Profitability in the production of end cutting boards. Required contributions as soon as possible. Ideas for men

The kitchen has a tool necessary for cutting various products - a cutting board. Initially, it was stone, then iron, bronze, and only then became wooden). Although plastic counterparts have recently appeared, a wooden board is still popular as well. I recently managed to get into a workshop where cutting boards are made, but what I saw did not go well with my ideas about such a simple utilitarian kitchen item on which vegetables, meat and other food are cut.

Today, we will find out how the most expensive cutting boards are made in Russia.

As the theater begins with a hanger, so the workshop where wooden products are made begins with a warehouse where wood lies. To our master, whose work will be discussed today, it comes ready-made, dried at a certain temperature for several years. Fresh wood cannot be used for the production of boards, as the finished product will deform over time from shrinkage.

Here, the warehouse supports a certain temperature regime and air humidity, which prevent the wood from drying out too much and becoming too wet. On this table, which hangs on the wall of the workshop, you can see the optimal percentage of humidity at different temperatures.

There is also a hygrometer showing the degree of humidity in the room. True, the master said that he had incorrect readings).

For the manufacture of some boards with a particularly complex pattern, a CNC machine (computer numerical control) is used. The machine is small, it is enough to connect a laptop with a predefined program to it.
The drawing of the board on which the cutter is currently working is inspired by Maurits Escher's famous work "Reptiles".

If desired, the cutter will work wonders).

This is how the board looks like after the machine has worked. If you look closely, you will see that this future board is glued together from pieces. Why this is done, we will find out later.

If the base of the board is made of walnut, then the inserts are cut from other types of wood that differ in texture and color - oak and rosewood.

As the master told me, the machine cut out the figures on the board in such a way that when inserting other reptile figures, no gaps are found. The figurines are very close to each other.

In this photo you can see examples of gluing. The multi-colored section is glued from different types of wood. One of the most difficult boards to manufacture will be glued from such material. You can see it at the end of the post.

The master takes a simple board, processes it, aligns the edges. Then the board is cut into pieces, which are turned with the end part and glued together. Moreover, gluing is not done in a random order, but in a special way so that the annual rings are directed in opposite directions, this will prevent the boards from deforming when the humidity changes.

Why is this being done? Due to the vertical arrangement of the wood fibers, the knives do not dull longer, since the knife blade does not cut the fibers, as in ordinary boards, but penetrates between them - it slides. The fibers return to their original state after the culinary hassle on it. Accordingly, the board does not deteriorate, and chefs do not have to sharpen their knives several times per shift, as is the case with conventional boards.

As a material, in addition to walnut, hornbeam, ash, maple, oak and beech, valuable types of wood are also used, such as American cherry, moving, mahogany. As you can see from the markings on the wood, it is from the USA, there is South America and Africa.

other types of wood.

After the wood is cut into pieces and turned upside down, it is glued and clamped in clamps - a special press. As you can see, there are shields of different thicknesses. The thicker one will become a board, and the thinner boards will be used to cut patterns and shapes on the surface of future boards, similar to the figures from Reptile. After gluing, the shield will be ready in an hour, however, it is recommended to subject it to stress after 24 hours.

For gluing, a special adhesive is used that does not contain formaldehyde, is approved for contact with food and has great water resistance.

It looks like a room where all the tools needed for carpentry are located.

Perfect cleanliness and order! As you may have noticed, the workshop has all the machines and tools for making any wooden product. A true carpenter's paradise.

Special clamps for large boards.

We will not touch that board with reptiles yet, work on it will be carried out for more than one hour, therefore we will process another. After it is glued, it is driven through this grinding machine - thicknesser. In fact, this is a modern planer.

Then the sidewalls of the board are cut with a circular saw.

The sides are ground on another machine with a vertical belt movement. Here the corners are rounded.

The board is then run through the drum sander again.

This time the surfaces are polished more delicately. However, that's not all.

Pumps are attached to each machine, collecting sawdust from wood processing. After processing by machine tools, the product is polished with a manual grinder. First use a coarser sandpaper, 120 grit, then 240 grit, in order to finally polish the board

Finishing touches to round off the edges and we can say that the carpentry work on the board is over.

After all the above operations, the board takes a bath of mineral oil, which has no taste, no color, no smell. The oil is made from petroleum, but it is completely safe, and it is even used in the cosmetic field.

The same board with reptiles that is shown at the beginning of the post will turn into the same one. After some time, when the board is saturated with oil, it will be allowed to dry, then treated again, with a hot mixture of mineral oil and wax in a ratio of 4/1.

