Design Sharing Submission Request

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Duane Marrett
Thermwood Team
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Design Sharing Submission Request

Post by Duane Marrett »


We are looking for additional Design Sharing Libraries. We've had Members request libraries containing Mantels, Wineracks, Furniture, Cabinetry, Closet Systems and others. We would like to continually add to our offering to benefit our Members who participate in the Program as well as Members who use the libraries to get started on projects quickly.

Posting your own unique library of cabinets or other piece is a great way to earn extra money. Once you've put all of the work into creating and refining a design, offering it to other Members allows you to continually earn money on your design. It also allows others to purchase it and get started quickly without needing to start from scratch.

When you sell a Design Sharing Library, we split the profits with you. This means that you get cash from your completed project over and over each time it sells on the Member Store.

Submitting a Design is easy - just click the Design Sharing submission icon inside of eCabinets

Image

This brings up a form that you fill out with the information about your library. You set the price and select the cabinets/assemblies, images and 3D files you want associated with your library. Pictures sell, so the more you have (especially of completed pieces), the better your library will do.

Or, if you prefer, we will work with you to submit your library to the store - you can send the cabinets/assemblies to us, and we will create your library for you and submit it to the store. Each submitted library is checked here at Thermwood to verify that everything works and is formatted correctly before it is posted for sale.

You can browse our current Design Sharing Offering on the Member Store.

For more information on the Design Sharing Program, you can check out:

http://www.woodworkerswholesale.com/Articles.asp?ID=165

You can also email us at jason.susnjara@thermwood.com or give Jason Susnjara here at Thermwood a call (1-800-533-6901).
Thanks,

Duane Marrett
Thermwood/eCabinet Systems
Vince Lisanti
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Post by Vince Lisanti »

Duane,

Does it have to be an entire library? or can we submit individual assemblies, such as Wall Unit assembly?

Vince Lisanti

CCS woodworks inc.
Roger Erismann
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Post by Roger Erismann »

Duane,

Why not have a design request service? If someone need something done they can post requirements or scketches and we can do the design...
Wood Butcher/Case Maker
Kerry Fullington
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Post by Kerry Fullington »

Vince,
I think you can submit anything that you want to share. The point of the Design Sharing program is to have a huge search-able library of anything that members would want to build so that they have the option of using a library design instead of having to design it themselves or having to commission the design from someone as Roger is suggesting. The advantage of the Design Sharing Library is the fact that if I design a vent hood for one person as Roger is suggesting, that one person pays for all of my time which could get expensive. If I submit a vent hood for use in the Design Sharing Program the cost of the design is spread out over several people who use the design. I will also get income from hardware members purchase through the system when they use my designs.
The bottom line is that everyone should be submitting designs to the Design Sharing Program so that when any member needs a mantle, there will be dozens to choose from. You can just search for mantles and choose the one you like, download it , modify it for your needs and be done.
Don't be shy. If you have a unique or salable design, submit it. Someone else will sooner or later want to use it and you will get a check from Thermwood.
Kerry
DanEpps
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Post by DanEpps »

Very good points Kerry.
Roger Erismann
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Post by Roger Erismann »

Ouch...I am being tag teamed by Dan and Kerry...

I think you misunderstood or I misrepresented...

Kerry wrote:

\"The advantage of the Design Sharing Library is the fact that if I design a vent hood for one person as Roger is suggesting, that one person pays for all of my time which could get expensive.\"

Why would I charge the whole price If I plan on putting them in the library and selling them multiple times?

Anyways suppose someone is looking for an entertainment center..with certain characteristics, I could design it and put it in the library then they could use it(or not)...they pay whatever the cost would normally be(I do not know how cost is figured) and we have another item in the library if several people submit a design for the same request then the amount of designs in the library has increased by this amount...and the client has several items to choose from...

This allows us to at least address specific needs now and build the library for the future..

Kerry wrote:

\"If I submit a vent hood for use in the Design Sharing Program the cost of the design is spread out over several people who use the design. I will also get income from hardware members purchase through the system when they use my designs.\"

The above still holds true with what I was saying

I recently sold a bed design(gothic type design) and will be having it cut soon(couple of weeks I hope) once I get it cut and am sure everything works it will be posted in the library along with pictures of assembly and machining.

But what good is that if no one is looking for a bed? See what I am saying?

My idea was not meant to replace but rather to complement the design sharing principle...
Wood Butcher/Case Maker
Kerry Fullington
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Post by Kerry Fullington »

Roger,
I am not trying to discourage custom work, I do quite a bit of it myself but since Duane was looking for support for the Design Sharing Program I was just trying to help push it. Design Sharing will be a great thing but If there are not a lot of submissions it will never work. I think what you are saying about submitting custom work as Design Sharing items would be great.
Design sharing like all of the other programs in the eCabinets Cooperative needs the support of many members to make it work. If only a few participate then very few can benefit.
Design Sharing will never replace all custom work but if there are thousands of designs available through Sharing, there should be much less need for custom services.
Kerry
DanEpps
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Post by DanEpps »

I agree with both Roger and Kerry.

More participation means greater success for all concerned. The Design Sharing program needs everyone to participate as often as possible (okay, I'm guilty of not submiting anything yet) so that all members have access to designs by all other members.

I also agree that a designer outsourcing service would be complimentary to both the Design Sharing and Production Sharing programs. To me it just makes sense to add this third component and score a trifecta.

Now, like I said in another thread on the same subject, I don't know whether many members would even have the time to offer design services, but why not offer the vehicle?

