Archive for the ‘Los Angeles’ Tag
The biggest event of the year for us has, for the last 2 years, been Santa’s Art Shop in Ridgecrest. That event – its 35th annual – is this weekend, so I have been working long hours to get the inventory in shape for the big event.
Long hours.
And, since the inventory is growing again (and during our busiest month, too!), I am pleased to announce my 200th cutting board. This is only the 5th time that I have had that number of boards in inventory … and, as always, the number will be a fleeting memory by Saturday. In the meantime, however, it’s time to celebrate the accomplishment. Here’s the story of this unusual board.
After my years of a Cub Scout being square, I’ve seldom made square boards. It’s an occasional request, though, and I do like to show different kinds of boards to get the customers’ creativity flowing when they visit the booth.
This square, edge grain board features 6 kinds of wood:
- Jatoba – AKA Brazilian Cherry
- Hard Maple – which is in almost every cutting board I make
- Cherry – AKA American Cherry or Black Cherry
- Purpleheart – the # 1 commented upon wood in my booth, and these pieces with quilted grain will continue that tradition
- Bubinga – I love using it because it’s just fun to say
- Bloodwood – delightful fluorescence in these pieces
One of my current challenges in lumber supply is finding one of my favorite cutting board woods, Jatoba, in 8/4 thickness (that’s 1-3/4″ thick, sanded smooth, to you non-lumber types). The wood is commonly available in 4/4 thickness (3/4″), but rarely in the dimension I need for my thickest, big cutting boards. I did find some 8/4 earlier this year, and this board uses the last of it.
Bloodwood is crimson colored, and it’s the most challenging wood that I currently work with. It seems that every piece – every piece – is warped: bowed, twisted, cupped, or some combination of all of those.
Every piece.
It’s been said that woodworking is the art of solving problems, and it’s certainly true that using Bloodwood is one of those challenges that I face. But, I enjoy the work, and I always let the results speak for themselves.
Cutting Board 16 – Edge 029. Jatoba, Cherry, Bubinga, Bloodwood, Purpleheart & Hard Maple. Edge grain. 15″ x 15″ x 1-1/8″.
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The 200th Cutting Board, 4th Time ‘Round
The 200th Cutting Board, Third Time ‘Round
The 200th Cutting Board, 8 Months Later
The 200th Cutting Board
I display boards at events as large as 16″ x 21″.
Those are large cutting boards, especially when they are 1-1/2″ thick. But do I make bigger boards, people ask?
Of course. And today I delivered 2 of them.
These boards are not for the faint of heart. They are big. They are heavy. They are big enough for the Thanksgiving turkey (and that’s why they were delivered TODAY!). And, importantly, you need a lot of space for a board this big. If your house has an open floor plan, and the kitchen has an island with a 24″ square space … you’re in business.
Just don’t forget that you need a sink big enough to wash these boards in!
One final thought about today’s delivery: each year, I’ve had one board that was delivered horribly late. I missed Christmas for one customer (I thought it was a pickup, not a board to be shipped.), and for 2 customers, I missed an early fall delivery only to barely make a Thanksgiving delivery.
I carefully explain to everyone that it’s just me in the shop … and the boards will get done in the next batch after I get the order. But, when I miss a window, or make a mistake … well, as they say, the wheels come off. And that is never pleasant.
The happy ending is that the new owners of these boards were ever so excited to actually hold them in their hands today. I trust that made the waiting somewhat more tolerable, as they now get to experience the happy ending.
Cutting Board 16 – End 044. Black Walnut, Bloodwood & Hickory. 16″ x 21″ x 1-1/2″. End Grain. Commissioned Piece.
Cutting Board 16 – End 045. Black Walnut, Bloodwood & Hickory. 23″ x 23″ x 1-1/2″. End Grain. Commissioned piece.
Cutting Board 16 – End 046. Jatoba, Yellowheart & Hard Maple. 23″ x 23″ x 1-1/2″. Juice Groove, End Grain. Commissioned Piece, to sit on the griddle between the burners of a Wolf double oven stove.
I make 4 kinds of boards that are often purchased to give as personalized wedding presents, and this post will (for the first time!) summarize all 4 in one place. It’s amazing how you never do some things that are really, really helpful when you get them done!
All of these boards are intended for 2-sided use. There are routed finger holds on the edges to help hold them as you move or flip them over. The first 2 boards are full-fledged cutting boards, with juice grooves on the front side (which also serves to protect the engraving). The back side of the board can be used for fruits and veggies … or whatever!