Other boards are sent to the same oil bath.

And now let's go to the "Showroom" of elite cutting boards). In this room, boards are packed and waiting to meet their future owner.

Hygrometers monitor the level of humidity.

This board just broke my mold of simple utilitarian kitchen utensils! I can’t even imagine how you can dare to shred products on a work of art).

Many hours were spent to make a board with a 3D effect. By the way, these boards are the most expensive, and it is clear why.

And this board can be safely hung instead of a picture!

The master also makes special boards for beating meat. There are even grooves for blood flow.

I will also add that the end boards, due to the material and production features, turn out to be thick and heavy, but they do not roll on the table / work surface of the cook. No need to put a rag or a damp cloth / towel, hold at risk. The boards are additionally equipped with rubber (sometimes silicone or plastic) legs, which are insurance against absorbing water that has accidentally fallen under the board.

After the board has passed all the stages production process, it is packed in a film.

A little hot air and you're done.

This map shows where the ordered boards went - mainly Russia, Europe, the USA, there are even Japan and Australia.

Well, for those who want to make an end cutting board with their own hands - a master class. If you have all the tools and machines shown above, then go for it!

And as a bonus, watch the video on how to make boards with drawings, just class!

If you have a production or service that you want to tell our readers about, write to me - Aslan ( [email protected] ) and we will make the best report, which will be seen not only by readers of the community, but also by the site How it's done

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We continue to talk about people who, despite economic difficulties, take risks and create, albeit small, but their own own business. Earlier we wrote about the lawyer Svetlana Korabel, who bought a farm in the region and. Also our hero was a DOSAAF teacher from Verkhnyaya Pyshma, who. The history of businessmen-blacksmiths who are also curious.

We learned about the hero of our today's publication thanks to Facebook. Just before the New Year, photos of joyful people with end cutting boards began to appear more and more often. Then it was completely incomprehensible what it was, but the price - from 2 to 6 thousand rubles - surprised and intrigued.

They are made by Mikhail Zernin. Looking at his photo, you might think that he is a middle manager, if not an executive. But no, he's a carpenter.

But until the summer of last year, Mikhail, like his wife, worked in the field of HR and was engaged in corporate trainings. For about four years they lived in Moscow, because the wife was offered a good position, and Mikhail got a good job. However, they immediately decided that they were in Moscow temporarily in order to earn money for an apartment.

When I returned to Yekaterinburg in 2014, I found a job similar to the one in Moscow. But somehow it quickly came to the realization that I was no longer interested. Moreover, I got into a company that worked according to the old principles. As a result, I quit, - Mikhail recalls.

For a while, Michael simply did not know what to do. This is the process of finding yourself. But it was necessary to earn something, and therefore he took up freelancing - once or twice a month he conducted training, and the rest of the time he was free.

My brother makes stairs out of wood in his workshop in Sukhoi Log. And I saw a bunch of improvers on the Internet - various business card holders, phone holders - made of wood and decided to try to make them, - says Mikhail.

We communicate with him in the workshop, which is located in the basement of the Yekaterinburg Art Fund on Onufriev Street. In fact, there is a carpentry coworking here (we have one, it turns out), where people can come to work with their hands.

February 2016 was a turning point for Mikhail. One of his friends sent him a link to a video on how to make end cutting boards. And he asked me to make one for him.

Still, we will tell you what an end cutting board is. Its main difference from the standard one is that the wood fibers are located perpendicular to the cut surface, and the knife blade, as it were, pushes the fibers apart. When using a regular board, the knife simply cuts the fibers and because of this quickly becomes dull.

When I made some boards, I posted the photos on Facebook. As a business coach, I'm used to getting feedback. As a result, I received a lot of “Wow!” comments, and some asked me to do the same for them. This inspired me to continue,” Mikhail explains.

Mikhail made the first board for sale in March 2016. Its cost was determined quite simply - the cost of materials and the road to the brother's carpentry workshop, as well as an extra charge of 20–30% (although in carpentry it usually amounts to hundreds of percent). As a result, 6,900 rubles came out for a large American walnut and ash board.

For comparison, an ordinary cutting board costs from 500 rubles, and quite a high-quality one - from 1000 rubles. However, end boards are, in principle, much more expensive - on bulletin boards in Yekaterinburg, you can find options for 4-6 thousand rubles. One of the market leaders is the manufacturer from Izhevsk MTM Wood - they have the cost of some options reaches 22 thousand rubles. Such a high price is associated not only with a large amount of manual labor and the duration of the manufacturing process, but also with the cost of materials - rare wood species cost up to 400 thousand rubles per cubic meter.

