All roads lead to Plaster
Master
Dan
Does it! Work at Home Business pg. 1
Work at home Course part
I
Introduction
Producing your own original
statuary items
How to do it tips for getting into the
lawn and garden, giftware statuary business or whatever other type of busines your
devious little mind can come up with to sell 3 dimensional items.
setting up your own home business
from start to finish
Materials for this course available
at our Sculptors'
Place
Stock molds available at Mold
Companies
Be Your Own Boss
You want a
business of your own. You could use some extra cash.
You're not afraid to work for it, you just need some direction in setting up
and getting going. Well work at home fans here's your chance
to see how it's done. Experience firsthand the process of designing, sculpting,
mold making, pouring, painting, and marketing of a giftware item or lawn and garden
statue. See how a three dimensional figure advances from the idea stage to a product
on store shelves. Then take this knowledge and use it to set up your own work at home
business.
Survival in a changing
world
You never know which way the
cookie will crumble
The
times ahead are uncertain. Survival is your primary concern. Be safe, learn how to
take in money now before major problems strike. A small home business like this may
be just the hedge your family needs against the loss of it's income or
perhaps you'll only want to earn some extra spending cash. An ornamental
casting business like this can work for you in either scenario.
It is easy to do and requires little start up cash. A garage,
basement or out building can serve as your workspace.
In the following pages we
will walk you through the entire entrepreneurial process of taking one product from
start to finish. This is just a guide to show you how a home made product could
be brought to the market. I have chosen a sculptured product. Your leanings
may be more toward utilitarian or industrial items. There is plenty of leeway for you to
take the information given and forge ahead in your own direction. It's all up to
you. Take the information, adapt it to your needs and go make money like
crazy! That's the point of this exercise. It's easy, you can do it! Come
up with the best idea you can. Think it through. Stick with it and you will be
successful!
I wish you the greatest of
success in your endeavors.
Ready to work at home ? Let's do it!
How much is this whole
deal going to set me back?
A rough estimate? Probably about $200.
Broken down like this $30 -$60 for
plastiline clay. Latex rubber $40. Plaster $25.
Water clay and miscellaneous items $60 -$80.
O.K. I'm in. How Do I Start
?
Chase the bats out of the belfry
and blow away the cob webs, 'cause there's a brain hurricane a comin' thru!
This
article is about innovation, getting a brand new product into the marketplace. (We offer stock molds on our mold companies site for those who
wish to start without making their own original mold.) So the first thing you
need to do is come up with a good idea. Easy to say, right?.. but how is it done?
Creativity works like a motion picture camera that plays prospective ideas on the movie
screen of your mind. You have to put new information in to stimulate the
pictures and thinking processes, then fine tune it. Get out of your usual rut,
air out your mind. Go to stores, look at books, watch TV and movies, all with the intent
of getting an idea for a new product. This is not for the purpose of copying someone
else's idea. The input of fresh visual material will give your mind a library of new
information to draw on. You need to stimulate the creative juices.
Seriously put in the effort, research and study every thing that you can, then let go
. I liken it to drawing back a bow. It's not until you release the draw string
that the arrow flies to the target.
You're in charge. Direct
your mind to find that new idea.
"Sgt., take that hill, and while you're out there, find me a new statuary
idea. That' s an order."
Give your mind the direction to find
the answer. Until you give the order, your brain thinks it can lounge around drinking rum
and Coca Cola while you put in all the leg work. The mind, when given a project to work
on, will search your memory banks for a solution. One day the idea wil pop into your
head when you are not expecting it. All you have to do is direct it to do so.
Learn to constantly keep your eyes and ears open for new statuary ideas. You'll start
to think outside the box. Consider that molds can be used for other things than
plaster or concrete casting. Chocolate , soap, candles, resin, and ice sculptures
can be cast in molds. Each category is a world unto itself. Consider that the
selling of molds themselvs can be a profitable business.
The act of actually committing to
start this business will help open your mind to worlds you never knew existed.
What if my idea isn't good
enough ?
Your product or idea doesn't have to
have mass appeal to be successful, just so it appeals to a certain segment of the
population. If you sold one mold of a Polar Bear to 1/2 of 1% of the people on our
planet, you would have more money than you could stuff into a wallet the size of Alaska .