I endeavor to keep “blanks” of each of these boards on hand, so that I can engrave, finish and ship them to you within 3 weeks. But, please, don’t push the envelope for important wedding presents!
End Grain Wedding Board
This board is made from hard maple, and is in the classic “butcher block” end grain style. This board will show the least wear, as it’s end-of-the-board cutting surface will self heal when you oil the board.
13″ x 18″ x 1-1/4″. $150 + $20 shipping.
Special wedding board made with end grain hard maple. 13″ x 19″ x 1-1/4″. $150, plus $20 shipping.
The curved end of the board lends itself to a unique inset routed fingerhold.
Edge Grain Wedding Board
This Hard Maple cutting board will last for decades with proper care. Styled much like the end grain version, above, this board has clearer engraving, since the sides of the boards are being engraved instead of the ends.
12″ x 16″ x 1-1/4″. $125 + $20 shipping.
The “Established” Board
The front of this board is display only, and the reverse side can be used as a cutting board or a board to serve cheese & crackers.
Engraving on the front can be in any style that you please; I’ve done many different layouts to suit the occasion. No wrong answers here!
9″ x 11″ x 3/4″. Black Walnut, Cherry & Hard Maple. $75 + $15 shipping.
Engraved # 15 – 04. 8″ x 12″ x 1-1/8″. Black Walnut, Cherry and Hard Maple.
This style of board is walnut, cherry and hard maple. I call them the “est.” boards, because that’s the original design. But as you can see, many people have gotten creative.
The “Scrollwork” Board
This Hard Maple board is also intended for display on one side, and cutting or serving on the other. Engraving can be in any style you need.
The size is 7″ x 11″ x 7/8″. $60 + $15 shipping.
Engraved # 15 – 01. Hard Maple with engraving on one side; the opposite side is plain and intended to use as a small cutting board. 7″ x 12″ x 1-1/8″.
These 2-sided boards have finger hold slots routed on the ends, but do not feature rubber feet, as both sides of these boards are intended for use … the engraved side for display, and the opposite side for cutting.
A variation of the all maple engraved board … Best. Day. Ever.
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New: Gifts For Groomsmen
The best cutting boards, you ask? In my opinion, end grain boards are the best. End grain boards have been used in busy kitchens for centuries. Here’s why:
- The FDA says cutting boards should be “Hard Maple or its equivalent.” What I do is combine Hard Maple – which is the wood I use the most – with other hardwoods from around the world to make colorful, pretty, durable cutting boards.
- End grain boards show less wear than edge grain boards (the kind that show stripes; you see the edges of the boards instead of the ends). However, since these are hardwood boards they show much less wear than the less expensive softwood boards that many people are familiar with.
- Wooden boards are naturally anti-bacterial. These boards actually inhibit the growth of bacteria. Scientific tests have shown wooden boards have less bacteria than all other kinds of cutting boards after 5 minutes, after an hour, after a day. This is not just my opinion: it’s science. See the links at the bottom of this post.
These 3 boards were finished together with the 200th cutting board that published yesterday; the 4 of them hearken back to when I made boards in small batches of 5 or 10.
Those were good days.
Each of these boards are unique; I’ve described why in the description of each board.
Cutting Board 16 – End 043. This is the second time I’ve made this design. I love the colorful edge, and the strong brown Jatoba that complements the more muted tones of the Hard Maple. Purpleheart, Hard Maple & Jatoba. End Grain. 14″ x 18″ x 1-1/2″.
Cutting Board 16 – End 041. “Kaye’s Board.” I’ve made a few boards similar to this one, but the woods are different in every one. When I make this board, it generally sells in one of the first events it is shown at. Bubinga, Cherry, Purpleheart, Bloodwood, Jatoba, Yellowheart & Canarywood. End Grain. 14″ x 18″ x 1-1/4″.
Cutting Board 16 – End 042. This board took over a year to make. I purchased the Spalted Ash from a woodworker in Camarillo who was selling off his inventory – the boards were decades old. The last few pieces of Ash got glued up in the shape you see here, and there they sat until I got some wide Jatoba pieces that were the perfect complement to the Ash’s brown tones. In woodworking, and in life, patience is a virtue. Jatoba & Spalted Ash. End Grain. 11″ x 15″ x 1″.
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Cutting Boards: What Kind Do You Want?
Cutting Boards: Care & Cleaning
Cutting Boards: Restoration
“Go big or go home,” she said.
Of course, we were home at the time, which makes the statement somewhat curious.
