Adding value to your work,
Giving them an edge over your competitors
Paua inserts
On my utility bowls I have come up with an idea to set my work apart from others selling theirs in craft shops.
Firstly on the rim of a bowl or a platter I insert a disc of paua/Abolone .Most of what I supply is to tourist shops so people are wanting a bit of kiwiana .
Craft shop/gallery owners have started to order pieces by referring to the paua inlay pieces .They don’t seem to care what the wood is, just that they want paua applied.
I only supply NewZealand natives however
The facts are I sell 10 with paua to one without .Even though the bowl or platter is identical in shape and form and more expensive. Also one 20 cent disc of paua adds at least $10 to the wholesale price.(Added value)
I have also started to add a paua disc in the foot .A pleasant surprise when a customer turns the piece over (more added value).
Ill try and explain why I do this to the bottom.
One I like to finish the foot apart from the chuck bite, so all I have to do is vacuum chuck and turn a concave cove around the circumference
2 I leave a centre in the recess I have made for the paua which means the tailstock can be brought up to centre the work . This saves time and if the bottom isn’t to thin the tailstock is all that is required to hold the bowl against the backing faceplate if you don’t have a Vacuum set up .
I do a dozen or so bowls and finish the bite all in one go a production line always saves time.
You will also notice that I have textured up against the foot in that hard to sand area. More added value
You can see the difference against the platter with and without shown
I buy my discs from Southern Shell (I shouldn’t tell you this as after this article I am sure you will all be placing inserts of some kind in the rim or bottom.
http://www.paua.com/ they will laser cut any Shape you require .
One of our club members has had clock hands cut .They look Stunning
Other ideas are to insert coins from your country in the bottom, or brass discs that you can in grave and sign
Terry