farm tours and more. On Sunday afternoon, a vendor event is produced with a very large group of artisanal cheese producers – many with their own herds for true farm-to-table cheese – as well as related vendors including vintners, brewers, distillers … and woodworkers, among others. About 100 vendors were gathered for this 5 hour event.
New Ideas
- I broke many rules to do this event.
- This is a one-day, 5 hour event. I don’t do one-day events.
- Since this event was 400 miles away from our home, I had to drive and stay in a hotel for … a one-day, 5 hour event. That never would have happened independently of any other good ideas, so…
- Mrs M made a rare appearance at this event, playing the part of a Foodie enjoying the best of cheese while I was working like a dog in the booth. So, the event became the *excuse* to do a long weekend in Wine Country. We spent 5 days visiting Healdsburg, Sonoma, St Helena, and more. If you like wine, if you like food, if you like to wander … wine country is a great getaway.
- Since I was all in for the event, the first event of 2023 … I created Serving Trays as a base for Charcuterie Kits to debut at this event.
- I didn’t have walls (the event is indoors at the county fairgrounds, no canopies/frames allowed), so I could not hang pictures. And I had just done nice photography of the charcuterie kits … so I did a thing. I produced a Power Point presentation to show on my tablet, which was mounted on the table above the serving trays. The mount cost all of $22 and displayed the “boards in action” photos that really help illustrate what my boards can help you do. New presentation idea, powered by a portable battery we have to re-charge cellphones at un-powered events. Worked like a charm!
- This was a getaway weekend, with a destination of a single booth at a targeted event … so I left the trailer at home, and packed the truck with what I needed. The limiting factor of the truck meant I left many products at home, but focused exclusively on serving pieces appropriate for artisanal cheese, charcuterie boards … or whatever people serve things on.
Observations
The display was more farmer’s market than fancy art boutique. It was a very casual atmosphere, a table top event (which, again, I never do these days). The promoter provided 2 8′ tables with short table cloths. I brought an additional 4′ table, and that was the total base of the display.
We arrived at 8a, and were set up by 9:30. The event didn’t start until 11, so we were perhaps a bit early. But you never know what the challenges are at a new event in an unfamiliar venue. It’s good to relax and check out the event before the masses arrive.
Mrs M being there means that she messes with my display. She improves the look of the booth, she says. She makes it better, she says. She increases sales, she says.
I have no idea what she’s talking about.
The floor was busy during this event. Estimated attendance of 1,500, all there to sample cheese and wine … and beer and nuts and bread and whatever vendors were giving away. Lines were 20+ people deep, 8-10 minutes for a “hot” vendor like Cowgirl Creamery or Beehive Cheese Company.
I had talked to the promoters about my unique presentation (compared to the food vendors sampling their creations, I was the weird one). They put me in a corner booth so people could walk on 2 sides of the booth. That was good.
They also put me across the building, in front of the bandstand. That was bad. (The band was primarily acoustic with a banjo, clarinet, tuba and percussionist. Very fun Americana music and not too loud.)
They also put me on the path to the bathroom. That was good. I guess.
Booth locations are something that I do my best to ignore, honestly. Vendors don’t control them. Why get upset about where you are when it’s someone else’s decision? I’ve run events. I’ve assigned vendors to booth locations. I’ve also dealt with upset vendors that just lost their minds because their location … wasn’t whatever they thought it should be. I don’t want to be that guy. My location was FINE. People could see me. We were not blocked by a line. If people were looking for a wooden object, they knew where I was.
But I brought cheese boards … I didn’t bring chess boards. That was a request. As were book shelves. I politely said sorry! … just as I happily dispensed free advice on how to deal with a permanently mounted wooden cutting board embedded into a stone counter. I am old, so I must be wise. I guess.
There were actually 4 woodworkers there. Two were really focused on traditional cutting boards and one exclusively made seascape resin boards using that dreaded bulbous grass, AKA bamboo, as their base. Truly I did not compete with any of them.