. . And remember the internet reaches everywhere. The world marketplace is at your
doorstep!
Some points to consider in
choosing a product to create
Choose
something for your creation that fills a need or
addresses a lack in the market place. If it creates an emotional response in people
such as "Oh, I really like that !" or "I could use one of
those." then you are on the right track. It's good to get a sampling of
opinions, just weigh their validity carefully. Family and close friends may be
reluctant to tell you the truth, for instance that your idea sucks really big
time. Fortunately my kith and kin do not seem to be blessed with that inhibition.
When I was casting about for a subject to sculpt for this project I overheard
some people mention that hedgehogs are very popular in England . As I researched
hedgehogs in books and on the internet I became more and more convinced that this would be
a good subject for a statuary item. The roundness of the curled up hedgehog
intrigued me. Knowing that humans are more naturally attracted to round forms than square,
sharp or pointed ones was a factor in the hedgehogs favor. I decided to
invest my efforts in sculpting the little four legged ball of spines.
5 More than one makes
6 Stores don't like to have one lone
oddball looking piece on thier shelves. It gives a hodge podge look to
thier entire estanblishment. They're into coordination and symmetry and unless you
design a piece that matches a line of products they already carry, it's going to be a
tough sell. Once we start out on this mission we will have to create at least 5
more original statuary items to go with the hedgehog. Knowing this ahead of
time we boldly march forward on our quest. We have to start somewhere so the
hedgehog will be the first
one.
Give people value for thier money. It has to look and be worth the asking
price at least to the targeted market. To some people it won't be worth
2 cents no matter how good you make it. Others will feel it is a tremendous
value at any price. Your objective is to get the greatest number of people to
feel that it is a great value at the asking price. You do that by using words
and pictures in your ads that describe your product in the best light. Then make
sure that the quality really is that good. You might short change the public once
but they'll never buy from you again if you do and they'll be sure to tell every one they
know about the terrible experience they had at your hands.
It can be a functional or purely
decorative item. If it is both, you' ll have an even
better chance at success.
Cute and pretty out sells scary and
ugly, every time. That doesn't mean you shouldn't make an item because it's ugly or
scary. It just means that people would rather have one type of thing in their home
than another. I love to sculpt gargoyles, but angels will outsell them 4 to 1.
If I want to sell gargoyles, I have to target my market carefully and specifically. I'll
have to work harder and direct my promotions at that small but deeply devoted
and perhaps slightly disturbed fringe element of society. Some people are proud to
be part of a small select group and are willing to purchase items to express that
individuality. You just have to find a way to reach them... that's why they invented the
internet.
Go after your passion. Don't sit and try to think up what the
next great trend is going to be. If you're in this because you really love it ,
then make what you really want to make. Chances are that if you would like to
have one, others would also. Anyway you'll work harder and longer at something you
really love and believe in and the rewards will be greater than if you do something you
weren't into all that much to start with. On with the next step.
Sculpting Your Original
Model Out of Clay
"He rolled
his big sleeves up and a brand new world began "
After you have decided what wll be the
best idea for your fledgeling business, you'll have to sculpt an original model or have
someone do it for you. As I mentioned, I have chosen a hedgehog as the subject
matter for my project. It has possibilities as an interior decorative item, or
it can be placed outdoors in the garden. I'll make it slightly cute rather than
extremely realistic and because it will be different from any other hedgehog on the
market, it will fill a niche for hedgehog lovers.
In the photo below, I'm sculpting the
hedgehog out of Roma Plastilina #2. A sculpture like this is called a model or sculpt in
mold making terms. If you want to sound like a person in the know when talking to a
model shop or mold maker, refer to your creation or the job you are proposing as a
"sculpt".
 Plastilina
is my material of choice for model making. It is an oil based non-hardening
clay. It has excellent modelling characteristics. I've been using Roma
Plastilina to create my sculpted models for over 30 years. It holds detail well and
shapes easily with the hands. I have used 2 glass beads to create perfectly
round eyes. When doing sculptures like these, I research the subject matter through
books and internet sites. It gives me more of a feel for the subject and allows me
to infuse certain characteristics into the clay model that wouldn't have come
through if I had not put in the extra research time. Start out by just getting
the rough shape.
address responses to workathome@plastermaster.com
The page in review:
Order materials for this project
at our Sculptors' Place
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