Turquoise Inlaid Wood Furniture

Turquoise Inlaid Furniture adds a one of a kind touch to what we call "Functional Works of Art'. The use of turquoise inlay can bring to your home an artistic touch. Log home decor emphasizes on the functional as well as beautiful and is friendly instead of formal.

These handmade very unique pieces of juniper can not be duplicated in nature or in the work shop. All shape and coloring is natural and every piece is one of a kind.

Our turquoise inlay techniques use the natural movement of the wood to determine where we will add turquoise. Bringing forth a rich colorful palette, which is not only pleasing to the eye but stays true to the natural beauty and individuality of every work of art.

There are many forms of turquoise on the market today, you will find imitation turquoise or very low grade turquoise. We only use jewelry quality Kingman's Turquoise, holding nature in the highest of esteem and will promote your desire to display your handcrafted work of art.

Woodworking As An Income

I think one of the biggest factors in making money with woodworking or any other kind of craft, is making sure that there is a market for it. You might be able to sell one place and not the other and it all depends on what people want.

Tim and I started our business 3 years ago, last year “2007” we made a decent living just off our wood products. We were thrilled with this because in 2006 we barely made enough to buy the supplies. We expect this year to surpass last years income. I think one thing with what we do is that it is unique, not many people have seen twisted juniper furniture and every single piece that we make is one of a kind and you will never find another like it.

When we first started out we had no idea what to charge for anything, I look back now and have to laugh because we had no clue what we were doing. Some of our items were way over priced and others we could have gotten a lot more for. As our craftsmanship and know how went up so did our prices. We keep track of how long it takes to work on a project, “this does not include finding the wood and pressure washing” and then we figure our prices at $35 per hour. Now sometimes you will get a lamp or candle holder that just wont sell for that price so we drop it because we know we can make it up else where. I just finished a table lamp that was pretty fast to finish but it is very very unique and i know that we can sell it for around $300. So it all kind of goes into figuring out what your market is. Heck we were able to sell a dining room table for $3500 and this without a top. So there are people willing to pay good money for good furniture and I think the market is going up for hand crafted items.

After we got confident in our product we approached a few retailers and found one that would buy from us but he wanted to pay way less then we would accept, if we would have sold our items at that price we wouldn't have made a dime. We also sold on eBay for awhile and still do, the thing with eBay is that everything is at a bargain, so we pretty much list our items at a wholesale cost which is 30% off our price. eBay does okay and it does get people to our site.

We have had a website up and running since we first started, but it has been only in this last year that we have had good traffic to the site. I built and manage the site myself and i had no clue on how to optimize it and get it out there in the search engines. Luckily there was a person that I was referred to and he gave me a free online lesson on how to get our site out there. So now we are ranking higher on Google and we have had more interest from our website in the past 3 months then we have had in the past 3 years. So this is good news. As the web designer I am currently taking free classes for SEO and Website Marketing. These have been a huge help in our web page ranking higher in the search engines http://www.gnc-web-creations.com/

In 2007 Summers ago we started selling at Crafts Shows, Farmers/Vendors Markets and Festivals. Luckily we live close to the high end ski resorts like Aspen, Vail, Steamboat Springs and Breckenridge. Our first market was in Steamboat Springs and it is every Saturday through out the summer, it costs $35 for a space and i don't have to stay overnight in town. I get up at 4am and get there in time to set up and am home by 6 that night.

We usually do pretty good at the Steamboat Markets, there have been times that we made $300 and other times that we have made $1500 for a 5 hour day. There was one day that we sold completely out. Last year I went to a 2 day show in Frisco Colorado which is pretty high end, we were selling candle holder, wind chimes, lamps and small tables. This was the first 2 day show that we had ever done, well with in the first 3 hours we sold almost completely out and made enough to cover a month worth of living expenses. The downside is the cost of fuel to get there, staying in a hotel, the booth space which was $100 and of course eating out.

When it comes to doing the shows I usually go alone because it is more cost effective to travel alone, especially if you have a family. I go get to missing my family but a few days away is always nice.

Festivals and Craft shows are a blast, but they are also a lot of work, especially if you are doing it on your own. Setting up and tearing down can get a little rough especially at 2 pm on a July afternoon. So be prepared with plenty of food and drink, extra cash to make change, a way to accept credit cards, a garden cart to haul your stuff to and from your vehicle and an easy up canopy that has 4 sides that can be zipped closed in case of rain.