My first 3 sales were Charcuterie Kits and Serving Trays. Vindicated, I was.
And I said that out loud to the Lady. So, of course, I didn’t sell another one.
For a five hour event that was an excuse to drive 400 miles … this was a winner. I sold enough to pay the entire hotel bill, gas and vendor fee. The Lady got to geek out on cheese … and found the highly-sought cheeses that are used in the world’s best grilled cheese sandwich (found at the Rustic Bakery & Muir Woods National Forest) as well as the fabulous Very Adult Mac & Cheese from the Market in St Helena. Both of these dishes served as destinations for us during the weekend, so buying the necessary cheeses was a great coup.
Sometimes, going a-vendoring is about the journey, not the destination. I’m taking the win on this one.
The Food
When we travel, the Lady busies herself in the passenger seat stalking restaurants in our destination city to choose the ultimate, best dinner she could find. It’s her thing. This trip, however, it just worked out that we did lunches as our culinary adventures, and “settled” for take out most evenings.
- Best Meal: Pizza Verde at The Journeyman, an Italian charcuterie in Healdsburg that makes their own sausage salumi. The pizza featured soppressata, an Italian sausage sometimes made by pressing the meat between 2 boards. It was amazing. And we just might have purchased a lot of sausage to bring home. And a guillotine to cut it. And joined their meat club. Hey, we were on vacation.
- The Other Best Meal: A pannini-style grilled cheese sandwich, the Marin Melt, with Rustic Bakery‘s Honey Whole Wheat bread, Two cheeses are combined: Cowgirl Creamery Mt Tam and Point Reyes Toma cheese.
- Honorable Mention: Very Adult Mac & Cheese, The Market, St Helena. I added chicken, the Lady added crab. Draw your own conclusions. We had this dish a few years ago when we visited Little Girl at her nearby college, Sonoma State in Rohnert Park. Simply fabulous food. Worthy of being a destination.
- Worst Meal: We went out one night, Monday night. Most restaurants were closed (oops). Choice # 1 was an Italian restaurant that wanted reservations (double oops). Desperation drove us to another relatively well reviewed Italian restaurant, Alfredo’s in Petaluma. It was horrid. Made the Lady sick, even. My belief is the Mexican American cooks had no clue how to follow the Italian recipes they were given. Every dish was just … off. Mrs M later found a couple of bad reviews that talked about “cooks in training.” Sorry, not for a dinner costing over $100 for 2 with no alcohol.
The Facts
- Total miles driven: 852
- Booth cost: $250
- # of people we met during the event from the producer: 4
- Visits in the booth by a promoter’s representative: several
- Returning next year? Yes. This is a great event for cheese enthusiasts … and Mr M’s Woodshop belongs there.
Boards sold: 15
- Cracker Things: 5
- Charcuterie Kits: 2
- Ampersand Boards: 2
- Lazy Susan: 1
- Charcuterie Board: 1
- Large Serving Piece: 1
- Cheese Slicer: 1
- 5 Section Server: 1
- Serving Tray: 1
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This post is the culmination of a great deal of work by many people. And as I hope you will agree, it was well worth the effort!
Serving Trays were just the beginning point for me. The goal was to offer fully customizable Charcuterie Kits at my first event in 2023: the California Artisan Cheese Festival in Santa Rosa in just 2 weeks. As the pictures attest, I am ready.
You start with a Serving Tray … see them described, and see them very naked, here. This page is all about dressing them up.
Charcuterie is classically a collection of smoked meats and cheeses served to the delight of hungry people everywhere. The idea is really trending now, and people are taking the excuse of having a nice serving piece to do all sorts of offerings on a lovely serving board. To complete the presentation, I have collaborated with my good friend and potter, Nicole, the owner of NZ Designs Studio. She is also the maker of the Great Garlic Graters that are on my Garlic Dipping Boards, which continue to be a favorite.
