i made it in my shop... and want to sell them in the classifieds...

I saw one at bucks for $170 that was smaller and not constructed well...

mine is bigger and has internal splines that will help keep them from coming apart...

i was gonna sell them for $150.. but think thats too much?

my iPads color sucks..

size is about 19 wide by 17 tall

vertical is mesquite, two horizontals are maple and walnut... all texas woods..

That.is.beautiful!

Here's my comments from a person who is a woodworker and in the past have sold and marketed many fine wood items including more than 200 mesquite cutting boards

- Great looking cutting board.

- I think the size is too large for most persons. maybe have that size available, but I found out that a 12 to 14"" x 17 inch wide was optimal size.

- Great mix of woods.....hopefully the Maplewood is not from Texas as our maple is not the hard maple and grows way too fast for use as a cutting board.

- As far as marketing goes, I don't think the average consumer will pay $150 or even $100. IF you target the upscale shows and high end gift shops, you can. If you can produce them and be reliable in your delivery, I would try the upscale gifts shops in Austin, San Antonio, DFW and raise the price to $249 or more. High end shoppers are looking for just the right gift for their clients and family members.

- Also, if you can produce them, send one to the director of gift products for Neimans and you might get into their catalog. I had a friend who did that and it jump-started his business.
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Also, forgot to mention above, you might want to offer it customized with a person's name in the corner in about 30 Font. I made about 75 of them like that at one time for gifts and all of the recipients raved about them.

you can easily engrave names in them with a home-sand blaster and sand blasting rubber. Takes about 5 minutes.

That would really customize them for the buyer who want to give a unique Christmas, wedding, anniversary, etc. give.

They are very pretty cutting boards! You've been busy...
I don't have any experience making cutting boards, but my late father-in-law made ours and I agree that my favorite and most used size of the ones he made for us is smaller than your sample ones. (Around 12-14 inches)
How is the Star of Texas made? Is that inlaid?
I also agree that there are certain price points that make or break sales of items such as this. I have seen handmade wooden items at the craft mall over by Target, but I don't recall prices offhand.

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you might want to offer it customized with a person's name in the corner in about 30 Font.

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That would make an awesome custom wedding present... custom orders with 2 names (husband and wife) and maybe class year too.

Tap handles is another idea...you just have to find a way to sell and market to homebrewers and brewers. homebrewtalk.com is a pretty high traffic one... a lot of independent sellers on there.

I'd like to make a set of these (below), but out of wood I've collected: red oak, cypress and bois d'arc.

This would be your Neiman's competition. $150.

http://www.neimanmarcus.com/Maple-Leaf-at-Home-Personalized-Cutting-Boards/prod143620033/p.prod

The top one is made by someone who thinks the cutting boars will hand on a wall and never be used. Any cutting board with engraving should be designed to turn over and use the back side so as to not mess up the engraving or printing on it.

http://texags.com/forums/50/topics/2412285

Since you seem to be asking for opinions from everyone, $150 would be out of my price range even for a wedding gift. I typically spend between $50-100 on a wedding gift depending on how I know you. I don't spend a lot of money on myself so it would have to be on cheap if it were for me.

I did have a really large cutting board that I really liked, it fit nicely in a spot on the kitchen counter in our past house. It wasn't anything special, got it for cheap at a Dillard's sale. It didn't have a place in this house though.

Yours is really nice.

Since the general consensus is that the demo one is too big, I'll give you $25 so you don't have to worry about storing it.

Frio's comments are spot on.
Hit the speciality market and you found your niche.
I have seen associates get into specialities like Neimans and everyone is happier for it.
On limited production run you focus on those looking for unique things.
Very beautiful product there.

Over-priced.

There's a woodworking shop at TAMU that makes a similar product for 1/2 the cost.

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Nice looking cutting board.

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Over-priced.

There's a woodworking shop at TAMU that makes a similar product for 1/2 the cost.

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Doesn't matter unless they are marketing to the same clientele base.

Selling locally via classifieds, Craigslist, and other similar avenues is totally the wrong way to market this type of products.

I am curious as to why an A&M woodshop is selling cutting boards? Is it a club making them as a fund raiser?

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Over-priced.

There's a woodworking shop at TAMU that makes a similar product for 1/2 the cost.

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Doesn't matter unless they are marketing to the same clientele base.

Selling locally via classifieds, Craigslist, and other similar avenues is totally the wrong way to market this type of products.

I am curious as to why an A&M woodshop is selling cutting boards? Is it a club making them as a fund raiser?

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You've got a point there.

The shop in question makes them out of scrap wood; they get to use up leftover stock, practice their skills, and make some money for their department.

where si this wood shop? There used to be one in the MSC basement, but that was decades ago...

Beautiful work!

I only have one suggestion. In the Nieman-Marcus link provided above, you'll notice the corners of the rectangular board are slightly rounded. Not to get into the subtleties of marketing, but research shows people prefer curved lines or shapes over sharp angles. Thus the change in dental floss packaging shown in this article:

http://www.fastcodesign.com/3020075/why-our-brains-love-curvy-architecture

Rounding the corners slightly might not fit your intention of representing a flag, though. However, on a piece that large, it could still be minimal to fit that pattern.

If interested in some original research on curved vs. straight lines, just do a search for the paper entitled Humans Prefer Curved Visual Objects. That study is discussed on a lot of sites, including those dealing with marketing.

Good luck with your venture!

I'd buy one from you right now, as shown. I think it's beautiful.

I can see that price point in a specialty market, but you've got competition out there on etsy.

Now, that being said - I'm not a wood expert, maybe the difference in woods alters the price point - but I wouldn't know that unless there was a way that you could tell me. I am in your target demographic though. I don't mind spending money on quality for things I like. I just won't if I've seen it cheaper somewhere else.

Same vendor

regular board - $69

fancy board $135

nm

The quality and skill in Studio's board is on a higher level than the links shown on Etsy. Studio laminated his boards (joined smaller strips of wood with the edge grain showing) vs using slab pieces as shown in the Etsy boards. The Etsy board is much more likely to warp in my opinion.

Plus, Studio's boards just look better...

I would like to see a comparable board made the same way with mesquite come close to that price.
Good job Studio.
I will be talking soon about getting one of those.

Would love to have that and use it as a wall hanging. Beautiful work.

I think I would check Etsy for comparison pricing. I have ordered a couple of the cutting boards for wedding gifts and the quality is exceptional. One was monogrammed with names and wedding date and the other was the Texas star board.

toolshed... i'd hug u.. but that would be awkward...

they're strips that are laminated and SPLIINED..

so the major sections have strips of wood inside them that act as a kind of tung and groove, which means ...

the laminated boards are FAR FAR FAR less likely to warp or split apart.... AND the spline insures that they are FAR FAR FAR even less likely to come apart...

and jim.. mesquite that doesnt have tree shake, are rare.... thus expensive...

and texas elsie.. that reminds me of the Pace Picante sauce commercial...

'This board was made in Michigan..."

"Michigan!"

'Get a rope'..


mine are made in texas, by a texan, who speaks texan... I just cant dance like one.

mine are made of native texas woods.. and they are true to proportion.. theirs ain't... speaking of speaking like a texan...

This is what i normally make in my shop.






the mesquite vase sold in a gallery not too long ago for $750... the one with the funky lid is in a gallery... the light colored one is in my house, cause its my favorite, the pumpkin looking one is going to a gallery, and the air brushed one is destined for a friends house in mexico... its the color of her living room..