Now when you start getting customers, create a database of their mailing addresses and email addresses. When ever we finish a round of stuff, usually a few weeks worth of products, I send an email out to everyone on my list letting them know what we have done. Usually you get return customers and return customers is what keeps you going. We even have a company in Missouri that buys our products and resells them.

Our target market is the high end posh towns. Even though you hear a lot about how bad he economy is, there are still a whole bunch of people out there willing to spend money on something that they find unique and many people are passionate about what they are looking for, if you can help them out, then you will have a customer for life.

Just don't give up and go with your gut. If you believe in what you do and you believe in your product then you can sell it. It just takes a little bit of time.

I hope this long story helps and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask, we are still learning as we go along, but I am sure our experiences can help others out as well.

HAPPY WOODWORKING!

Woodworking and doing what you love

Hello to all our fellow wood workers out there, and great job for doing what you love. Even though there are times that we get frustrated with a project that we are working on, run into on problem after the other; like finding new scratches every time you change the angle of your light, whoops dropped it again, dang I forgot to do that or where did that run come from? We stick with it because it is a part of us, we love it and with every item that we make, we leave a little piece of ourselves in that piece of wood.

I think one of the things I love is seeing a piece come to life. We start out by harvesting limbs off juniper trees, with a better trained eye we can see the curve or twist in the wood and know that there is something cool under that ugly thick bark. We bring it home and try to pressure wash the wood as soon as possible and get it out of the sun so the wood does not discolor. I think that pressure washing is one of the funnest parts of the process because we can see what is truly under the outer layer, it is in a way like Christmas, you never know what you are going to get and every limb is different.

Once the wood is cured we of course go to work either on a custom order or for building inventory. From there it is a whole lot of sanding, leveling, grinding, sandblasting and sometimes the project gets thoroughly “blessed” if you get my drift. Then of course we have the final project ready for spraying and then added to our website or shipped off to the customer.

We all have our own process and way of doing things, and this is what makes us all so unique. I don't think that there is a right or wrong way to do anything as long as the outcome is what we expected or better than , and that we are having fun while we are doing it. By no means do I consider ourselves professional, we are self taught, mostly by trial and error, and of course what we found on the web. What is so great about this place is that we can share our stories, learn from one another and become more inspired, and to know that we are not alone in the dust filled days of sanding and grinding.

So kudos to you all for sticking it out and doing the best that you can. Nice to meet you all and I look forward to building many lasting friendships.!!!!

Custom Handmade Handcrafted Rustic Log Furniture

Pull up a chair, put up your feet and relax. Lets Get Designing!

When it comes to furnishing your home, it is a reflection of your personality and passion, this is where we deliver superb workmanship and style by taking your design visions and making them a reality. We believe that handcrafted log cabin furniture quietly inspires all of us to be the best that we can be.

Decorating your home, hunting retreat, lodge or cabin get away should be an exciting and fun experience. Our goal is to help you create that calm sanctuary, a place to escape from the world, relax and rejuvenate yourself.

Our "open door" policy allows you to stop by our shop anytime, look through our collection of wood and pick out the pieces that are right for you. Email technology and phone conversations will also allow us to assist you with the custom furniture design process. We will then combine art and craftsmanship to bring to life that "impossible to find" item for your home.

Lets start creating memories to last for generations to come!

Here at Rocky Mountain Twist we want to make the design process as easy and uncomplicated as possible. We will offer individual guidance at our home/shop to help with the "client specific" custom furniture process, creating the perfect handmade piece for your home.

Before starting any kind of custom order, we like to start with an initial phone conversation. This gives us chance to get to know you and a better feel for what you are looking for. We can also explain the process of building a custom piece of furniture or home accessory.

We understand that the design process can be overwhelming and intimidating, so we have two ways of creating your custom order.

1. Design and Surprise - You can let us choose the design and surprise you with a finished piece

or

2. Choose Your Own Adventure - You become a part of the design process and help choose the perfect pieces of wood.

Once we have the basic information that we need, such as design idea and dimensions, we will then go through our stock pile of wood and find pieces that would work for your project. If you are going to be a part of the custom design process, we will email you pictures of wood that will work for your project and you can choose the design you like best.

When we start the building process, you will receive regular email update with pictures as we progress through your design so you can be a part of the project "coming to life".

You are more than welcome to stop by our shop anytime and personally look through our collection of wood, we will listen to your ideas and help come up with a design that is perfect for you.

There is always room in your life for thinking bigger, pushing limits and imagining the unimaginable