At the same time, Mikhail continued to engage in training, since the hobby could not feed his family yet.

I spent the last trainings without much pleasure. Although before I was lit by the work. At some point, I realized that it was time to finish - in the summer of 2016 I conducted the last training, - Mikhail recalls.

By that time, the hobby was gradually gaining momentum - he made five to seven boards a month. But with an average check of 4-5 thousand rubles, the amount was not very large.

Despite this, Mikhail decides to take a radical step - he sells his Renault for 500 thousand. Part of the money was immediately invested in the purchase of machine tools: drum grinding (about 50 thousand), band saw (also for 50 thousand), CNC milling machine (150 thousand). Plus, he uses the equipment that is in the carpentry coworking.

In order to sell boards, Mikhail created a shop on the Masters Fair resource, where similar craftsmen exhibit their products. But there were no sales. Mikhail attracts most of his Russian clients through Facebook.

Much better sales went on the American site Etsy.com. The first board was sold there only seven months later, but now customers come from there regularly.

Approximately 70% of sales are accounted for by Russian buyers, and 30% - by foreign (more often - the United States). Prices are somewhat different: for example, for Russians, a board costs 6,500 rubles, and for foreigners - $ 150. The difference is explained by the commissions of the Internet site where the goods are displayed, as well as the cost of delivery.

Mikhail does not regret radical changes in his life.

Every day I have the feeling that it was not for nothing that I changed the scope of my activity so drastically. Especially when I look at the world map, where I mark the cities where my boards were bought from. So far, there are 58 such points, - says Mikhail. - Now the boards feed me and my family. December turned out to be very good - more than 20 pieces were made and sold. Managed to earn and grow the base.

In such a production, word of mouth is important for promotion - people like Mikhail's boards, they write about it on social networks, tell their friends, and, as a result, new customers appear. By the way, Mikhail also came up with the name thanks to Facebook.

Initially, it was Handcraftedgift, which means handmade gifts. But at one of the exhibitions, the presenter simply could not pronounce it. Then I decided to announce a contest on my page, - said Mikhail.

This is how the Zernin handcrafted brand appeared. In principle, a completely logical step - with his last name, Mikhail guarantees quality.

If we talk about income from such unusual business, then a decent profit appeared only in November. The best was December, when we managed to sell more than 20 boards. Mikhail says that this is just the level to normally provide for his family. But even in this case, the income will be less than, for example, it was in Moscow.

Michael takes it easy. Now he is 34 years old. He admits that he makes plans for a maximum of a year. For example, he plans to try to make a table using end technology, to launch the production of chess boards (a couple of pieces already existed). However, he expects that in five years he will be engaged in carpentry production. It's great when a hobby becomes a source of income.

If you are also doing interesting business, production, then write about it to Sergey Panin by mail [email protected] site or in any of the messengers by phone +79193707070.

* Calculations use average data for Russia

Starting investments:

from 200 000 ₽

Required area:

Today, carpentry workshops are becoming a rarity, so before starting your own business in this direction, you should seriously think about what products you can offer the market.

A carpentry workshop is a business that can become not only your hobby or means of earning money, but also a vocation. The very thing that brings both material and spiritual satisfaction, at the same time pleasing the soul and pocket. But for such a happy combination, you will have to try very, very hard. In this article, we will not talk about creating a large carpentry shop, but we will limit ourselves to topical tips for opening a small workshop at home “for one” with the prospect of turning self-employment into something more.

