Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dave Stencil. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dave, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I honestly cant remember a time when i went to work at 9, came home at 5, and then just did anything that’s not work. I started with side hustles when still in college, worked 2 jobs after college, and started my path as a woodworker while working full time for a nursing home. At this point, its completely foreign to me to think of friends that get home from work, and then just.. don’t do work. That’s insane, what do you do with all that free time??

Running a small business isnt easy, that’s for sure. Especially in an area where the cost of living is quite high. And even more so where the money you make is off the products you physically make. My work and products have evolved over time. My biggest addition in the last few years has been adding UV printing, which i keep in my garage at home rather than near my dusty woodshop. I’ve needed to develop a routine where mornings involve shipping & printing, days are spent in the woodshop, and evenings are back to printing/designing/emails/etc. Its honestly not uncommon that i’m cleaning my printer up for the night at 12-1am. Since my money is directly from the sale of the products i made, I’m never “caught up”, and thankfully there’s always more to do.

I’ve basically reached the point where I’m trying to comb out the products that are too labor intensive, and steer more toward my best sellers. Although, this is difficult to predict because my sales fluctuate wildly based on viral attention, news articles, etc. I dont spent any money on advertising (aside from the forced ads etsy enlisits). So much motivation comes from the fact that i know what a huge month can look like, (and conversely, a poor month). It’s feast or famine, but just watching the same paycheck come in every other week would just make me feel like i’m unaccomplished. I’d feel choked back, and that would stifle my drive to design and create.

Would I prefer that though? Sometimes a whole evening with nothing to do sounds great, yeah.. but i’m not one to allow myself to be bored, especially when i know i’m capable of more and can control the outcome.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Dave. I began on etsy under the name “cutting boredom”, specializing in punny, but high detail inlaid cutting boards. I put some of my original designs on Kickstarter and funded 700% my goal that bought me my first laser. I rather quickly began to build out the tools i need in a garage on Oliver ave. Now that i’ve evolved far beyond cutting boards, I go by “Oliverstuff”, which is a tongue in cheek way of saying “all of our stuff”, and a nod to the garage this all began in.

Today, i’m a much better woodworker. I do a lot of custom builds for businesses, bars, restaurants and hotels making and designing things like custom portable bars, flight trays, store displays, etc, but the core of my work still resides in online sales making custom cutting boards, home decor, and so so SO many coasters. Uv printing adds a capability to my work that very few can, and just recently i’ve invested in a massive upgrade in that area. With UV, I can print museum quality images on wood, plastics, metal.. pretty much anything that will fit on the bed, and i can do it on demand, allowing for completely custom work, and low volume production/prototyping.

I put a heavy focus on reclaimed materials. In fact, my wood coasters have been 100% reclaimed wood since 2018. The fact they even exist in the first place was an effort to reuse the scrap that was produced by cutting boards, but now I pull the wood from landfill or burn pile bound furniture, industrial scrap, and other sources. Just recently i was given a desk on its way to the dumpster, only to take it apart and find the original piece under it was made with square nails last produced in 1890! Not only does this focus give me a wide variety of woods to work with, but i’ll typically work with keeping the characteristics in the wood so they are all completely unique. I have even flipped furniture into the mobile bars i make. Everything can become something new. My goal is really to throw away only sawdust.

For my clients, my work is creative, completely unique, and often times funny. I’m capable of putting a lot of thought into design and custom work, whether its for a gift, yourself, or something for your business… and then producing it all in-house!

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I began on etsy and owe pretty much everything i am to it! Etsy comes packed as a market leader and a healthy built in client base that you are exposed to. Sales there are not guaranteed when you’re new, i’ve just been lucky enough to gain a lot of viral attention over the years, which bring in sales and new eyeballs. Now that i’m about 8 years in, my shop has the added bonus of showing thousands of sales and 5 star reviews, which adds a lot of confidence in new customers, and repeat business from old ones. I’ve since expanded onto Amazon handmade, which has had a steady growth of sales and reviews as well, and just recently began testing products with Amazon FBA.

I see a lot of people complain about etsy’s evolving strategy with advertising, seller programs, or how much they require from your sales.. But etsy has been good to me. It’s easy to use as both a seller and buyer, and a known name for online shopping. My only complaint there is that its supposed to be the “handmade” place to go, but has relaxed their rules to the point that its practically more of an ebay with mass produced products and an incredible ease for allowing knockoffs or photo theft. (I guess this is where having a substantial amount of sales and reviews helps). Amazon is just big, fast, and more strict with your responsibility as a seller. I think that no matter where you go, if you are diligent enough to monitor your margins and produce and deliver products that exceed expectations, they’re both incredibly powerful tools for establishing your business. No where is a one size fits all, and unfortunately, i think a lot of the complaints come from those who havent figured that out yet.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I’ve mentioned this before, but the original idea of my business came from Christmas gifts i was making for my family, and a successful kickstarter campaign that showed me this might actually work. It also sounds corny, but serendipity has always played a huge part in my success. In the beginning, i was hoping i could make enough money that it would maybe make a car payment or something. Then, that grew to maybe i can make enough to get my own equipment. Then, it grew to maybe i can have my own work space. It took years to become my full time income, but i can honestly say it was all done through natural, and passive growth. I dont advertise. I dont cold call. I dont have an email list that i spam. I get occasional blog posts that blow things up. I’ve been featured in food and wine, reddit, dude i want that, the awesomer, this is why i’m broke, george takei, Bookbub, NBC san diego.. seriously, name the blog and i’ve been there, and they always seem to pop up right when i need them.

Kickstarter funding showed me there was potential to make products that can sell. The viral attention i got my first xmas in business showed me that the potential far outweighed a steady salary. Getting into stores like Pangaea Outpost showed me that local demand is present and healthy. Signals magazine showed me that commercial attention is possible. Everything i stumble across just kicks the ball farther down the field, and now that i’m several years in, i’ve begun to sharpen the knife by getting better and more efficient with everything i do. I also make a point to never say no to a news interview, blog feature, or magazine article.

Contact Info:

• Website: oliverstuff.com
• Instagram: @Oliverstuff
• Facebook: @oliverstuff
• Youtube: Dave Stencil
• Other: Oliverstuff (on amazon) Cutting boredom (on etsy)

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