The philosophy was first expressed by the eldest in the Rocky Mountains of Arizona, as the boys & I backpacked through the outback of the Philmont Scout Reservation. We were on a 52 mile trek, and that saying became one of our touchstones. We were doing the big idea, and we were going to summit the ultimate peak at dawn. The Tooth of Time would lay beneath our feet as the sun rose. Go big or go home.
Yes, we made the summit at dawn and viewed the world beneath us as we munched on our breakfast. And THEN we went home.
Four cutting boards made it out of the shop this week, and one needed to be selected as my official 200th cutting board, celebrating the 4th time that my inventory had grown to this number. I asked the Lady for an opinion on which one, as I think all 4 are rather nice pieces … and she wanted the big one. So, here you go.
This board is 16″ x 21″ x 1-1/2″. It’s a beast of a board, called Colorific. The woods selected are from 3 continents, and combine to make a striking statement. These are the 7 woods used (and if you follow the first strip of woods on the left, you’ll be able to identify the species in this order, top to bottom):
- Cherry, AKA American Cherry or Black Cherry. This traditional choice for American furniture primarily grows in the Eastern US.
- Yellowheart, AKA Pau Amarello – which is Portuguese for “yellow wood.” This vibrant wood grows in Brazil, where it’s commonly used for flooring and boat construction.
- Bloodwood, AKA Satine. This crimson favorite is a very hard wood that grows in tropical South America.
- Purpleheart, AKA Amaranth. This vibrant wood is one of the most popular exotic hardwoods, and is grown from Mexico to southern Brazil.
- Hard Maple, AKA Sugar Maple or Rock Maple. Hard Maple is the standard of hardwoods for cutting boards according to the FDA. This light-colored, dense hardwood grows in North America, primarily in the northeast.
- Canarywood, AKA Canary. This wood can sometimes seem to be rainbow colored, with streaks of reds, yellows and browns. It grows from Panama to southern Brazil, and, believe it or not, one of the common uses of this incredible wood is to make railroad ties.
- Bubinga, AKA Bevazingo, from equatorial Africa. This rose-colored wood is quickly becoming one of my favorites to work with.
The board went through 2 glue-ups, and was sanded smooth each time on my drum sander using 80 grit sandpaper. After the board was rough sanded there, it was cut square and sanded by hand through 5 grits: 80, 120, 180, 220 and 320. On the table router, the edges were rounded and handholds were added under each end.
The finished board was saturated with mineral oil, and then a top coat of Board Butter was added. I use Mrs M’s Board Butter, of course, which combines locally harvested beeswax and mineral oil. Finally, non-skid rubber feet were added, and they are held on with stainless steel screws for long life.
Please note the photos are not enhanced for color: this is how the board really looks.
In the shop, glued up in its final form but not yet smooth – I was about 3 board hours from the finish line. This is when I knew the board would live up to its name.
Cutting Board 16 – End 040. “Colorific.” Cherry, Bubinga, Yellowheart, Bloodwood, Purpleheart, Hard Maple & Canarywood. End Grain. 16″ x 21″ x 1-1/2″.
Cutting Board 16 – 040 detail. Non-skid rubber feet & routed hand hold.
Cutting Board 16 – End 040 detail. Non-skid rubber feet & routed handhold.
Cutting Board 16 – 040 detail. Close-up of the grain patterns in the center of the board. All colors are natural; only mineral oil has been applied.
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The 200th Cutting Board, Third Time ‘Round
The 200th Cutting Board, 8 Months Later
The 200th Cutting Board
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.
One of the delightful people that I had the pleasure to work with for 20+ years is Nancy … and she really insisted that we do her hometown event in Manhattan Beach.
So, last year, we applied, and were rejected. They had too many vendors offering skin care products, and we applied as a duo.
As we do.
This year, we applied as a duo OR as two single vendors … and Mrs M got accepted!
But me … I got nothing. No acceptance, no rejection. Nothing. Just … crickets.
So I emailed the volunteer committee chair, and she said she’d look into it for me. And, a couple of weeks later, the issues (whatever they were!) got resolved and we have now both been accepted into the Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair. It took us 2 years to get to the event … what’s in store for us?
New Ideas
- Surprise! When I arrived for setup, I learned that we were in a middle aisle, with traffic on both sides. No front & back, just sides. We’ve never set up this way before. OK, go.
- When I tried to call Mrs M to discuss, Verizon could not deliver a connection. No conversation = no way to discuss options. I texted her: “I’ll set up the booth, and you will like it.”