Pros and cons of carpentry as a business

Advantages	Flaws
carpentry business refers to the so-called business “on the ground”: workshops open on own plots, in garages, sheds and so on. You work at home, and at home, as they say, the walls help; such material as wood will always be in demand even in the era of the superpopularity of plastic. This is a natural and eco-friendly material that people have associated with home comfort for centuries and remains so even now. Moreover, many things are still impossible to make from anything other than wood; the carpentry business has low costs relative to many other types of business; joinery involves a wide range of products that you can produce. And this means that you can always switch to the production of other types of wooden products and choose a new niche if they suddenly become unpopular, and market conditions change; carpentry business is a certain freedom in the matter of pricing. Wooden products can cost both a penny and hundreds of thousands of rubles. It all depends on your level of skill and ability to sell your products expensively.	a carpentry shop cannot exist without a master. This is the kind of business where you will need to invest yourself and all your strength - the exact opposite of modern so-called ways “ passive income”; as in any business “for one”, everything is limited by your physical strength and time. Often, many people, coming from work for hire, are disappointed and understand that “business for yourself” is not when you work when you want, but when you work always; It is no secret that carpentry workshops today are a dying business. This is due to large factories that produce products cheaper and present them in large construction and furniture stores and hypermarkets; carpentry workshops for one master usually do not have any permanent and at the same time large orders, so it takes a lot of time to form client base, execution of small orders; Carpentry is a risky business industrial injuries. Severed fingers and severe cuts are common; the financial return on the effort expended in most cases does not justify itself. Most single workshops, for various reasons (unclaimed assortment, incorrect pricing policy, inability to sell and find a client) cannot build a business in such a way that it brings them constant and high earnings.

The first thing to start with carpentry business, this is the presence of hands and the desire to create something with these hands. People who are going to open a carpentry workshop, and even more so, make money on it, should focus on improving skills. But before seriously embarking on the issues of arranging the premises and equipping it with equipment, you need at least in general terms to deal with current situation on the market. Approaching carpentry as a business differs from approaching it as a hobby in three ways. This is a rational and deeply thought-out approach to the choice of specialization, the quality of work and methods of promotion.

The first thing to start with is the question of what exactly you will produce. Wood is a material with an endless number of uses. To get started, look at what small carpentry shops specialize in today, that is, your future competitors, and how they are doing.

Regarding the choice of assortment, carpentry workshops usually have two ways: wide specialization or narrow specialization. In the first case, the emphasis is on quantity (more customers, more assortment, more choice), in the second - on quality (narrow assortment, high quality performance, narrow audience). In other words, if you learn how to create many different products with wood, you will be able to offer them to more people, and by focusing on one or two products, it will be easier for you to improve your skills and create exclusive products.

What goods can carpentry workshops produce:

doors/windows. The most obvious solution for a carpentry shop is to create doors and window units that everyone needs and earn extra money by installing them. The problem is that doors and windows have long been actively “stamped” by large manufacturers, and the market today is very saturated. In most cases, it is useless to compete with carpentry factories. The price for these products will still be cheaper, and it has become difficult to surprise the customer with anything.

stairs. Stairs give more space for creative thought. Unlike doors and windows, a carpentry workshop that specializes in stairs has the opportunity to offer original sizes, unusual shapes, unusual species, and a unique execution in general. However, there are already many companies on the market that create stairs and have achieved a high level of skill in their business, and it will be very difficult to catch up with them from scratch.

Furniture. With furniture, the situation is about the same as with the first two categories. There is currently on the market great amount furniture for every taste and budget. Thanks to hypermarkets such as Castorama, Leroy Merlin, Ikea furniture is becoming more affordable and mass commodity. However, even the variety that is on the market leaves many opportunities for creating an exclusive range that is not found in stores. A small workshop can rely on the original range, offering tables, chairs, chests of drawers, cabinets, armchairs and more from expensive types of wood and with an unusual design.

Small goods. This is a wide category of goods, which is united by one quality - the size. Here we mean souvenirs, and all kinds of gift kitchen sets with cutting boards, spatulas and rolling pins, and frames with baguettes, and board games, wooden Toys ( unusual ideas wooden toys you can see) and so on. If, say, in jewelry, size does not matter, then in carpentry everything is different. Even for an author's wooden product made from expensive wood big income you won’t help out, since the price of 1500-2000 rubles will seem excessively high to the buyer. An ordinary consumer will always have an alternative in the form of a plastic product at a price 5-10 times cheaper. Connoisseurs of original art will always have to be mined with great difficulty. Therefore, before you decide to manufacture wooden toys, pipes, salt shakers, ashtrays, cutting or gingerbread boards and other things, think about whether you can regularly produce and sell at least 50 of these small products in order to receive at least 50 thousand for them. .rubles Or is it better to make one chest of drawers in the same time and sell it for the same money?

How best to position your products today

The second question, which is also better to think about in advance, is the question of the unique selling proposition and the question of quality. To make your products different from what the mass market offers, first of all pay attention to the material. First, what kind of tree will it be? What colors and consumables will you use? What will be the design of your products?

*according to Yandex Wordstat as of 09/12/2018

What kind of space is needed for a carpentry shop

Let's return to more traditional questions related directly to the opening of the workshop. To accommodate a small carpentry workshop, a room of 50-60 square meters is best suited. meters. The rent of such premises will cost about 20 thousand rubles per month.