After more than a few discussions about what would be ideal, she has made 4″ bowls – or ramekins, if you prefer – in 3 shapes and 4 colors (well, 5 colors. She’s an over-achiever.) that can be purchased at events for inclusion with your Charcuterie Kit. In addition, she has made very cute meat and cheese tags to identify some of the classic Charcuterie that you will probably be serving.
Then I went shopping and found sets of stainless Cheese Knife Sets that I am also offering to help complete your presentation.
You get to pick and choose among the options … but let’s not get ahead of the idea. The best way to understand this idea is to see it. I gathered family, friends and collaborators to create some unique and tasty boards for your consideration.
A big thanks to the food stylists and helpers that made this happen. I appreciated the eaters that helped when the work was done, too!
Nicole’s bowls are Red, White, Blue, Green … and Purple. You can go all matchy matchy, or buy your ramekins in all different shapes & colors. We did it both ways on the boards pictured. You get to choose what you like best.
Here are simpler pictures showing just the Serving Trays in the 3 sizes, along with the bowls in all of their colors. The knife set is also shown; a great matched set of 6 knives with spreaders, choppers, forks … just what you need to do anything from cut a hard cheese, spread a soft one, or pick an olive out of the bowl.
To purchase a serving tray, go here. If you want a charcuterie kit, or any of the pieces offered that tickle your fancy, then you’ll need to email me and we can work out the details. I will warn you that nothing will ship until late April. That’s good: you get to choose what you most like, and I will make sure you get exactly what you want.
Thank you very much for your continuing support!
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It’s good to get things out of my head. These Serving Trays were a long time coming.
I knew I wanted to make trays with sides on them. That’s a classic serving piece, and I’m all about serving pieces. I needed to do serving trays. Finally, I found the way.
Serving trays are in 3 sizes: 12″x12″, 13-1/2″ x 19″ and 15″ x 24″. Small, medium and large. The 3 trays nest together nicely for easy storage, if you are so inclined. Sides provide 1-1/2″ of wall around the bottom of the tray, helping you corral whatever you might be putting on the trays.
Construction details are robust: all hardwood construction (naturally). The corners are connected with sturdy box joints. The bottoms, 3/8″ thick (and again, all hardwood), are captured in dados on the ends and sides for reliable load carrying. These trays are meant to be heirloom additions to your home.
The sides & ends are made of one of these three woods: Hard Maple (the lightest color), Cherry and Sapele (a very pretty dark brown wood, AKA African Mahogany). The bottoms are matched in some cases, and stripey in others. You can mix and match your set of 3 if you wish.
The initial thought for these trays was for them to be the base of Charcuterie Kits, and indeed, they are. If you want to see some pretty pictures of Charcuterie done at VMICA (the Velda Mowry Institute of Culinary Arts), then you can go here.
If you would like to purchase, that link is here. Please note that orders can be placed today, but I do not expect to ship until the end of April. The good news is you can order exactly what you want. The bad news is … exactly what you want takes time. My job is to make sure there is a smile on your face when you finally get to see your new Serving Tray!
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I love Deviled Eggs. Love ’em.
When I was an itty bitty, if you can imagine such a thing, I was allergic to eggs. They gave me a rash. But, good news, whenever we went to a pot luck dinner at the lodge, or a family gathering, or whatever … someone would always bring deviled eggs.
And I would always sneak 1 or 3 when Mom wasn’t looking.
So I ate my way out of the allergy. Built up a tolerance, I did.
Deviled Eggs: a savory treat from a wicked chicken. Love ’em.
So, I knew that as I built out my offerings of serving pieces, I would be making Deviled Egg Platters. The world needs great serving pieces, and I am happy to help. And if Deviled Eggs just happen to get made by more people more often, well, life will be better for us all.
You’re welcome.
