selling wooden toys

[Jacob]

Not sure what point you are making - your chap is not trying to make living from it is he - it's just his hobby with a bit of pocket money coming in.
If he wanted to make a living from it he'd have to do it differently - but he'd certainly hit the ground running - he's obviously got every advantage!
I suspect a lot of craft businesses start in a similar way, as a hobby, which gradually turns profitable.

 

[AES]

Well first off, the point I'm making is that making stuff out of wood (almost anything it seems) will NOT (apparently) make a real living for anyone but just a lucky few.

2nd, if you look back to the beginning of this thread (all 6 pages), it's not clear to what extent the OP will/will not be trying to make a living from toy making. Certainly, when one considers that he's looking at stuff such as CE marking, he's definitely looking at it "professionally".

3rd, several responses since that OP suggest that a living is being considered, at least by some - and you yourself when talking of your own experiences, give the impression of having done just that too.

4th, other posts in this Forum, which I've also indirectly mentioned above, certainly do ask "how do I make a living from making XXX, YYY, ZZZ?" - or more often, "what item/s should I be making to make a living?"

So my post was simply to highlight a local newspaper article from a different place which indirectly supports the view of "highly unlikely to make a real living". This theme is not only in this (currently re-awakened thread), but also in other posts in very similar vein - a subject which seems to come up quite often here.

AES

 

[Jacob]

OK.
There are quite a few making a living from craft work / cottage industries, starting on the kitchen table, progressing to the shed, onwards and upwards!
It's perfectly possible, a well established model and the origin of many larger businesses. They all started somewhere.
What they all have in common is that they had a crack at it, luck not necessarily having anything to do with it, and against all the pessimistic advice!
Or rather, much as the golfer is supposed to have said; the more you practice the luckier you get!
If in doubt; just f.....g do it! :lol:

nb the paper work will turn out to be not that difficult. e.g. BS compliance just means knowing the relevant standard and complying with it. As a rule people are helpful and there are trade associations etc. Nobody should be put off!
We also had to deal with purchase tax when we started up. We were in Nottingham working from the living room in a flat. The tax man came once a month to see us, after having been to Raleigh and then John Players, both just up the road. He though it was funny sitting with us counting beads and things, after visiting two major international businesses.

 

[CHJ]

My few days in Seiffen gave a little insight into the problems the town has faced with, first unification when it moved into a competitive world, and the continuing exposure of the Asian markets.
We have some lower cost Lichterbogen purchased from the 'shed' outlets, and drooled over the exotic constructs (complete 3D working ore mines, workshops etc.) in some of the more exclusive designs but at £300-600 could not justify the purchases. We identifed figures we had seen being made in bulk in various venues that had been included in some of the constructs. Component parts for Smokers and Nutcrackers are produced in the hundreds and thousands for assembly variations and batch produced by a group of workers with specific abilities.
The cheaper end of the market sees decorations like this 'windmill' (140mm high) laser cut from 2mm ply sell for €15 marketed by German company under their logo but no "made in Germany" on the packaging.

Where it all gets bought I've no idea, I've visited many Xmas markets in Germany and UK and rarely see anything other than the odd few items moving off the stalls.
Certainly marketing has to be considered way out of your local area, that dries up very quickly as you reach saturation point, something I think most craft fair sellers find, then someone else is adding the value and making an income off your efforts.
The few times I've tried to do the figures when approached by an existing market outlet to supply even at well into 3 figure retail prices, as a one man band it all boiled down to the price of a cup of coffee an hour for my labours as a bottom line.

 

[Jacob]

At the cheap end you used to be able to buy a little collection of farm animals obviously ring turned (from above they tend to be wedge shaped like cake slices) and crudely finished with enamel paints. Made in Poland probably. I wouldn't be surprised if they were still around but I haven't bought anything for my farm set for a long time!