I’ve embraced the idea of being a toy-maker. Initially I was hesitant for a two reasons.
One: I thought I was excluding too much potential customers. Ha! It turns out there’s loads of adults out there who still want to have fun. Also, developing a new product line is time consuming; perfecting the craft even more so. It’s better to focus on what I know best and build upon it.
Two: I wasn’t comfortable with being labeled a toy-maker, but I’m cool with it now. It makes people happy. What I do makes other people happy! And I make a few bucks doing it. It’s hard to beat that. Though I still make business card holders, the occasional clock, and the coolest cabinet hardware you’ve seen. And that gray area of toys: miniature furniture.
So I’ve been growing the toy lines. Adding more robots, many more animals, and unicorns. I’ve also added completely new lines of cars/trucks, pirates/sea life, and aliens/monsters. There’s plans on the horizon to create a line of boats and airplanes. Just about something for everyone, and all within the toy umbrella.
So with all this new stuff I’ve been tweaking the show setup lately. It’s no longer a matter of filling space, but trying to keep the space organized so people can find everything.
This is my setup from the past week. I’ve added another shelf to hold animals and I could use more space with all the animal requests coming in (just when I thought I had them all). A revamped circus is back on display along with the play trees. Gone is the very tall tree stand, though I’d love to get it back into the mix somehow, perhaps on a back table.
The robots, cars, and monsters are getting along well with each other. I have a magnetic board that’s super-handy for switching around displays. I’m planning on adding another shelf there for the old railroad town buildings and expanded dollhouse furniture display.
Beyond product I also want to add more fun to the booth. For the website, I’m working on a story that links all the different toy worlds together that I want to bring to the physical. You can see a piece of it in the air. To the left of the sign post is a kids floating away holding onto a bunch of balloons. He couldn’t afford a hot-air balloon ride at the circus, but he could buy helium balloons on the cheap (in the story this sends him to fairy land). So I’ll be working with the Kids to build more props. Stay tuned everyone.
Buffalo – Fuzzy in Real Life, Fun as a Toy
/in On The Farm, Woodland Wonders /by DonWhatever you call it – buffalo or bison – this baby is A-dorable. There’s a state park (Big Bone Lick) near the Bungalow that has, amongst other cool attractions, a herd of buffalo. The Kids here love it. In times past Big Bone Lick was a gathering spot for animals of all sizes. Bison, mastodon, giant sloth, among them. The area was mineral rich (like a natural salt lick – hence the lick). Unfortunately for the larger creatures the ground was boggy and many of the animals sank into the ground and later died. The bones of these large animals were later unearthed (hence Big Bone).
Model 80 “Heavy Lifting Hal”
/in Robots /by DonThe Model 80 was developed by QreXion Inc. Utilizing revolutionary actuator systems, staggered limb jointings, and slim-line power systems, the robot was able to lift and carry extreme loads over long distances.
Unfortunately QreXion was as deficient in accounting aptitude as it was rich in engineering skill and the company fell into financial troubles before it could turn the Model 80 into a production robot.
QreXion was later acquired by Stobor robotS. Stobor retained the prototype Model 80 name (the quirky company preferred robots with whimsical names). Nicknamed “Heavy Lifting Hal”, the robot was sold to the industrial facilities around the globe. Firmware upgrades later made the robot autonomous, eliminating the need for human supervisors.
Fun Fact: A tremendous success, “Hal” is credited with the obsolescence of the forklift.
Pick up Hal today in the Bungalow’s shop
Vroom Vroom!
/in Cars and Trucks /by DonWe have a boy here at the Bungalow in love with all things wheeled. He rates our new line of cars and trucks AWESOME. Unlike most wood cars, our wheels are made by us. Made from walnut, with matching walnut axles, they look like real car tires. Everything is hand sanded smooth and finished with a beeswax polish we make ourselves. Take home yours today in our store.
Craft Show Post Show
/in Business, Process, Shows /by DonI’ve embraced the idea of being a toy-maker. Initially I was hesitant for a two reasons.
One: I thought I was excluding too much potential customers. Ha! It turns out there’s loads of adults out there who still want to have fun. Also, developing a new product line is time consuming; perfecting the craft even more so. It’s better to focus on what I know best and build upon it.
Two: I wasn’t comfortable with being labeled a toy-maker, but I’m cool with it now. It makes people happy. What I do makes other people happy! And I make a few bucks doing it. It’s hard to beat that. Though I still make business card holders, the occasional clock, and the coolest cabinet hardware you’ve seen. And that gray area of toys: miniature furniture.
