gauging interest for toy making/selling in Canada!

[ChinnyMom]

hey all.


I've been having some great fun making toys for Rhino! I was wondering how many of you Canadian chin owners (or bunny, degu, etc) would be interested in ordering from me? I know for myself, ordering from the States can be a pain, and there are not very many suppliers up here in 'Igloo Land', lol, for good chin supplies, especially in the middle prairie provinces.

my toys are made with cholla, pumice, birch, pine blocks, all sorts of willow/vine items, palm leaf, loofah, ocotillo, grapewood...... you name it! lol. pretty much everything but apple wood is easy for me to get in right now, and i'm in talks with a couple local organic orchards to see about that!

i'm making up some new toys for Rhino today, will post photos when i'm done, to give y'all an idea of what i can do. usually i re-use old pieces when making toys, but today is 100% new pieces.

 

[ChinnyMom]

oops! missed my editing time limit.

just to clarify, any toys i sell would always be 100% new pieces. the re-used ones are just for Rhino.

 

[ETC]

if you can get your hands on apple wood, I would be interested in apple toys, or any bark toys...mulberry etc....

 

[ChinnyMom]

i can get mulberry no problem, as well as yucca, birch, elm, willow, red willow, cottonwood. coins, logs, and hunks. poplar may be an option as well.

just need to contact the apple orchards here, and see if they have any pruning going on.

two toys made already, photos in a bit!

 

[ChinnyMom]

here's three i made! Oy, is getting a wire through a loofah ring in a straight line ever not easy, lol! keep in mind these are just prototypes/for Rhino, and toys i'd make for people would be customizable. i didn't have a whole lot to work with at the moment, but ordering parts is really easy and quick for me.


toy 1 is yucca/loofah/mulberry/pumice/ocotillo/palm shredder+palm hat/vine ring.

toy 2 is pine block/cholla/ocotillo/yucca/willow balls/mulberry/palm shredder/2 rosehips.

toy 3 is loofah/timothy hay cubes/yucca/willow heart. there is a calendula flower and a rosehip tucked into each loofah ring.

 

[Lindsey]

I'm in Winnipeg Manitoba and I have been looking for a canadian supplier for my chin toys! Shipping in from the states is sooo expensive, especially considering it's all going to get chewed to bits. I would definately be one of your customers.

 

[ChinnyMom]

awesome Lindsey! once this Canada Post strike is over, i'm going to get this going. It's so much fun to sit and string toys, thinking about what my chin likes, what looks cute, and what isn't your 'run of the mill' straight line hanging toy, lol.

I'm thinking between $4 and $7 per toy, depending on materials used and size. as mentioned, custom orders would be available (since we all know our chins have very personalized tastes!). I use PayPal, so that makes it easy for almost everyone.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

Sherry! I love that second toy! Very neat idea.

 

[ChinnyMom]

i like it too Bonnie! Rhino has so many 'straight n plain jane' hanging toys already, i figured i'd make him something different today. and it's a great toy to span between two shelves that are at the same height, because each 'leg' would be accessible from either shelf!

 

[chinchatcomics]

I'm definitely interested! I'm out here in Vancouver and would love to see more. Apple wood is a yes as well =D