Would you pay £10 for one of these?

[Penguin_Toes]

Hi

When the farrier comes Ive been making these as a surprise for the others on the yard:

I've only made four so far, but I think they are quite nice. I wondered if people might pay for them? Just local people really, otherwise the postage would add a lot to the price! What do you think?

 

[Mongoose11]

Really nice item but no I wouldn't pay £10, sorry. How labour intensive are they?

 

[Penguin_Toes]

Not very, about half an hour, the scrubbing with the wire brush to get the rust off is what takes the time.

No problem at all, I wouldn't want to spend my Saturdays doing them for much less so I'll just carry on doing them as gifts maybe.

 

[*sprinkles*]

Uhm. I think £10 is a little steep, though they are nice. I think the hand painted/personalised ones you see I would pay around the £10 mark maybe. But I think it would price a little lower for these. Really lovely idea though.

 

[Penguin_Toes]

Oh I see, I didn't realise the hand painted ones were so cheap! What a bargain!

Maybe £5 or £6 then. I'll have a think.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

So £20 per hour if it were a wage?! Blimey! If you could add stuff on, paint them etc, charge more, but twine wrapped round is not making me want to pay more than £5 and that would be for a horse who'd died, for example.

 

[Penguin_Toes]

Yes I suppose so, but it is a faff pulling the nails out and scrubbing the rust etc.

It was just off the top of my head , £5 would be ok though, it would pay for our Saturday take away if I did a couple at the weekend maybe!

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Faff it may be, but it's a heck of a lot of money per hour! Do some really flash ones and see if you can get them sold on eBay or somewhere like a local farm shop.

 

[Penguin_Toes]

Yes I might try getting some buttons or beads and spelling out the horses name or something like that, get a bit more practice in

 

[Marydoll]

No i wouldnt sorry

 

[alainax]

I guess you need to pick your target market. The ones you have there look like they took 2 mins (sorry!) and anyone with a horse shoe could make. The 2 routes to go down would either be kinda like what you have there - the rustic, would hang in your garden but not your living room type, in which case you could get a bit more creative.. like... -

Id pay £25 for that! ^^

Or, there is the fancy ones, that you would give to a bride for example. Like these -

(id pay £10 for these)

i can see where you are coming from though, with the twine, there are a few out there like it, but I think you would have to add some more too it.

 

[lastchancer]

Paint them pretty colours and add ribbons. The ones in the pic have quite a nice rustic look though.

 

[Beausmate]

I agree with the others, you need a bit more to charge a bit more.

To save time with the cleaning up, try something like Hammerite rust dip. Just chuck the shoes in it, follow the instructions and the rust will be removed without any scrubbing. You could then leave them out to rust again (I know, but it gives a better finish!) then lacquer them for a different look.

 

[LillyBeth]

I was asked for £5 for this but gave her £10 as all of the proceeds went to SSAFA! Horsehoe had been on the field gate for years and still had nails in and was orange with rust. She must have spent ages scrubbing it before painting it and prettying it up!

 

[Frumpoon]

With ribbons and whatnot what about as wedding gifts,horseshoes being lucky etc

 

[Penguin_Toes]

Gosh these examples are all gorgeous and have put me to shame!

 

[RubysGold]

some lovely examples on here

Penguin toes, don't be disheartened, you have a good starting point there, get creative, try some new painted/added pieces designs and see where it takes you

 

[Cahill]

hammer-rite would be your friend

 

[shah's mum]

I sprayed my pony's shoe silver, threaded white ribbon through the nail holes to make handle and carried it down the aisle on my wedding day.. My pony has since died but its a lovely reminder of him.. I think ribbon instead of twine gives a more special touch..
Good luck!..

 

[happyclappy]

Sorry but no. others further down the thread yes, and more.

 

[Cowpony]

When I got married I hadn't ridden in 10 years, but a friend got hold of a racing plate and decorated it with ribbons and silk flowers in my wedding colours. It was a lovely keepsake and I still have it 26 years later.

If somebody horsey was getting married I'd definitely pay £10 but it would have to be a bit more decorated and less rustic OP.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

OP I think yours is a lovely idea......... I think mebbe this forum is the wrong place to ask the question though? Coz (lets face it) all of us on here already have a steady supply of horse-shoes (or at least most of us do anyway) and so for us the novelty-value of a "lucky" horseshoe is perhaps a little tinted??

BUT....... I do think you have a viable idea. Its the sort of thing that would go down great at places like craft fairs, market stalls, etc etc.

Might I make a suggestion? Had you thought of using different colour rope/string and/or different materials maybe; to wind around the shoe??? And perhaps you could add an artificial flower, and/or a ribbon, or a rosette, to add an interest? That way you could design to someone's stable/cross country colours. You could also include some "lucky heather" maybe??? Or whatever.

OR: you could even aim to include (somehow, I'm not artistic!!!) a piece of the horse's hair - which would be a lovely lovely present and/or keepsake and a gorgeous memory of that horse for someone. You would naturally charge extra for this.

I think you're on to something. I think in the context of craft fair/market stall - a tenner for your original design would be just about right IMO. I think you should expand your horizons and give it a try somewhere and see how it goes.

 

[suffolkmare]

Op I think you have some good ideas but agree £10 is too much for a rustic-look shoe with twine. A quick search just now came up with this...
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/170...ng_promoted_en_gb&utm_campaign=housewares_low

... so I would suggest have a good hunt to see what's already being done and at what prices, then sleep on it while your creative juices work on your own original ideas...best of luck

 

[Honey08]

I think that you need to make them a little more sophisticated. I would only pay for something that I couldn't do myself. Another thought, perhaps varnish them, the rust would come back quite quickly if not. They're a lovely present for your friends though.

 

[conniegirl]

sorry but no,
my OH turns horse shoes into lovely keepsakes like candle sticks and hoof picks.
He charges £10 for a candle stick
and £5 for a hoof pic similar to this

 

[livetoride]

Sorry, but I can't see the point of the string. A plain horseshoe is much more pleasing to my eye.

 

[Hippona]

sorry but no,
my OH turns horse shoes into lovely keepsakes like candle sticks and hoof picks.
He charges £10 for a candle stick
and £5 for a hoof pic similar to this

I love these....does he have a web site??

 

[conniegirl]

HIppona, he doesnt, he does it for fun.
However if you messege me we may be able to sort one out for you

 

[Cowpony]

I love these....does he have a web site??

Me too. I'd love one of these!

 

[Pinkvboots]

sorry but no,
my OH turns horse shoes into lovely keepsakes like candle sticks and hoof picks.
He charges £10 for a candle stick
and £5 for a hoof pic similar to this

I really like them too what a lovely idea.