Average rent per rent industrial premises in Russia, rub.*

Premises 50-60 sq. m	Premises 70-80 sq. m.

*according to the analysis of Avito ads on 09/12/2018

Of course, not everyone can afford to rent, especially at the start. Therefore, most often carpentry workshops are opened at home, using sheds, garages or basements for these purposes.

Ready-made ideas for your business

When choosing an area, first of all, you need to consider the length of the room. If you are engaged in the manufacture of door and window frames, then the length of the room should not be less than four meters. Inside the workshop should be warm and dry, because wood is afraid of moisture. When furnishing the room, do not forget that you need even floors, as the machines must be stable.

For uninterrupted operation, it is desirable to supply the workshop room with three-phase electricity. In the event that the workshop room is built of wood, the wiring must be laid in wires or corrugated pipes, and sockets and equipment must be grounded.

If the workshop is located close to housing, take care of the soundproofing of the walls and doors. It is desirable that the windows face the direction where there are no residential buildings. It is also necessary to comply with the requirements for fire safety. The inner lining of carpentry is usually treated with flame retardants, which prevent fire. It is advisable to have a powder fire extinguisher in the building, or at least a bucket of sand in case of ignition of electrical appliances.

Ready-made ideas for your business

In many workshops is not given special attention ventilation. However, without an influx of fresh air into the workshop, you are doomed to the constant inhalation of wood dust. And this threatens with certain health problems, which you can easily find out from the Internet.

What equipment is needed for a carpentry shop

The issue of equipment is one of the most difficult in planning a carpentry workshop. It should be borne in mind that there is no universal and generally accepted list for a carpentry workshop. The choice of equipment depends on a large number of variables: on what exactly is produced in the workshop, on the area of \u200b\u200bthe room, production volumes, the experience of the master, and so on.

Therefore, you only have the desire to create wooden products, say your own furniture, and you only have experience in making simple products that do not require any special tools (tables, simple shelves, stools, etc.). In this case, you should not start with the purchase of serious units and machines, the purpose of which you do not yet have a clear idea, but with the purchase of the most basic set. Conventionally, it can be divided into four groups.

The minimum basic set of tools that will allow you to create simple furniture

Hand tool	Equipment and consumables	Measuring instruments	power tool
Hand saw for wood and metal		Roulette 3-5 meters	screwdriver
Jointers and hand planers	Clamps	Ruler metal 50-100 cm	Hammer drill
Mallet with a rubber or wooden striker	Forstner drill bits for blind holes with a flat bottom	Metal square, side 30 cm.	Electric jigsaw
Claw hammer	Drills for metal with a diameter of 2 to 10 mm in increments of 0.5 to 1 mm	Level 50-60 cm	Belt sander
Wood chisels (set)	Drills for wood with a diameter of 2 to 12 mm
Straight and Phillips screwdrivers (set)	Carbide tipped drills
Furniture stapler	Screwdriver bits (set)
Pliers	Marker or pencil
Shoe knife

Adjustable wrench

If you don’t spend money on buying a workbench, but assemble it manually, then 30-40 thousand rubles will be enough to buy such a set. With a wider range of screwdrivers and electric jigsaws, of course, you can’t do it anymore, the list will expand significantly, and it will take at least 200 thousand rubles to equip the workshop, with the purchase of a good milling machine - more than 300 thousand rubles.

An approximate list of equipment for a small carpentry shop

Here are some guidelines for purchasing and using equipment that carpentry shop owners advise you to follow:

The price of equipment should correspond to the level of development of your business. Many inexperienced craftsmen are tempted to spend money on overpriced equipment that doesn't match their level of development and needs, and doesn't offer any significant speed/quality benefits. It must be remembered that expensive equipment of elite brands is always less liquid than cheap and “folk” ones. It is also more expensive to maintain and harder to sell. Therefore, for starters, it is better to get by with the most proven devices. For example, if your products do not have a large length, the so-called molding, it makes little sense to necessarily purchase a milling machine for 100 thousand rubles or more. To begin with, it is better to get by with a manual router, which can do almost the same thing, but will cost several times cheaper.

Strive for equipment versatility. You should not unnecessarily fork out for those types of equipment that can be replaced or that will stand idle for no reason. For example, spending money on a plunge-cut saw with a guide bar when there are cheaper and more versatile circular tables. Even if you need to spread the sheet, it is easier and faster to use the services of companies that own panel saws, which can at a low price and with more high quality unravel the sheet.

