Name of your website?Classic Wood Toys
Your name?
Preston Shea
Your Location (city, etc)
Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Handmade toy cars, trucks, puzzles and building blocks made from recovered New Hampshire hardwoods. Recovered wood comes from trees blown down in storms, cut by power line crews etc. This is wood that too often ends up in landfills. I make all my toys myself, using non-toxic glues, dyes and finishes.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I wanted to reach an audience interested in safe, handmade toys that teach that is larger than just the folks in my little town of Wolfeboro.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
This is my first website. I started putting it up in November. The site is an on-going work in progress.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
my website host gave me a list of available names containing "wood toys"
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
focus on happy customers (kids) and the use of recovered wood
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
I would like to be able to sell the toys I can make
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
I'm hoping to break even on my relatively tiny investment within a year
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I would like to increase traffic
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
No. I am actually limited by my one-at-a-time craftsman style and do not want to change it
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
It is quite a time-consuming hassle to deal with changing and updating pages
What has been your biggest challenge?
mastering style sheets
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
advertising the site at craft shows
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
more frustrating to upgrade
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
a couple of months -- I plan to keep the site for the foreseeable future
Would you like to link to other sites?
Yes (funny you should ask!) I would like to link to sites with handmade products and fair trade items
What is your website address?
Classic Wood Toys