It took 2 years to design these platters, which each hold 24 Deviled Eggs. I worked with a designer in the Philippines who had more skills in 3D design … and less affinity for Deviled Eggs, come to find out. The design is exactly what I wanted, though. These are shaped on the CNC, as you might expect, and each platter takes 9 hours to carve. These are a labor of love; I make them to make the world a better place.
The platters are 14″ across, and 7/8″ thick. They are made for 2 sided use: the back is plain, and would allow you to serve appetizers, charcuterie, or whatever you might like on the flat surface.
Not that I understand why anyone would do this, when they could make more Deviled Eggs.
Personally, I prefer the Platters made with white/yellow/red woods (to match the Deviled Eggs), so I use a lot of Bloodwood, Hard Maple, Osage Orange, Canarywood, Yellowheart, Bubinga and Makore. Your mileage may vary, of course, so I will make others with a more varied color palatte. Eventually.
I made 7x of these last last year, and 4x were given to family. That left 3x to take to my final event of the year, Santa’s Art Shop … and all 3x were sold in 90 minutes. Time after time, I heard the exclamation, “OH, my friend/cousin/Aunt/Mother/Friend always makes Deviled Eggs, and she would LOVE ONE OF THESE.
Happy to be of service. They will be back in stock in February. Meanwhile, you are welcome to order one, here.
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I blame Mrs M. Of course.
She had me make her the original Soap Drying Rack when she became a serious Soaper … and as soon as other Soapers saw the rack, I began to hear a clamor.
If you are a maker, then you know soap needs a drying rack. Until today, I’ve never offered racks for sale.
These racks have 7 removable, wooden slatted trays to allow for plenty of dry air circulation during the suponification process (I listen when Mrs M speaks!). The footprint of the piece is 23″ x 23″, and the rack stands about 30″ tall. Add the optional 4″, locking wheels if this will be on the floor, or no wheels if the Rack will sit on a table or counter.
Shelves are spaced to allow for bars as tall as 3.5″. Depending on how large your bars are – and if you dry them flat or on edge – total capacity for each unit is as much as 450 bars.
Buy a 2nd unit to double the storage capacity; units can stack 2 high. With wheels on the bottom unit, total height will be about 64″.
Construction is all wood, typically of Poplar, Pine & Baltic Birch Plywood. The wood is left raw: this is a soap maker’s tool, not a piece of furniture. All surfaces are sanded and splinter-free, but this is not a fine finish.
Each Rack ships in 2 boxes. There is a minimal amount of assembly required; all holes are pre-drilled and hardware is included. Instructions for the simple assembly are here.
NOTE: this piece is not always in stock, and does take a few days to build. If I’m already committed to other projects, delivery might take a few weeks. Email me first if you’re concerned about timing.
You can purchase these Soap Drying Racks directly on the upgraded Mr M’s Woodshop site. Here’s a direct link to the Soap Drying Rack page.
Pictured is the solid version of the 7 tray Rack, which could be picked up directly from the Woodshop. If I’m shipping to you, the joinery will change a bit, and those pictures are still not done.
More
Click here to buy: Soap Drying Racks
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We are getting control of our home.
I am getting control of my business.
And, by doing that, I found these 17x boards. See? Organization is a good thing. You just have to embrace the pain!
The whole story is that, at long last, we’re remodeling our home. We’ve lived here over 30 years, so it’s simply time for changes to be made. The first floor is getting paint, flooring & lighting. Upstairs, the master bathroom is getting remodeled out to the studs: new shower, vanity, plumbing, mirror, etc. New. New. New.
For far too long, you see, we put up with the problems in our home because … well, it wasn’t a priority. Money was tight. We had no time. And, it all worked, in a fashion.
Now, though, the kids are gone and we had an opportunity to solve some long-standing problems with our home. Like, how it was always dark in the living room. And, storage for Mrs M & Mr M was a CHALLENGE that we had no real solution for. The result: storage containers of soaps, lotions, cutting boards & serving pieces lived in the downstairs hallway between events. House Beautiful, it was not. But we had a plan….