Acquire new equipment gradually or with large orders. The smartest thing to think about is purchasing new equipment as you grow in skill and after large orders. The rest of the time, you should try to gradually set aside a small share of the profits for depreciation costs, and from them to purchase new machines.

Observe the principles of priority when arranging equipment. If drilling and turning machines are placed near the workbench, then the grinders are placed at some distance from the workplace. In addition, a good craftsman should always have everything at hand, so the workbench usually has cabinets, racks and hanging shelves.

Don't forget about safety. No matter how safe and familiar the work process may seem, have a first aid kit nearby with a first aid kit. Also use safety goggles and thick clothing. Work with buttoned sleeves, if the hair is long, hide it in a headdress.

Don't make a fuss. When arranging the premises, keep in mind the purchase of new machines in the future. Ideally, the free space should be twice the space for the machines. Lack of space can disrupt technological process. The work plane must be approached from several sides. Also, do not turn the room into a warehouse: the tree should go into circulation, and not wallow in the corners.

Do I need to hire workers in the carpentry shop

At the initial stage, while the volumes are small, it is easier and faster for the master to act alone. However, this does not mean that no hired force will ever come in handy for you. Joiners usually require assistants for rough work or apprentices. They may carry planks, planer, remove shavings and debris, or perform other simple duties. As work force usually used are teenagers who are looking for a part-time job in the summer or youth.

It is worth noting that carpenters with experience are usually in no hurry to grow a full-fledged replacement for themselves. And their fears are understandable: there is a great risk of growing a competitor out of a student who can win over customers. Therefore, often the case is limited to auxiliary workers with contractual wages.

Please note that the average salary of a carpenter in Russia at the time of writing is about 38 thousand rubles, in Moscow and St. Petersburg - about 54.5 thousand rubles. Therefore, if you are sure that the net income will not differ much from these figures, think again about the advisability of opening your own workshop. Today the word "business" is very popular, but with such low turnover, working for hire will have much more advantages compared to independent sailing. In this case, it is wiser to continue to engage in the production of wooden products in the format of a part-time job and a hobby, gradually gaining experience and a client base.

The average level of salaries for the professions “carpenter/carpenter”, “assistant carpenter/carpenter”, rub.

*according to announcements on the Avito website on 09/12/2018

If you have the idea to open a carpentry workshop, but at the same time you are not going to work in it yourself, then the chances of finding a free carpenter who will work for you are close to zero. All masters with experience, as a rule, are attached and have good income, and “worse and cheaper” masters often abuse alcohol or have experience of staying in places not so remote and, let’s say, lost to society. In this case, it will be easier and more rational for you to place your orders with existing workshops and pay for their work, and then sell the finished product.

Mikhail Zernin traded a comfortable office for a carpentry workshop - and does not regret it

Fatigue from unloved work and professional burnout are one of the most common reasons for 30-40-year-olds to leave employment in their own business. office workers. And in Lately Increasingly, such entrepreneurs are choosing those areas of activity in which they can do something with their own hands. One of these is the Ural master entrepreneur Mikhail Zernin, who left successful career business coach for the sake of his own carpentry workshop.

34 years old, master entrepreneur from Yekaterinburg, founder of the brand (manufacturing of cutting boards). Education: Ural State Forest Engineering University (specialty "mechanical engineer"). Prior to founding his own carpentry workshop, he worked as a corporate business coach.

Until mid-2016, Mikhail and his wife worked in the field of HR - they were engaged in corporate training. For about four years they lived in Moscow - their wife was offered a good position, and Mikhail got a good job in the capital. However, they immediately decided that they were living in Moscow temporarily in order to earn money for an apartment.

“When I returned to Yekaterinburg in 2014, I found a job similar to the one in Moscow. But somehow it quickly came to the realization that I was no longer interested. Moreover, I got into a company that worked according to the old principles. As a result, I quit,” Mikhail recalls.

For a while, Mikhail simply did not know what to do, one might say - he was in search of himself. But it was necessary to earn something, and therefore, in the freelance format, I conducted trainings once or twice a month. And the rest of the time was free.

“My brother makes wooden stairs in his workshop in Sukhoi Log. And I saw a bunch of wood enhancers on the Internet - various business card holders, phone holders - and decided to try to make them, ”says Mikhail.

Mikhail's workshop is located in the basement of the Yekaterinburg Art Fund - there is a carpentry co-working space where people can come to work with their hands.