- You would think the middle aisle, set in the middle of the street, would be at the crown of the street. Nope, we were in the gutter. There was a pronounced slope to the booth on its way to the gutter … nothing good comes from being in the gutter.
Observations
- The vendor booths are on a street between 2 parks on one side, and a walking path on the other. Very nice location; lots of trees & green … for a very crowded urban area near the beach.
- After intense visualization during set up, I settled on a layout that basically had Mrs M’s layout intact, with my booth turned 180 degrees to face hers. Entrances were on both sides of the booth, on her side. There was a small entrance by my chair, and we sat in opposite corners. The layout worked, though many people chose not to enter my booth, and just look over the table from the “outside.” That was not good; there was less customer engagement. Less touching of the boards. Also, the entrance on her side became a super highway with many, many people using our booth as an aisle. Unfortunately.
- The organizers have a map for the event – there was a very nice poster-sized map at the information booths. They didn’t share that with any of the vendors, though, and it is not posted on the website. Why would they keep the map a secret?
- Surprise! Two-sided booths are bad. This is only the 2nd time we’ve had one; the first time was when we still had a single booth, and we didn’t like that event, either.
- The event began with the mayor and mayor pro-tem driving down the narrow vendor aisle in classic cars. And then the high school marching band marched through, in full uniform. It was funny watching the people on cellphones try and talk over the percussion section as it marched by.
- Oh, so many groups of young girls visited Mrs M’s booth this weekend. Lip scrubs became a “gotta have” with the younger generation.
- I love community events.
- Saturday evening, the vendors closed at 5pm … but the beer garden & live music continued until 6pm. Why in the world would they close the vendors while drunk people with spending money were still nearby, and about to exit through all of the booths?
- We almost missed an exfolier sale because we didn’t have a purple one … I can’t believe Aunt Sis let us run out of purple. But then, when we got home we had received a new box holding a LOT of new exfoliers, so all is well. But we’re still low on purple. How can that be?
- Mrs M thought she had a busy weekend (she did), but we still didn’t do the number of transactions that we did at our biggest event … that had similar groups of young girls loving Mrs M’s stuff.
- One person observed that the domed cheese & cracker servers would be perfect for serving a cupcake under glass. Uh, OK … but they didn’t need one of those, I guess.
- Losing It: Mrs M lost it at 3pm Sunday when another group of young girls descended & left her scrub testing station in shambles. Frenzied Velda did not appear, but she was not far away.
- Sold my last large surfboard, and my last small sous chef board. Missed a sale because I only had one large sous chef board, and it was the wrong color. I hate being out of things; more work to do!
- My only request was for wine accessories. Alas, I’m still not there yet. Maybe in a month, if I’m lucky.
- Every returning vendor that I spoke with told me that sales were way down from prior year – perhaps half of last year! – in spite of the lovely weather. Theories abounded, from pre-election jitters to the phase of the moon. No way to know of course, but this year’s event was a shadow of last year’s event. Unfortunately.
- The load out was the worst I have ever seen. Total chaos. No management of traffic – vendors were allowed to drive in at 5:01pm, and there were still people walking every which way. The beer garden and free music was still going as well! Kids were darting between cars on bikes. This is an accident waiting to happen, unfortunately.
- Both aisles were wide enough for one line of cars to drive through while another line was parked, but only just. Large trucks and trailers were always a problem, and there were many of those. We had vans scraping by under our awning, inches from our booth just minutes after the official closing. The whole idea of strike your booth and then drive in to pack it away seems to have been lost on the organizers, who ceded total control of the load out. This part of the event was even worse than spending the whole weekend in the gutter.
The Food
Saturday Breakfast: McDonald’s # 4. Hello, old friend.
Saturday Lunch: A Boy Scout cheese burger. Great char. Always happy to support BSA.
Saturday Snack: Nope.
Saturday Dinner: Dinner at Nancy & Bobby’s home. Lovely, simply lovely.
Sunday Breakfast: When it works, you don’t change. Hello, old friend.
Sunday Lunch: A different Boy Scout troop was selling pizzas as a fund raiser, so I had an individual pizza: pepperoni.
Sunday Snack: Potato chips left from yesterday’s lunch.
Sunday Dinner: Velda’s ham & pasta salad. And bourbon.