And that plan began with lighting being installed, and that meant all of the stuff being stored in the hallway had to move. Some went upstairs into the guest bedroom (a problem for another day, when we’re allowed to have guests!). Some went to our new, larger storage space. And some went to the Family Room until we got a bit more organized. All good.
Except, during the upheaval, a container of new small boards that were awaiting branding by my laser engraver got moved & misplaced. They moved to the Family Room at the bottom of a stack of containers and I didn’t find them until I moved that entire stack a few weeks later. Now, I’m happy to report, those boards have been branded, oiled, waxed & photographed.
These Juicy Small Boards are all 11-1/2″ x 11-1/2″ x 7/8″, with a juice groove that’s 1/2″ wide and 1/4″ deep. More of a crumb catcher, really … but also perfect for you to corral your juicy food while you serve a ribeye, slice a tomato or deliver a sandwich for an after school snack.
You’re an adult, you get to choose. These Juicy Small Boards are a perfect complement to your larger counter top board that’s central to meal prep. As with all of my cutting boards, these boards have non-skid rubber feet held on with stainless steel screws, along with routed fingerholds so they are easy to move to wherever you need them.
If you like what you see, you can purchase these on the upgraded Mr M’s Woodshop site. Just hover your mouse, or click on a photo & get the file name of the one(s) that you like. The file name will be in the format, “Small Board 20 – 2xx.” Put those numbers in the notes section of your order, and I’ll choose those for you if they are still available. And, yes, I recently upgraded MrMsWoodshop.com so you can buy directly and easily. Here’s a direct link to the Juicy Small Board page, and here are the latest boards that have made it to the finish line:
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The Board Chronicles is an ongoing series of articles about the adventures of Mrs M’s Handmade as a vendor at community festivals & craft fairs. Mrs M’s subsidiary, Mr M’s Woodshop, has been approved to create this chronicle for the good of vendorkind.
An event! I have an event!
That’s about all I could think about in August, as I finally, FINALLY prepared to do an event that had been on my schedule for months. This Labor Day weekend event in Prescott, AZ has proven to be a solid one for me; this was my third year there. You can read about my previous efforts in 2019 and 2018.
This time, I had picked the spot I wanted facing Montezuma Avenue, AKA Whiskey Row, across from the legendary Palace Restaurant & Saloon. The Palace, the oldest business operating in Arizona, was once frequented by Doc Holliday and his buddies, Virgil & Wyatt Earp.
Whiskey Row? I’m your huckleberry.
Gotta do the easy ones. C’mon.
But, this is 2020. Nothing will be easy during this pandemic. I’ll get transported back to the wild west for a bit. But, at least the whiskey was good….
New Ideas
- Vendors must wear masks. Vendors must certify they are healthy. Vendors must sign a hold harmless with the Chamber of Commerce that means no one gets sued if they get sick.
- I left the chess boards, card boxes and other lesser products at home this trip. I have so many cutting boards & serving pieces, I only brought those, plus the cribbage boards & signs. I only had a 10×20 (!), and I had to fill it with the right stuff.
- I arrived at the booth shortly after 6am on Saturday with only minimal setup still required. I got the last 2 details done: set up the cribbage boards, and price all of the signs. Once that was done, the walls were rolled up and securely stored, the banner went up … and I took pictures of the booth. This was all done by 8:30am. That was almost unprecedented!
Observations
- Mrs M packs the food when I go a-vendoring. Food’s her thing. When I was already at our friend’s home in Prescott, my BnB for the weekend, Mrs M announced that she forgot to pack the Everything Sprinkles for my daily breakfast: bagels & cream cheese.
- I had no sprinkles. I was deprived.
- I pack my clothing when I go a-vendoring. When I got dressed on Friday … I found that I had forgotten to pack socks. Ooops.
