Recent Developments
Just a quick recap of recent happenings.
I'm back to school full time at UVSC taking 18 credits
-Classes Tuesdays and Thursdays from 830am-145pm
I'm working graveyards at iArchives as a scanning technician
I'm still in the Utah Valley Symphony and Helen will be auditioning for and Oboe position next week and an English Horn chair in 3 weeks.
Ben started first grade and is already one of, if not the, best reader in his class.
Josh starts Head Start in a week.
Helen and I are in the intermediate stages of getting the reed supply company off the ground. We've already acquired the urls:
www.reedroom.com
www.thereedroom.com
For those of you who haven't heard us talk about this much, earlier this spring we spent the majority of our tax return on reed making equipment. We purchased a cane splitter, pre-gouger, gouger and shaper tips. Oboist use a piece of cane that is normally grown in France, however it is also available from Italy, Spain, Argentina, China and the US.
They're grown in fields to specific heights and diameters, then cut and cured for a couple years (the longer the better). Then its cut to varying lengths ending up like this. 
From there the cane is split and pre-gouged. The using the gouger, the center of the cane is removed until it reaches the desired thickness. Most oboist don't do the gouging themselves unless they are at a University that has a gouger available to them, as gougers cost roughly $1000. Now it's ready to be shaped and folded using an easel and the shaper handle and tip, ending up like this. 
Then for beginning and intermediate students Helen will have finished hand made reeds for sale as well. 
A pound of cane purchased in the States varies on the brand and the sell but can vary from $90 a pound on up. We intend to import it from the growers and it will cost in the neighborhood of $50-$70 a pound. We can expect to get on average about 100 pieces of cane from a pound, after it's been split, pre-gouged, gouged and shaped. We won't be able to sell every piece but around 60% would be about right. The average price for a piece of gouged and shaped cane is close to $2 each. So... $2 per piece x 60 pieces = $120. Not to shabby for $50 worth of raw materials. Of course that doesn't include time/labor but since we're doing the work that's not a big deal. Finished reeds will be in the $10 range, as they include a staple, a pieces of gouged and shaped cane, tying and scraping.
We intend to sell via the internet and are taking the steps to become an actual company, licensed in the state of Utah. We don't intend to apply for loans as right now, we have almost all the tools we need, there a couple things on our wish list but they're wants not needs. We already have several pounds of cane in varying stages of production and just need to get the website up and running, put our some marketing material and hope for the best.
Helen has been selling cane and reeds for about 18-24 months now. Originally, she would buy gouged cane, do the shaping then resell it to her students and teacher (for herself and her students). It's something that she enjoys doing and can make a significant contribution to the family income.
Hopefully in the next 6-8 weeks we'll be in business and rollin' in the dough!
Actually, we want to take things slowly and carefully and make sure that everything is in balance. Family, business, school, etc...
That's about it for now. We'll keep you updated of any developments!
I'm back to school full time at UVSC taking 18 credits
-Classes Tuesdays and Thursdays from 830am-145pm
I'm working graveyards at iArchives as a scanning technician
I'm still in the Utah Valley Symphony and Helen will be auditioning for and Oboe position next week and an English Horn chair in 3 weeks.
Ben started first grade and is already one of, if not the, best reader in his class.
Josh starts Head Start in a week.
Helen and I are in the intermediate stages of getting the reed supply company off the ground. We've already acquired the urls:
www.reedroom.com
www.thereedroom.com
For those of you who haven't heard us talk about this much, earlier this spring we spent the majority of our tax return on reed making equipment. We purchased a cane splitter, pre-gouger, gouger and shaper tips. Oboist use a piece of cane that is normally grown in France, however it is also available from Italy, Spain, Argentina, China and the US.
They're grown in fields to specific heights and diameters, then cut and cured for a couple years (the longer the better). Then its cut to varying lengths ending up like this. 
From there the cane is split and pre-gouged. The using the gouger, the center of the cane is removed until it reaches the desired thickness. Most oboist don't do the gouging themselves unless they are at a University that has a gouger available to them, as gougers cost roughly $1000. Now it's ready to be shaped and folded using an easel and the shaper handle and tip, ending up like this. 
Then for beginning and intermediate students Helen will have finished hand made reeds for sale as well. 
A pound of cane purchased in the States varies on the brand and the sell but can vary from $90 a pound on up. We intend to import it from the growers and it will cost in the neighborhood of $50-$70 a pound. We can expect to get on average about 100 pieces of cane from a pound, after it's been split, pre-gouged, gouged and shaped. We won't be able to sell every piece but around 60% would be about right. The average price for a piece of gouged and shaped cane is close to $2 each. So... $2 per piece x 60 pieces = $120. Not to shabby for $50 worth of raw materials. Of course that doesn't include time/labor but since we're doing the work that's not a big deal. Finished reeds will be in the $10 range, as they include a staple, a pieces of gouged and shaped cane, tying and scraping.
We intend to sell via the internet and are taking the steps to become an actual company, licensed in the state of Utah. We don't intend to apply for loans as right now, we have almost all the tools we need, there a couple things on our wish list but they're wants not needs. We already have several pounds of cane in varying stages of production and just need to get the website up and running, put our some marketing material and hope for the best.
Helen has been selling cane and reeds for about 18-24 months now. Originally, she would buy gouged cane, do the shaping then resell it to her students and teacher (for herself and her students). It's something that she enjoys doing and can make a significant contribution to the family income.
Hopefully in the next 6-8 weeks we'll be in business and rollin' in the dough!
Actually, we want to take things slowly and carefully and make sure that everything is in balance. Family, business, school, etc...
That's about it for now. We'll keep you updated of any developments!
posted by Mike at Saturday, September 02, 2006
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home