February 2016 was a turning point for Mikhail. One of his friends sent him a link to a video on how to make end cutting boards. And he asked me to make one for him.

How end boards are made

The main difference between an end cutting board and a standard cutting board is durability. The wood fibers are located perpendicular to the cut surface, and the blade of the knife, as it were, pushes the fibers apart. When using a regular board, the knife simply cuts the fibers and because of this quickly becomes dull.

“When I made some boards, I posted the photos on Facebook. As a business coach, I'm used to receiving feedback. As a result, I received a lot of “Wow!” comments, and some asked me to make the same board for them. It inspired me, I decided to continue,” Mikhail explains.

Mikhail made the first board for sale in March 2016. Its cost was determined quite simply - the cost of materials plus logistics costs plus an extra charge of 20-30% (although in carpentry it often amounts to hundreds of percent). As a result, 6900 rubles came out for a large board of American walnut and ash.

The cost of end boards from Zernin is from 1990 rubles to 6990 rubles

For comparison: one of the leaders in the market of end boards is the manufacturer from Izhevsk MTM Wood - their cost of some models reaches 22 thousand rubles.

Such a high price is associated not only with a large amount of manual labor and the duration of the manufacturing process, but also with the cost of materials - rare wood species cost up to 400 thousand rubles per cubic meter.

The hobby could not yet feed the family, and Mikhail continued to train. “I spent the last trainings without much pleasure. Although before I was lit by the work. At some point, I realized that it was time to finish - and in the summer of 2016 I conducted the last training, ”recalls Mikhail.

Sold the car, bought the machines

By that time, the business was gradually gaining momentum - the master made five to seven boards a month. But with an average check of 4-5 thousand rubles, the income was not very large. And Mikhail decided to take a radical step - he sold his Renault for 500 thousand rubles.

Part of the money was immediately invested in the purchase of machine tools: a drum grinder (about 50 thousand), a band saw (also for 50 thousand), a CNC milling machine (150 thousand). Plus, he uses the equipment that is in the carpentry coworking.

Mikhail also has a special "trick". “My two-year-old daughter fastens one leg to each board. He also necessarily participates in the packaging of the parcel, which is why some recipients sometimes rack their brains, not understanding why some piece of cardboard is stuck here, ”says Mikhail.

In order to sell boards, Mikhail created a shop on the hand-made marketplace "Fair of Masters", but sales did not go there. Therefore, Mikhail attracts most of the Russian clients through your Facebook.

Where sales are going better on the American site Etsy. The first board was sold there only seven months later, but now customers come from there regularly.

Approximately 70% of sales come from Russian buyers, the remaining 30% - from foreign, mainly from the United States. Prices are somewhat different: for example, for Russians, a board costs 6,500 rubles, and for foreigners - $ 150. The difference is explained by the commissions of the Internet site where the goods are displayed, as well as the cost of delivery.

In such a production, word of mouth is important for promotion - people like Mikhail's boards, they write about it in social networks, tell their friends, and, as a result, new customers appear. By the way, Mikhail came up with the name of his brand thanks to Facebook.

“Initially, it was Handcraftedgift, which means “handmade gifts”. But at one of the exhibitions, the presenter simply could not pronounce it. Then I decided to announce a contest on my page,” says Mikhail. And so the brand was born. Zernin Handcrafted. That is, with his last name, Mikhail guarantees quality.

Mikhail does not regret radical changes in his life. “Every day I have the feeling that it was not for nothing that I changed the scope of my activity so drastically. Especially when I look at the world map, where I mark the cities where my boards were bought from. So far, there are 58 such points, - says Mikhail. “Now the boards feed me and my family quite well.”

If we talk about income, then a decent profit appeared only in November 2016. And in December, for the first time, they managed to sell more than 20 boards - Mikhail says that this is just the level to normally provide for his family. But even in this case, the income will be less than, for example, it was in Moscow. Michael takes it easy.

Now the master makes 15 models of boards. And in the near future he plans to expand the assortment line - for example, he plans to try to make a table using the end technology, to launch the production of chess boards (several pieces have already been made).

Mikhail expects that income will grow and that he will be able to engage in carpentry for many years to come.

A plastic board can have two side segments in addition to the handle. They will usually be laid out in a board format. But they will also have the property of being fixed to rise (vertically), thereby forming the “scoop” format. That is, the hostess cuts vegetables, then raises the sides - and easily carries the sliced \u200b\u200bto the right place, without fear of it spilling out from all sides.