- Note: I could not go buy bagel sprinkles in an unfamiliar city. I could go buy socks. My feet were not deprived; only my stomach.
- We got advance warning that there was a BLM protest at 3pm on Friday … and our setup was 6pm on Friday. Vendors were told not to park on the Courthouse Square during the protest, as we might get towed. We were directed to meet at the off-site vendor parking lot, and hope that all remained calm.
- Prescott is a remote area, and traditional values run deep here. That indicates a conservative viewpoint, of course. The stage was set.
- I got to the area early so I could get to the correct parking spot before any craziness could affect traffic patterns. I planned on grabbing lunch at The Palace, visiting an ATM so I could pay my helpers after the 6pm setup, and relaxing a bit before the work started.
- The Courthouse Square was packed. Packed. When I arrived at 2:30 or so, the sidewalks were teeming with locals that were openly carrying long guns and pistols. They were there to protect the area businesses from the protesters in case things got wonky.
- I talked to one of those business owners … he has 3 large sheets of glass in his front windows, and he was very nervous that those windows would be broken if the protest took a wrong turn.
- The protesters arrived at around 3p, and numbered about 100. College kids, perhaps. Out-of-towners, probably. They were there to exercise their first amendment rights.
- I’m a fan of those rights. Peaceful protest? Fabulous.
- Meanwhile, the locals were there to exercise THEIR constitutional rights, which includes the right to bear arms. Remember, I’m in an Old West town. By an Old West Saloon. I’m going to estimate there were 400 locals carrying guns.
- Yes, that’s a lot of guns at a peaceful protest.
- There were also lots of police … 50? 100? Not sure. They were pretty mobile, and I saw at least 3 kinds of uniforms. In the end, thank goodness, peace prevailed.
- BLM protestors marched. They shouted slogans. They marched. Then, they went home.
- The typical protester was 20-something, white, female, and carrying a sign. The typical counter-protestor was 60-something, white, male, and carrying a gun. There were also a bunch of younger guys driving Bro trucks with American flags flying that were circling the area during the event. Lots of activity. Lots of noise. Lots of people. Lots.
- The counter protestors, the locals exercising their 2nd amendment rights, basically watched.
- One final note on Friday’s prologue to my event: as the protestors were marching near my (future) booth location, one young lady was screaming “Black Lives Matter.” A 65 year old white guy sort of leaned towards her and screamed back, “All Lives Matter.” She, of course, screamed back “Black Lives Matter,” and that circle continued for about 45 seconds. Finally, her friends rescued her, yelled some more, and led her away from the conflict.
- The old white guy, meanwhile, had done it all for sport. He laughed. He enjoyed taunting a young girl and her values. That moment of derision from the old white guy was the hardest moment for me to swallow, frankly. And, remember, it was all free speech. Protected free speech.
- What does all of this have to do with going a-vendoring? Simple:
- I was supposed to set up at 6pm. Would it be safe? I didn’t know until after the protest was over and all of the protestors and counter-protestors went home. In the end, it truly was a peaceful protest. Thankfully.
- When conflict erupts in the street, no one wants to walk through the event to do shopping. I had an immigration protest ruin an event in 2018. I support peaceful protests … but when I pay money to be at an event that is ruined by other people protesting, it gets harder to swallow.
- That, of course, is especially true now. This is only my third event this year. If a protest had ruined/canceled it, that would have hurt me.
- “All’s well that ends well,” Shakespeare said.
- And I had not yet begun to set up.
- My crew arrived at 5:30, and we waited for the clock to tick for setup to officially begin at 6pm. I parked the trailer on Montezuma, and we got to it. We worked past dark, and got 90% set up before we buttoned up.
- I posted my booth pictures on Facebook Saturday morning, and they got a huge number of likes and comments. It’s good to have support! And, finally, I was open for business.