The Facts
- Total miles driven: 221
- Booth cost: $850
- # of people we met during the event from the producer: 0
- Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: 0
- Total sales: $2,213
- # containers of product taken: all of them
- # boards available: 220
- Saturday alarm: 5:30a
- Sunday alarm: 6:45a
- # transactions: 114
- # soap & lotion vendors: there were 3 others, we think. Two had soap and a small lotion line (one was all about bath bombs); one just sold lip balm.
- # woodworking vendors: UNPRECEDENTED. There were 4 vendors selling cutting boards! One was from northern California, and had a broad product line (but a narrow use of exotic woods). One was a senior citizen selling stuff at his first ever event, and everything had inlays. Finally, a high school shop was selling untreated boards using cheap wood (soft wood & hard wood) as a fundraiser. I saw 2 of their boards on the aisle, and I saw 1 from the NorCal competitor.
- Edge grain vs. end grain: 21:1
- Returning next year? I think so … because staying with our hometown friends in Manhattan Beach made this a lovely weekend in spite of the disappointing sales! It’s not all about the vending, this vending thing.
Boards sold: 22
Small Boards: 4
Cheese Boards: 4
Small Surfboard: 3
Magic Bottle Openers: 3
Notepad Clipboards: 2
Custom Orders: 2
Large Surfboard: 1
Chess Board: 1
Bread Board: 1
Small Sous Chef Board: 1
Legal Clipboard: 1
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 098. Black Walnut, Bubinga & Yellowheart. Double Magic = Refrigerator or Wall Mount.
Small Board 16 – 031. Purpleheart, Jatoba, Bloodwood, Bubinga, Padauk, Cherry & Hard Maple. 12″ x 7″ x 1-1/8″.
Small Surfboard 16 – 15. Hard Maple & Padauk. 6″ x 16″ x 3/4″.
Surfbord # 15 – 38. Red Oak, Black Walnut, Teak & Yellowheart. 12″ x 19″ x 1-1/4″.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 139. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Canarywood & Yellowheart. Double Magic.
Cheese Board 16 – 030. Chaos Board. Padauk, Cherry, Jatoba, Hard Maple, Black Walnut, Bloodwood, Yellowheart & Honey Locust. 9″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
Chess 16 – 01. Purpleheart & Hard Maple playing surface with a Purpleheart frame. Squares are 2-1/8″ across.
Cheese Board 16 – 047. Purpleheart, Bloodwood, Jatoba, Black Walnut & Caribbean Rosewood. 7″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
Cheese Board 16 – 046. Purpleheart, Birds Eye Maple, Goncalo Alves, Jatoba, Bloodwood & Yellowheart. 9″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
Small Surfboard 16 – 10. Hard Maple, Padauk & Yellowheart. 6″ x 16″ x 3/4″.
Small Surfboard 16 – 14. Hard Maple, Purpleheart & Bloodwood. 6″ x 16″ x 3/4″.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 096. Jatoba, Black Walnut & Cherry. Double Magic = Refrigerator or Wall Mount.
Clipboard 16 – 020. Hard Maple, Canarywood, Purpleheart & Jatoba. Note pad size. 1/2″ clip.
Clipboard 16 – 022. Black Walnut, Purpleheart, Yellowheart, Cherry & Hard Maple. Note pad size. 1/2″ clip.
Small Board 16 – 022. Hard Maple, Black Walnut & Bubinga. 10″ x 10″ x 7/8″.
Small Board 16 – 021. Black Walnut & Cherry. 6″ x 9″ x 1″.
Small Board 16 – 022. Black Walnut, Goncalo Alves, Yellowheart & Hard Maple. 10″ x 10″ x 7/8″.
Bread Board 16 – 11. Hard Maple, Canarywood, Jatoba & Yellowheart. 8″ x 20″ x 7/8″.
Cheese Board 16 – 008. Edge Grain. Hard Maple, Jatoba & Padauk. 9″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
Sous Chef 16 – 018. Padauk, Yellowheart, Black Walnut & Hard Maple. 9″ x 16″ x 3/4″.
Clipboard 16 – 030. Bubinga, Cherry, Canarywood & Jatoba. Legal size, 1″ clip.
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.
The Oceanside Chamber of Commerce has been hosting Harbor Days for a long time. They don’t tell you how long … but it’s a long time.
They outsource the event management to a locally based producer, Kennedy & Associates. They do about 9 community events in the San Diego area throughout the year. This is one of the rare 2-day events. It’s got fire trucks, navy demonstrations & contests.
And it takes place by Oceanside’s South Harbor. On. The. Beach.
We’re in.
New Ideas
- We have banners! Both Mrs M & Mr M now have banners on the front of their shade structures. We are such professionals these days. See the pictures of our new-look booth, at the bottom of this post.