So I’ve been growing the toy lines. Adding more robots, many more animals, and unicorns. I’ve also added completely new lines of cars/trucks, pirates/sea life, and aliens/monsters. There’s plans on the horizon to create a line of boats and airplanes. Just about something for everyone, and all within the toy umbrella.
So with all this new stuff I’ve been tweaking the show setup lately. It’s no longer a matter of filling space, but trying to keep the space organized so people can find everything.
This is my setup from the past week. I’ve added another shelf to hold animals and I could use more space with all the animal requests coming in (just when I thought I had them all). A revamped circus is back on display along with the play trees. Gone is the very tall tree stand, though I’d love to get it back into the mix somehow, perhaps on a back table.
The robots, cars, and monsters are getting along well with each other. I have a magnetic board that’s super-handy for switching around displays. I’m planning on adding another shelf there for the old railroad town buildings and expanded dollhouse furniture display.
Beyond product I also want to add more fun to the booth. For the website, I’m working on a story that links all the different toy worlds together that I want to bring to the physical. You can see a piece of it in the air. To the left of the sign post is a kids floating away holding onto a bunch of balloons. He couldn’t afford a hot-air balloon ride at the circus, but he could buy helium balloons on the cheap (in the story this sends him to fairy land). So I’ll be working with the Kids to build more props. Stay tuned everyone.
Tot’s First Bot
/in Robots /by DonThe robot toy is made up of only two pieces: the body and feet. Grooves cut into the wood set off the arms, waist, and neck. The wood, ash, is tough (think baseball bat swinging for the seats) and will stand up well to loads of play. And everything is finished with a beeswax polish we make ourselves.
Perfect Wood Robot Toy for Little Kids
/in Robots /by DonFresh out of the shop: Guard Bot “200”. The latest robot in Happy Bungalow’s line is little kid friendly. These bots are glued together (no magnets like other Bungalow bots), but the arms and head still spin. Made of red oak and finished with a beeswax polish we make ourselves.
Cicadas
/in Fun Stuff /by DonThe family was playing in the front yard the other day and while we turn up our share of cicada shells, never have we found a live cicada emerging from it’s old shell. It was our lucky day. While playing, we watched this little guy for more than an hour.
We also put together a little stick house; for bugs, fairies, or whatnot.
Miniature Kitchen Cabinets
/in Miniatures /by DonMiniature furniture is perfect for my small shop. Transitioning from woodworking as a hobby into a business the new tools, more wood, and project storage space has severely cut into the shop free space. So full size furniture building is a trickier proposition.
This is a kitchen I modeled on my own full size kitchen. Except in real life I don’t have room for an island. And I don’t have the nice walnut furniture piece you see on the left (though I do have an herb garden in a window box – not a bad trade).
The little brass knobs I bought, but the dark walnut knobs I made. Tiny little suckers. A bit more than 1/16th inch square. I don’t have any dedicated miniature tools, but I’ve learned to cut accurate scale lumber on full size saws.
It was a real chore to come up with the counter-tops and have them look something like stone. Real stone doesn’t come in 1/8 sheets (too brittle I suppose) and laminate isn’t at the right scale. In ended up painting thin pieces of oak in multiple layers while the paint was still wet. It has sort of a marbled look – I’ll keep working.
Wood Hardware Finished with Fire
/in For Your Home, Process /by DonBefore there were The Kids, the only residents in this Happy Bungalow were Liz and myself. We were alone in a house in need of major renovation:
Let me tell you, fixer-uppers are a lot funner when you’re watching someone else do the work on television. Though, no one at the Bungalow is shy about working hard, so out came the tools, and something like nine months later there’s this:
But before there were these:
the cabinets were devoid of hardware. The kitchen renovation was done as frugally as possible. Buying nice cabinet hardware would have cost more than the cabinets did. But I figured if I could make the cabinets, I could make the hardware. Originally I was going to make sand molds, melt aluminum cans in a cast-iron pots, and pour the molten metal into the molds. Violla! Rough-hewn, hand-crafted, custom-hardware. (triple hyphenated-word threat)
Then I did a little aluminum research. It melts at something like 1200 degrees. I’m pretty sure my skin melts at a lower temperature. Hmm.
So I ended up with this:
Fairies and Unicorns!
/in Magic and Mythical /by DonFairies and Unicorns. All the girls here at the Bungalow love the fairies’ newest friend: The Unicorn. I hope you’ll love them too.