I thought I would share some of the behind-the-scenes things that are going on at The Studio. I’ve been working on other projects (mainly in the garden) for the last few weeks which is why there have only really been the clean and simple cards published. By sharing this, you’ll also understand some of the processes that lead to a finished handcrafted product and why I should charge more…
This is the latest project I have been working on, ready for Christmas shows at the end of October and early December. Keep on reading for my observations, prototyping and a few more pics of the finished item.
Inspiration for this project came from a Pinterest post and I decided to create my own version. It’s designed to incorporate a stock of micro-LED fairy lights. I prefer these to a tealight as they are brighter and more directable. I started in Adobe Illustrator, working on the 2D plan and making the file from scratch based on the inspiration pin. From there, it was a step-by-step prototyping process…
I started by cutting from 3mm greyboard. Everything worked out ok, but it was missing the star. The base was oval and I decided to square off the back to allow it to be placed closer to a wall. The base is raised to hide the wires and battery pack for the lights.
This iteration heightened the dome to incorporate the main star and then I added accompanying smaller stars for a little decoration.
Next up, I adapted the file to increase the thickness to 4mm – this required all the tabs and slots to be edited. I used the greyboard prototypes to identify where the holes for the light bulbs should go and added those to the base. The overall size changed to squeeze two onto a sheet of beech wood.
I was given some suggestions during a focus group of one and agreed the plinth needed a quotation added. In order to fit two finished versions of the project onto one sheet, I rotated one of the plinth faces vertically. Unfortunately, I discovered that the engraving was spoiled by the direction of the grain, losing the boldness of the uprights and degrading of the appearance overall. Another rejig required…
After trialling the lights on the previous iteration, I chose to expand the gaps between the layers for a little more light spill between them. There was a slight edit of the bulb holes too.
So this is what I thought was the final prototype. Cut from 4mm beech veneered MDF using my Glowforge laser cutter. I then wondered if I were to use a darker wood for the stable and figures it would form a good contrast. Unfortunately, the grains would not have complemented one another, so that didn’t happen.
The final final prototype. Instead of using a different wood, I smeared a glaze layer of raw umber fluid acrylic paint across the surface to achieve a similar effect. The colour also happened to match the cut edges of the wood.
I then had to develop a method for fixing the fairy lights in place. I use hot glue, but that still takes time to set, so each scene takes approximately 15-20 minutes to light up. Worth the effort though. Placing the piece close in front of a wall has the unexpected result of light spill behind. pleasingly visible through the star cutouts.
All told, to get to a final version, I spent two days honing the cut file, construction processes and fitting the lighting. Each finished item will take about an hour to supervise the cut, paint, assemble and add the lights. According to my college course (10 years ago) I should be charging my making time at £25 per hour. When I am pricing up for sales, I will look at an item I have made and decide ‘would I pay that for that?’. Consequently, I suspect I underprice and should charge more. Given the investment in time and materials to develop the project (should be charged at £15 per hour) the pieces should retail at £35 each. Unlikely to sell?
Do let me know in the comments what you think of the piece and how much you would pay for it…
[Orders are being taken for collection only as they won’t be posted. They will be on sale at shows at the end of October and in early December.]