Finished Product

I finally finished my shelves! In the process, I have discovered that I definitely do not want to make multiples of my own pieces. I can make a decent product but I do not want to turn myself into a craft perfectionist. I will always be a better designer than maker. I enjoy making and think many valuable things come out of the building process but prototyping is as far as I ever need take it. All that said, the shelves turned out nicely and I was pleased with the finished product.


The wall attachment hardware could still use some work but for now I am satisfied. Our instructor arranged for us to show our pieces at the RISD store. There is a survey for passersby to fill out recording what they think of the product and the price. It turns out the $30 to $60 was wholesale price which is typically half of retail so my finished shelf is listed at $120. The material for each shelf cost a little over $10 and each shelf took a little over three hours to make (25+ hours to make 7). If I sell them wholesale for $60 I make a little under $15 an hour. For our final class assignment it is basically more of the same except we can design a higher priced item and use more components. However, I am going to build birdhouses so I think my price might actually go down.