- I saw a truck circling the square each day. It was owned by a flat earther; it was painted with something about “NASA IS A HOAX.” It’s a big world out there.
- Suggested sign: “CAUTION! Dog cannot hold his liquor.” Nope.
- Suggested sign: “Absolutely no working during drinking hours.” Nope.
- Saturday was an odd day of transactions. Business was good. Very good. But I had 4 different non-chip cards presented for payment. That’s odd these days. I haven’t had 4 non-chip cards at an event for a couple of years, much less on a single day.
- One of the first Presidential wearables I saw on Saturday was a Biden facemask. I thought that was odd, so I decided to do a tally of all of the Presidential wearables I saw throughout the weekend. As I observed above, the locals are largely conservative. The tourist trade is from Phoenix & Las Vegas, though, and is much more progressive. It’ll be interesting to see where that ends up.
- One serving piece I didn’t put out this time was an Ampersand board. I only had one (still on my worklist!) … so I thought it should stay under the table. I was wrong. It was requested by name, and sold early.
- She said: “My husband isn’t with me this year, so I’m going to buy it. He told me I shouldn’t last year … but he’s not here now.”
- The clown show came out Saturday morning. Two 20-something men, somewhat unkempt, walked the Courthouse Square with signs worthy of a homeless person yelling, “We are transexual bi-polar prostitutes for Trump! Let’s send our boys back to Iraq!” No clue what that was about, but they did seem to be having a good time. They definitely confused a lot of people.
- One vendor did not comply with the mask mandate – that was announced well in advance of the event. That vendor refused to sign the paperwork, and was asked to leave. Police eventually evicted him from his rental property (the booths are on county property, the Courthouse Square). This blew up on social media in the vendor community. Bottom line for me: idiots are everywhere. The rules were announced in advance. Follow them … or stay home.
- I was ‘whelmed at 2pm. People were literally waving money at me to get my attention. That got me to thinking … in how many professions do people literally wave money at you? And do I like it?
- Things you don’t hear at most events:
- Guy # 1: Are you left-handed?
- Guy # 2: Uh … no. But why do you ask?
- Guy # 1: Well, your holster is crooked, and I wondered why.
- Guy # 2: Yeah, it keeps moving around. I just adjust it when I need to.
- Note: yes, of course, Arizona is an open carry state. And this weekend, it was.
- Suggested Sign: “Eating’s Cheating.” No, no it’s not. And no thank you.
- Favorite t-shirt of the weekend looked like this:
6
4
+ 3
2
- Can’t figure it out? I needed a hint. The shirt was worn by a baseball mom … and 6-4-3 is how you would fill out a scorecard for a typical double play: shortstop to 2nd base to 1st base. Had a fun conversation with the family, and they ended up buying a few pieces.
- Suggested sign: “We Love Vegetarians. We Have One For Dinner Every Night.” Uh … nope. But I did laugh.
- She read my sign, saying I’m from Valencia, CA:
- She said: “You’re from California?”
- I said: “Yes, Ma’am.”
- She said: “I’m sorry!”
- The next day, another She read my sign, and said, “You drove in from Cali?” When did “Cali” become a thing?
- Another favorite t-shirt: “Surround Yourself With Positivity & Tacos.”
- Requests were for an Ulu Board (a style of cutting board used by native Alaskans), a backgammon board (nope) and wooden spoons (hmmmmm).
- Final tally on Presidential wearables: 53 for Trump, 2 for Biden. And no, that’s not a scientific survey.
- Masks were everywhere at the event. There were many people, certainly, that did not wear a mask. I believe most did, however. For over a simple majority. 75%? Something like that. Mrs M’s Waterless Hand Spray sampler was very well received. And emptied. Sales of the Hand Spray, though were negligible. That’s OK: I’ll take clean hands for the win.
- This became a great event for me. This is my 6th event in Arizona, and there will be a 7th and 8th in 2021!