One problem that I can foresee is members not staying on top of their listings. As an example, in Production Sharing there are far more folks providing services out there than are listed. I have also seen some threads in the past that said members had tried to contact someone listed in Production Sharing and the contact information in the listing was out of date.

As with any type of marketing or advertising, you can't just toss it out there and forget it. You must keep information updated when changes occur.
Roger Erismann
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Post by Roger Erismann »

On another note...

Advertising design services connected to CNC output to me or another user is kind of like selling eggs to a chiken farmer...

What may have a good pay off is putting this concept out there to the designer/architect or GC crowd that has no concept of the nuts and bolts but needs an original mantel piece or bookcase...

This could be done through trade magazines or other mediums..

The appeal of using a network of independent fabricators and designers using a common platform connected through a company like Thermwood is very inviting...and reassuring

Ask an architect or designer if they would like the ability to submit a sketch to several hundred fabricators at once all using state of the Art design software and CNC out put....I think they would dig the service...

They check the library or submit a sketch...the response is posted through the design library and thermwood get's a piece of the action so does the designer and cutter....

My only issue is the link up with production sharing and actual execution of the design...that is why I intend to cut the bed and post pictures with the design so perspectiver clients can actually see it....

My two cent's worth

I was kidding about the tag team thing....with out Dan and Kerrys' input I think we would all be missing something...
Wood Butcher/Case Maker
DanEpps
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Re:

Post by DanEpps »

Roger Erismann wrote:I was kidding about the tag team thing....with out Dan and Kerrys' input I think we would all be missing something...
Actually Roger, we're out to get you :lol:

On the serious side, that is an interesting idea, but who would pay for the marketing effort? I designed an Idea Book so members could better compete with the ready-made box sellers they complained so loudly about, but it met with only lukewarm interest from three members. All that was needed was for 10 members to commit to spending $750 each to be able to get the printing done. The same quantity (250) per member, printed separately, would cost $3750 so this represented a $3000 savings each. From some of the responses you would have thought the price tag was more like $100,000 instead of $750!

The point I'm getting at here is that everyone wants only free. Like the old adage, "Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime", everyone wants a free fish but not the work involved in catching it.

Don't take this the wrong way. I would love to see more participation in efforts like this. The sad truth though is folks just aren't willing to participate if they have to make an effort or spend a few dollars.
Roger Erismann
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Post by Roger Erismann »

Dan,

Your idea is excellent...if I could I would...for me 750 is alot right now in a few months it shouldn't be though...

As a matter of fact I took a job in a much larger shop with a thermwood router very far away form my home to kick start my cash flow so I could remain very choosy about which jobs I took on for my own business...Kid's and Mortgage drive my train right now....and my own pride about not being the lowest bidder for every job

Personnaly I don't think advertising is needed right now because there are a few unanswered questions....specifcally about execution of the design.

Yes the freebie syndrome...it kind of makes you wonder if people really have all the clients they say they do....

Getting back to the subject...once there a few designs in the library with proven results things should just kind of snowball...it may take awhile though...
Wood Butcher/Case Maker
DanEpps
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Post by DanEpps »

Actually, marketing any idea must be considered in the earliest phases of its design. Without a marketing plan it will wither on the vine and die.
Rick Palechuk
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Post by Rick Palechuk »

I think the design sharing concept is great! In business it all boils down to time is money and I'm sure that labor is the killer in ALL shops. If I added up all the off hours time that I spend getting something out the door when I could be enjoying other things in life. I think it's worth a few dollars to let someone else do the leg work for you. Even if you had to tweak it to your liking, it's still worth it.
Jason Susnjara
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Post by Jason Susnjara »

Design Sharing is a program in which eCabinet members can post either an entire library or single pieces. This provides new users a jump start and allows them to begin using the software almost immediately. For example, if I designed an entertainment center for a client that I think other ecab members could use, then submit that ent. center to Design Sharing. You can then make money from the design as well as from the hardware that you used for that design each time a member purchases that library. The ecab member that purchases this ent. center will still be able to change sizes, colors, etc... but the ent. center is still tagged to the developer.

You can post a single cabinet if you wish but how many members will purchase a single cabinet? Furniture however could be single piece that you could possibly sell for more than a small library depending on what carvings you use and how intricate the design is. Armoires, desks, nightstands, hutches, etc… can be submitted as single designs. The carvings that are used in these designs could then by cut out using a Thermwood cnc router that you own or they can be sent to a Production Sharing member. If you would like for me to take a look at your designs, let me know and I will be happy to look them over.

I am currently working on submitting some cabinets that I had designed for my kitchen but with V4. In my spare time at home I am working on getting these done in V5. Also, instead of just submitting the cabinets that I had built I will also submit the same cabinets but with varying sizes requiring less changes to be made.

If you look at what we have now, we have a couple of libraries that utilize full dados and some that utilize blind dados. The library that utilizes full dado can be used by both the machine owners as well as the shops that don’t have a cnc router and are going to be using a table saw. The library that utilizes blind dado is mostly going to be used by a shop that either has a cnc or is going to send it to Production Sharing. In both cases, everyone will benefit from Design Sharing and the members that have submitted their designs have benefited already. This is a review of one of Kerry’s libraries:

Reviewer:
“I've been able to spend some time now with this library. There are construction methods I'm going to adopt of Kerry's, and just a couple of \"my way\" of doing things that I will continue.”

“There is no way that I could have developed this extensive a library of cabinets for the money.”

“Well worth it.”



If you have anymore questions, please feel free to call me at 800-533-6901 ext. 241. or email me at Jason.susnjara@thermwood.com

Thanks,
Jason Susnjara
V.P., Marketing
Thermwood Corp.

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