- The folding chairs are gone, and we now have tall directors chairs so we are eye level with our patrons even before we are standing. We are such professionals these days.
- This is our first event in San Diego County. We haven’t gone very far south previous to this; we skipped Orange County entirely.
Observations
- This is the first of 10 big events leading up to the holiday break. Those 10 events will see us go far and wide:
- Oceanside
- Manhattan Beach
- Carpenteria (2x)
- Claremont
- Westlake Village
- Santa Clarita (3x)
- Ridgecrest
- Our booth backed up to the beach: we were 8′ from the sand. We listened to the surf all weekend. I so wanted to love this event and own this space every year.
- As we do these days, we bought a double booth on a corner, 10×20. Unfortunately, our neighbor moved their display racks holding their most popular merchandise into the open space that formed the corner we shared. They effectively took over the open space to display their merchandise, and then added a 6′ table on the sidewalk behind. Management’s reaction? Let me work it out with the other vendor … apparently, they thought it was my job to enforce their rule. Or not.
- Why did I buy a corner space for their merchandise display, again?
- Very eclectic crowd. We saw a costumed donkey, a mermaid being pulled around in a wagon, and countless numbers of people walking by the booth barefoot. On the asphalt. Many out-of-towners showed up. Lots of beach bombers. Lots of dog walkers.
- We had read the event attracts 40,000, which is why we opted for this event over others. Our mistake. Attendance was perhaps 12,000, in my estimation, and I believe I’m being kind. Parking is just about impossible … you have to park a couple of miles away in downtown Oceanside, and take the shuttle. If you do drive to the event and park in the closest lot … you still walk about a mile to get to the event.
- Even though the producer asked for a list of everything you would be selling … they didn’t really care, come to find out, and accepted all applicants. The result of that was that there were 8 vendors at this event selling handmade soap. Or, perhaps I should say, 8 vendors were displaying handmade soap. Velda sold a total of 4 bars this weekend, which is just horrendous. One vendor left after Saturday with sales below $50 for the day. Horrible lack of event management.
- Only event I’ve ever seen with more soapers than jewelry makers. Unbelievable.
- Oh. So. Slow. On Saturday, this event started slow, and then got worse. Our Saturday sales were less than our booth fee … for one booth.
- Sunday sales were better in the morning, giving us hope that was then dashed in the afternoon. In the end, we did cover our booth fee and cost of goods sold … but little else.
- Requests were for a serving tray, a counter, cribbage boards (sigh), backgammon boards (sigh) and pens.
- Not to racially profile, but I got 3 requests from Asian Americans … or Asian Asians … for very large Lazy Susans (which they didn’t call Lazy Susans).
- As the event wound down on Sunday, a young couple came by. The guy was a woodworker who had just found some urban wood … the city had cut down a mature camphor tree, and he managed to get the log and large branches from the city before they hit the chipper. He shared 4x 8″ branches with me – he even brought them to us as we were loading the trailer. I get some wood, he gets a cutting board … and I got to meet a nice young couple that are trading me wood for finished pieces. And this was about the only nice thing that happened to us in Oceanside … other than the sunset on the beach.
The Food
Saturday Breakfast: Free hotel food @ the Best Western Plus. Did I mention it was free?
Saturday Lunch: A tri-tip sandwich. Fair food, in every possible meaning of the words.
Saturday Snack: Cookies from a nice vendor, and salted nuts from another nice vendor.
Saturday Dinner: Ty’s Burgers, or something like that. Passable, with nice ambiance. And it was easy.
Sunday Breakfast: Did I mention it was free? Well, “free.”
Sunday Lunch: Chinese fair food. Better, but dry, unfortunately.
Sunday Snack: Leftovers.
Sunday Dinner: McDonald’s # 1. It was the first place we saw close to the freeway. And we still didn’t get home until 10:30p.
The Facts
- Total miles driven: 266
- Booth cost: $650
- # of people we met during the event from the producer: 1
- Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: 4
- Total sales: $935
- # containers of product taken: all of them
- # boards available: all of them
- Saturday alarm: 5:30a
- Sunday alarm: Nope.
- # transactions: 39
- # soap & lotion vendors: There were 8 (EIGHT) soap & lotion vendors, plus an essential oil vendor. I have never seen so many soapers with so few sales at an event EVER.
- # woodworking vendors: Just me
- Edge grain vs. end grain: 9:1
- Returning next year? Absolutely not.