Also, in advertising it is worth pointing out that the edge of an ordinary board most often does not fit in the pan in width, which creates the danger of the sliced \u200b\u200bleaving out of the pan. But a board halved by raising the sides is guaranteed to “go” into the upper part of even a narrow saucepan.

Material in this and subsequent inventions in mass production - half a dollar. The selling price, which does not limit the high shaft of sales, can be as high as $3 per copy.

Cutting board that folds into a mini colander

Another promising folding option is a board that folds into a mini-colander to rinse the chopped. The scheme is obvious from the three photos

Cutting board with drawer

The pull-out compartment is convenient both for removing peelings or the first portion of vegetables when cutting - and for storing knives.

Colander with board

It is appropriate to produce a device - a mini-table 20x10 centimeters on four low (a couple of centimeters) strong legs, the right half of which is a shallow colander, and the left half is a cutting board. They put a couple of apples in a colander, washed them, and immediately cut them on the same device.

The idea was suggested to us by the following photo (but on it you will see only a pathetic semblance of our elegant solution):

Foldable hot stand

Stand for hot when not in use does not take up extra space. Therefore, the idea that is obvious from the figure will find demand:

Tea bag storage

Tea bags and instant coffee are present in the kitchen of virtually every urban family. It is appropriate to make storages for them - moreover, of two types: for their mass daily storage in a closet or on a table, as well as an elegant mini-device for a few serving them on the table:

Salt and pepper shaker in the shape of a fairy wand

Manual juicers

Juicers of the simple form consist of a mini bowl and a stick inside. Press half of the fruit (most convenient - citrus fruits) on the stick - the juice flows into the bowl. Instead of a bowl, there may be a scoop with slots (to drip into a glass). Finally, instead of a bowl, there may be a funnel for a bottle - there are, after all, lovers of dripping lemon juice into plain water.

Knife for chopping herbs

Moon-shaped knife with two-three-four blades at an equal distance - and with a handle connecting the ends of the "moon"

Multi-colored nozzles on the bases of glasses and glasses

Nozzles allow you not to confuse where whose wine is, and also make the meal bright. Demand is secured. Extremely cheap to manufacture

Sugar spoon, the size and shape of a “half a teaspoon”

Spoon with a clip on the handle

Creative design of other kitchen appliances

Stand for detergent dispenser and sponge

Detergent owners in our time use without fail together with a washcloth-sponge. Accordingly, the demand for a two-piece organizer will be great - a beautiful mini-basket for a sponge (their parameters are more or less standard) and an elegant dispenser vessel for pouring into it detergent- in the same style, inserted on a single plane next to the mini-basket or even fixed, as in this photo:

A triune organizer is also possible - also with a vessel for bulk products.

Nozzle-narrower for the neck of a wine bottle

The width of the neck of a wine bottle is determined by the diameter of the cork. But with such a diameter and thickness of the neck from a freshly opened bottle, without proper dexterity, it drips (past the glasses) mercilessly. Therefore, the constrictor nozzle - the sleeve configuration of which, with a narrow hole, will allow you to aim the stream exactly as intended - would have won great respect and demand from housewives.

For manufacturers: materials here for five cents, you can sell at retail for half a dollar-dollar.

Butter dish divided by blade walls

Frozen butter is difficult to start cutting. Therefore, oilers should be made by reinforcing a series of vertical folding or retractable blade walls at their bottom with a step of several millimeters. The slightly heated oil brought from the store is “mounted” on all these blades (it is necessary to attach a stop plate to the oiler to press down the oil) - and it turns out to be crossed onto the plates. When necessary, remove the extreme oil plate with a knife, fold back or remove the blade wall behind it - and the next plate opens.

Straw for several glasses

A device from the category of table curiosities - but very cute: a straw straw that allows you to draw liquids from two or more vessels with liquids, thereby creating fusion cocktails right "in the air" between the vessels and the mouth.

No less amusing is the variant of such a straw, designed also for two drinkers, with intersections, so to speak, of straw pipelines (there is a possible game “who will draw in more”). Demand can be huge - but the material here is frankly cheap and the production is simple.

The site also offers startup founders to produce such kitchen accessories:

ring knife for peeling oranges.
sealed goggles to protect against onion fumes when cutting it;
non-spill lids for wine glasses;
cake plate with transport markings around the circumference;
plastic container for boiling broken eggs (eggs without shell);
cutlery connected to each other in the Lego way;
stand for cutlery with a source of antibacterial radiation at the bottom;