Tag: Hartville

New Season, New Products (Sort of)

Towards the end of last year’s flea market season we introduced two new products:  Yardzee and LRC.  A little later in the year we gave toy trucks a shot at the Weaver Holiday Mart.  Given the success we had with both of those products we’ll be bringing both to the the beginning of this flea market season.  It’s been a busy spring.

Blood, sweat, and tears
Look, tiny wooden barrels
Someone was busy
Tiny truck
Cute truck
Well… Uhhh… it’s a truck

We’ll also be unveiling a brand new product:  Not so Giant Tumbling Blocks.  We had a lot of potential customers ask about a more portable version of our oversized wooden block game and this is what we’ve come up with:

OH – IO
Still big, just less big
So nice and neat

Much like our Giant Tumbling Blocks, you’ll be able to customize the carrying tray to match your personal interest.

We’ll also have a few toy chests on hand.  The construction is essentially the same as our storage benches for Giant Tumbling Blocks; however, the toy chest features a hinged lid.  We’ve add a slow close hinge to ensure no one ends up with injured fingers.

First one complete
Elsa from Forzen
Classic Lettering

We look forward to seeing you at the Hartville Marketplace & Flea Market.

 

Yardzee

We’ve been developing our version of Yardzee for a lot longer than we should have been.  Our problem was finding the right balance between quality and price.  We wanted to stick with hardwood; however, we also knew we needed to hit a price point consumers would be comfortable with.

The majority of the Yardzee dice we’ve seen were made from 4″ x 4″ pine lumber from the local DIY store (actual dimensions are 3.5″ x 3.5″).  While the 4″ x 4″ gave the dice a nice size, pine isn’t the most workable wood, nor is it the most durable.  In the end we decided to go with 3″ x 3″ red oak for the dice and walnut inserts for the dots.  Painted on dots could work, but we prefer the all wood look and feel.

20160812_183614

We debut our version of Yardzee this weekend.  It didn’t take long to sell out of it (full disclosure, we only took one set).  We’ll have more sets of Yardzee dice available next weekend.  Be sure to stop by and see us next Saturday at the Hartville Marketplace & Flea Market.

Competition is in the Air

Mid-afternoon I had someone stop by and tell me about someone else selling an over-sized Jenga like game much like what I’m selling a few rows over at a lower price.  Out of curiousity I had to wonder over and see what the gentleman was talking about:  it’s true, we have a competitor.  I can’t really say I’m surprised.  After all, cutting 2x4s into shorter 2x4s isn’t rocket science.  

That said, I don’t really think the competitor’s product offers the same level of craftsmenship as what I’m selling.  Nor does it come with the storage base that is what really makes my product stand out from the rest.  Imitation is the sincirest form of flatery: at least that’s what I remember someone telling me at some point.  I’m not entirely sure if that’s true or not, but I welcome the compitition either way.

Meanwhile, back in the shop, Timber Toys is currently hard at work building the orders we recieved over the past two week.  It’s been a very busy week, but that’s a good thing.  With the holidy weekend coming, it’s bound to be another busy few weeks ahead of us.

Have a great Fourth of July.  We look forward to seeing you at the flea market this weekend.  We’ll be at Rogers on Friday and Hartville on Saturday and Monday.