Boards sold: 10
Cutting Boards: 2
Magic Bottle Openers: 2
Cheese Boards: 2
Lazy Susan: 1
Bread Saw: 1
Large Sous Chef: 1
Letter-size Clipboard: 1
Bread Saw 16 – 01. Black Walnut & Hard Maple. Stainless Steel blade.
Cutting Board 16 – Edge 013. Hard Maple, Black Walnut, Cherry, Jatoba & Purpleheart. Edge grain. 14″ x 18″ x 1-1/4″.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 017. Wall mount. Cherry, Bloodwood, Bubinga & Hard Maple. Approximately 5″ x 10″ x 3/4″.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 082. Wall mount. Purpleheart, Hard Maple, Canarywood & Black Walnut. Approximately 5″ x 10″ x 3/4″.
Lazy Susan 16 – 025. Black Walnut, Canarywood & Hard Maple. 17″ diameter.
Cheese Board 16 – 049. Purpleheart, Bubinga, Hard Maple & Caribbean Rosewood. 7″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
Cutting Board 16 – End 017. Hard Maple. End grain. 13″ x 18″ x 1-1/4″.
Sous Chef 16 – 015. Birdseye Maple, Purpleheart & Bloodwood. 11″ x 22″ x 3/4″. Please excuse the smudges of beeswax that didn’t get wiped off in time for the photo!
Clipboard 16 – 025. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Bubinga & Canarywood. Letter size. 1″ clip.
Cheese Board 16 – 038. Jatoba, Cherry, Hard Maple, Yellowheart, Honey Locust, Padauk, Bloodwood & Black Walnut. 10″ x 10″ x 3/4″.
If you think you’ve been seeing a lot of Magic Bottle Openers in this space … you’re right. They are now my # 1 seller.
Imagine if you were the one making them, one at a time.
So, it was time for new designs. New woods. I even added a 5th color of metal bottle opener.
Lots of different stuff here. Honest.
So where am I? I’ve made about 150 of these this year, and I believe I’m going to make another 100 before the end of the year. If I can keep up, that is. I may want to go to a movie at some point.
But I’m not counting on that!
By the way … if you’re new to these, then you may want some definitions and to understand why these are magic. For all of those explanations – and more pictures! – go here. All of these MBOs are approximately 5″ x 10″ x 3/4″. Pricing is simple: $35 for single magic models, and $45 for double magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 120. Hard Maple, Black Walnut, Mahogany & Padauk. Single Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 121. Black Walnut, Cherry & Jatoba . Single Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 134. Hard Maple, Cherry & Bubinga. Single Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 122. Cherry, Hard Maple, Black Walnut & Jatoba. Single Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 123. Black Walnut, Cherry, Hard Maple & Yellowheart. Single Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 124. Birdseye Maple & Jatoba. Single Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 125. Padauk, Yellowheart, Goncalo Alves & Hard Maple. Single Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 127. Cherry, Padauk, Black Walnut & Hard Maple. Single Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 128. Hard Maple, Cherry, Canarywood, Yellowheart & Padauk. Single Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 130. Cherry, Hard Maple & Black Walnut. Single Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 129. Birdseye Maple, Black Walnut, Mahogany & Padauk. Single Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 133. Hard Maple, Cherry & Bubinga. Single Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 132. Hard Maple, Black Walnut & Canarywood. Single Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 131. Bubinga, Bloodwood & Cherry. Single Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 135. Purpleheart, Bubinga, Bloodwood & Yellowheart. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 136. Black Walnut, Jatoba & Cherry. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 137. Birdseye Maple, Bloodwood & Cherry.. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 139. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Canarywood & Yellowheart. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 138. Bloodwood, Cherry & Purpleheart. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 143. Birdseye Maple, Bloodwood & Cherry. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 140. Red Oak, Hard Maple, Black Walnut, Cherry & Jatoba. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 141. Black Walnut, Cherry & Jatoba. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 142. Birdseye Maple, Black Walnut, Mahogany & Padauk. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 143. Cherry, Hard Maple & Bloodwood. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 145. Hard Maple, Cherry, Canarywood, Yellowheart & Purpleheart. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 146. Red Oak, Black Walnut, Padauk & Hard Maple. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 147. Cherry, Black Walnut, Jatoba, Padauk, Burmese Teak, Canarywood & Yellowheart. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 148. Black Walnut, Cherry & Jatoba. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 149. Jatoba & Birdseye Maple. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 151. Birdseye Maple, Jatoba, Mahogany & Padauk. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 152. Padauk, Yellowheart, Goncalo Alves & Hard Maple. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 150. Goncalo Alves & Cherry. Double Magic.
