Hi All,
Long time lurker alert.
I thought I would create this thread for a few reasons.
I'm 39 years old and from the UK. I currently work in risk management for a large engineering, technology, and project management firm. Married with two kids (6 and 8), based near Manchester.
History
During Covid, being confined to my home, I decided to buy a 3D printer and teach myself some 3D can skills. I’ve always been engaged by the thought of additive manufacturing, and that people in their own homes can create 3D items on demand to solve problems of their own, replace parts, share files etc.
Having spent some time having fun designing, downloading, and printing, I found myself thinking about what I could design, manufacture and potentially sell as a secondary source of income.
I listened to the TMF and Unscripted back in 2019, but to date, I have yet to make any real meaningful progress past my own ideas and what I’d call tinkering rather than executing.
Current Position
I’d already designed a few functional accessories for myself, I thought I it might be possible to expand the range to cater for other items within the market.
Within this market, the range and variety of products is ever increasing, alongside existing products being updated. In response, I have designed a range of modular accessories (circa 20 or so with the option for many more).
These accessories can be easily combined and assembled together so that the end solution can be tailored specifically to an individuals needs / function with the specific products they own. The accessories are printed in Wood PLA (bioplastic with wood fibres) and have a walnut grain textured surface so they look and feel like wood.
I have received positive feedback from friends and colleagues about the accessories to date so i belive them to be viable. I currently have the printing capacity to produce plenty of accessories. If required i could expand the printing capacity in the future if required.
Forward Plan
Now, this is where my progress breaks down and grinds to a halt. I guess designing and making things is inside my comfort zone. Selling things probably isn't.
However, I have decided on the branding/purchased domain name/web hosting (I have a little previous experience in web design / wordpress etc). Ive also secured some of the social media account names for the brand.
I have listed some of the accessories on Etsy and managed 2 sales.
I need to finalise a small number of the accessories and get them printed for product photographs
But, I'm unsure about what to do next and would welcome others' feedback.
Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, i'll try my best to answer.
Long time lurker alert.
I thought I would create this thread for a few reasons.
- Document my progress for others in case they are interested or can take some learning
- Get some real-world advice and feedback from this community
- Lastly, and somewhat selfishly, as an accountability/motivation mechanism for myself.
I'm 39 years old and from the UK. I currently work in risk management for a large engineering, technology, and project management firm. Married with two kids (6 and 8), based near Manchester.
History
During Covid, being confined to my home, I decided to buy a 3D printer and teach myself some 3D can skills. I’ve always been engaged by the thought of additive manufacturing, and that people in their own homes can create 3D items on demand to solve problems of their own, replace parts, share files etc.
Having spent some time having fun designing, downloading, and printing, I found myself thinking about what I could design, manufacture and potentially sell as a secondary source of income.
I listened to the TMF and Unscripted back in 2019, but to date, I have yet to make any real meaningful progress past my own ideas and what I’d call tinkering rather than executing.
Current Position
I’d already designed a few functional accessories for myself, I thought I it might be possible to expand the range to cater for other items within the market.
Within this market, the range and variety of products is ever increasing, alongside existing products being updated. In response, I have designed a range of modular accessories (circa 20 or so with the option for many more).
These accessories can be easily combined and assembled together so that the end solution can be tailored specifically to an individuals needs / function with the specific products they own. The accessories are printed in Wood PLA (bioplastic with wood fibres) and have a walnut grain textured surface so they look and feel like wood.
I have received positive feedback from friends and colleagues about the accessories to date so i belive them to be viable. I currently have the printing capacity to produce plenty of accessories. If required i could expand the printing capacity in the future if required.
Forward Plan
Now, this is where my progress breaks down and grinds to a halt. I guess designing and making things is inside my comfort zone. Selling things probably isn't.
However, I have decided on the branding/purchased domain name/web hosting (I have a little previous experience in web design / wordpress etc). Ive also secured some of the social media account names for the brand.
I have listed some of the accessories on Etsy and managed 2 sales.
I need to finalise a small number of the accessories and get them printed for product photographs
But, I'm unsure about what to do next and would welcome others' feedback.
- Do I prioritise Etsy?
- Do I focus on building out my own website and forget about Etsy?
- Do I do this via Woo Commerce and my current web hosting (my current thinking)
- Should I investigate Shopify or another solution?
- Should I prioritise something else which I haven't though of?
Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, i'll try my best to answer.
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