The Food
- Best Meal: I stayed with friends in Prescott who graciously opened their home to me … and cooked every night. Velda better mind her Ps & Qs … I found a home away from home that comes with chefs. Grilled Rib Eye for the win. A good day of sales should always be followed by Beef & Bourbon.
- Honorable Mention: Pork Loin with yams is yummy after the conclusion of an event. The trailer was packed, I was relaxed. And hungry.
- Worst Meal: I blame the pandemic. Honestly. I was headed out of town & wanted to visit my old friend, the Sausage Egg McMuffin. But, McD’s doors were locked & only the drive thru was open. I drove through with the trailer, and didn’t swing wide enough through the drive thru curve. I crunched my trailer fender on a post. My fault … because the pandemic made me do it. After that … breakfast was awful. And, it cost $200.
The Facts
- Total miles driven: 1,016
- Booth cost: $550
- Food cost: $29
- Travel cost:
- Total sales: $
- Net Revenue (does not include product cost):
- # of people we met during the event from the producer: 3
- Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: 2
- Saturday alarm: 5am
- Sunday alarm: 6am
- Monday alarm: nope
- # transactions:
- # woodworking vendors: There were several, including 3 direct competitors. None of the those 3 had the range or depth of inventory that I carry; I have no clue how successful they were. Just goes to show that more competition does not necessarily indicate less success.
- Edge grain vs. end grain:
- Returning next year? Absolutely
Boards sold: 59
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It’s the most basic question once someone tells me they want to buy a cutting board. OK, what size?
There’s no wrong answer here.
I’m now making boards as small as 6″ square, and counter-top boards as large as 17″ x 21″ x 1-1/2″. I’ve made even larger cutting boards … but I don’t carry them to & from events.
Carrying is a burden when the boards are large, you see.
“Cheese Boards” are what I call cutting boards that are less than 11″ in any dimension. They can be used for cutting, of course, but in my head, these are for serving cheese & crackers or other appetizers. I know many buyers love these small boards for one purpose uses, such as dicing fruit for after school snacks. The smallest of these are what I envision as “Bar Boards” for slicing lemons & limes. Dicing garlic or onions on a dedicated small board might make sense to some that like to separate the stinkin’ rose from other vegetables.
Here are the “Small Boards” that were just completed. These are all edge grain boards, meaning you cut on the edges of the lumber. They are all 11″ x 11″ x 7/8″, and have a juice groove. Routed fingerholds & non-skid rubber feet complete these boards (and all of the boards on this page) that can be cutting boards, serving pieces for ribeye steak … or you get to choose what to do with yours!
Finally, I get to my favorite cutting boards, which are end grain boards. These are the most difficult to make, show the least wear, and are the best for your knives. Made like the classic butcher blocks, these end grain boards are the centerpiece of any well-appointed kitchen. I seldom make these smaller than 13×17.
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The world is full of cheese … and I’m going to help you slice it.
Such may not be the makings of an empire, but it is a part of my dogged search for the perfect cheese & cracker servers. I’m getting closer every day … and a well-appointed home will have a cheese slicer for those moments when a block appears that must become bite-sized pieces.
Each of these slicers is approximately 8″ x 11″ x 7/8″, with the wired slicer having a 5″ radius. That’s actually the largest size available in the US. I carry slicers with both black and chrome handles, though all of these are black. Each slicer has non-skid rubber feet to ensure the tool doesn’t move when you are depending on it!
If you are particularly enamored of one of these cheese slicers, just hover your mouse, or click on a photo & get the file name of the one(s) that you like. The file name will be in the format, “Cheese Slicer 20 – 4xx.” Put those numbers in the notes section of your order, and I’ll choose those for you if they are still available. And, yes, I recently upgraded MrMsWoodshop.com so you can buy directly and easily. Here’s a direct link to the cheese slicer page, and here are the latest slicers that have made it to the finish line:
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