I would call myself a hobby woodworker – I am doing it for the enjoyment and not to make money. So, when I retired and had the time to devote to start doing projects for other people, I was looking at a way to brand my work and give it that professional touch.
I had seen other makers use a signature on the back of their work using a permanent marker. But as I was stating to make chopping boards and serving platters there was no ‘back of the work’ to put a signature. Then I saw the idea of a brand stamp and being an eBay tragic I started to search for what might be available.
My research found that there were several sellers out of Hong Kong that would produce a brass stamp to your design and at a price of less than $30 for a 3cm square design. This could then be used with ink to stamp the brand or even better could be heated and burnt into finished item.
All that was left for me to do was to come up with a design. I toyed with different ‘catchy’ names and variations around my name. Then eventually came up with the simple ‘GT Creations’ using my initials as the main identifier. I had no intention of going commercial with my woodwork, so didn’t even think to do a Google search on the name or consider registering the name or the logo. Since then I have found that the name is used by others but not in a way that conflicts with my use.
My design for the stamp focused on my initials (GT) so I fiddled around in PowerPoint until I got something I liked. Then I exported it as a jpeg file and sent it off to the eBay seller. Three weeks later, I had my brass stamp which I then mounted to a handle and have been using ever since.
Earlier this year, when the Covid 19 situation neared it’s peak, there was an offer put out by NSW TAFE for free short courses. One of those courses was on web design for small business, and I saw it as the opportunity to have a go at designing a website. (Having come out of the IT industry, fiddling around with PC’s is also one of my interests.) The course involved creating a website for your business or just creating a ‘fake’ site. As I couldn’t see the value in doing something that was not real, I opted to create this site. Having already created a ‘GT Creations’ brand for my woodwork, I found that the domain name ‘gtcreations’ was available as a .com.au domain. Having completed the course, I now have my own website, my own brand mark (albeit one that is not registered) and the opportunity to sell more of what I produce.
But being in it as a hobby, whatever I sell just gives me a little bit more money to feed back into the hobby and my woodworking plane collecting. Hopefully making it self-sustainable and giving me the opportunity of sharing my passion with others.