A good story is always worth re-telling. After all, many people missed the story before, so they have the benefit of catching up. For the people that heard the story before … a good story is always a good story.
Food turntables have been around for centuries, we know, but why do we call them Lazy Susans?
No one knows.
The legends point to Monticello, to England and even to the Far East … but no one really knows. There’s a great summation of this story that ran in the LA Times a few years ago; link is at the bottom.
What we do know is that the first published instance of the term “Lazy Susan” was in a 1917 edition of Vanity Fair, where “Ovington’s $8.50 Mahogany ‘Revolving Server or Lazy Susan'” is advertised. The term is probably a 20th century invention, it appears … and they were really, really big in the ’50s & ’60s.
The trends have turned again, naturally, and Lazy Susans are a consistent seller from the Woodshop. Here are the latest … and I doubt I will make any more Lazy Susans much before Thanksgiving. Let me know if any catch your eye!
Lazy Susan 16 – 023. Jatoba, Mahogany & Cherry. 17″ diameter.
Lazy Susan 16 – 029. Hard Maple, Black Walnut, Padauk & Cherry. 17″ diameter.
Lazy Susan 16 – 025. Black Walnut, Canarywood & Hard Maple. 17″ diameter.
Lazy Susan 16 – 026. Chaos board. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Purpleheart, Cherry, Yellowheart & Jatoba. 17″ diameter.
Lazy Susan 16 – 027. Cherry, Padauk, Hard Maple & Yellowheart. 17″ diameter.
Lazy Susan 16 – 028. Black Walnut, Mahogany & Jatoba. 17″ diameter.
Lazy Susan 16 – 024. Black Walnut, Purpleheart, Cherry & Bloodwood. 17″ diameter.
Lazy Susan 16 – 030. Black Walnut, Cherry & Mahogany. 17″ diameter.
More
LA Times: Back Story: Who Was Susan, And Was She Truly Lazy?
Wikipedia: Lazy Susan
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.
Break’s over. Summer’s over.
Time to start our fall events … which will quickly blend into our holiday events. This event was the first of 11 planned over the next 14 weeks. So, it’s time to get busy.
We did the Spring Boutique at St Charles, which was connected to their annual carnival, so there was a lot going on. This event, though, is simply a vendor event for the congregation to shop at following their Sunday service. With holidays in the wind, this 1-day event was hoped to be stronger than the spring’s 2-day event.
New Ideas
- The booths were not a true 10×20 this time; more of a found space that was about 15′ wide and 30′ deep. We made it work, though the display tables were in a sort of Z pattern. See the pix, below. And, for the record, I’m superstitious about being next to the door (don’t like that!), but other booth space locations don’t bother me.
Observations
- Mrs M claimed she had to work at her “job.” Little Girl pitched in, of course … but, in the end, she was most helpful for load out. Other than that … we had some nice conversations.
- In the spring, sales were $1,926. This fall … nope. Lots of crickets were heard during this event. People? Booth traffic? Not so much.
- Requests were for a cribbage board (wait a week or three, please!) and a round chopping block (where were you last year?).
- I no longer like one day events.
- I no longer like small events.
- Tenth worst event ever. Nothing else needs to be said.
The Food
Sunday Breakfast: McDonald’s # 4. Hello, old friend.
Sunday Lunch: A burrito from Ernie’s, from across the street. Tasty.
Sunday Snack: Nope.
Sunday Dinner: Mrs M made chicken fingers & tater tots. Comfort food.
The Facts
- Total miles driven: 120
- Booth cost: $125
- # of people we met during the event from the producer: 2
- Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: many
- Total sales: $269
- # containers of product taken: far too many from every perspective
- # boards available: 150+
- Sunday alarm: 5a
- # transactions: 14
- # soap & lotion vendors: Just us
- # woodworking vendors: Just us
- Edge grain vs. end grain: 2:0
- Returning next year? Nope.
Boards sold: 2
1x Small Sous Chef Board
1x Magic Bottle Opener
Sous Chef 16 – 021. Quilted Black Walnut, Hard Maple & Padauk. Sold in its first showing.
Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 11. Double Magic. Padauk, Hard Maple, Yellowheart & Purpleheart. 5″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
The biggest event of the year for us has, for the last 2 years, been Santa’s Art Shop in Ridgecrest. That event – its 35th annual – is this weekend, so I have been working long hours to get the inventory in shape for the big event.
