Do you want to start a business and make money selling crafts in flea markets? If YES, here are 50 best wood craft ideas to sell at flea markets. Wood crafting involves creating items from wood. These items can include indoor wood craft like chairs and kitchen cabinets or outdoor wood craft like railings and sheds. The demand for wood craft has always been high and will remain so for as long as trees and wood exist.
A lot of people consider themselves to be good at wood craft; however, most of them just pursue this as a hobby. If you are one of such people, you can convert your skills and experience into a profitable business without breaking the bank to get started. Since there are no formal qualifications required, then nothing stops you from taking a plunge any time you wish.
Wood craft making is a very good way to earn a side income irrespective of if you are a student, stay-at-home mom or dad, or an unemployed graduate. Wood projects are highly versatile and in high demand as a lot of people need them in their homes and offices for diverse reasons.
When you have mastered your woodworking skills and you want to create an inventory of items to sell, the best place to start selling homemade craft items is at your local or regional flea market. Get an edge on the competition by making items that have proven to sell well.
Weekend flea markets are held all over the country. Some of the flea markets may be attached to a farmers’ market that sells homegrown organic vegetables, while others specialize in antiques, furniture or more. Flea markets are usually seasonal; they can be held indoors or out, but you can find some that are held indoors year-round.
Look for two types of flea markets: long-term venues and the classic weekend flea markets held in parking lots, empty lots or the local fairgrounds. Before you can sell your wood crafts at a flea market, you will be expected to rent space. Here are 50 best wood craft ideas which you can sell at flea markets;
Best Wood Craft ideas That Sell Well at Flea Markets
1. Children’s Wooden Toys
In times past, toys that were crafted from wood were very popular. Nowadays, they have become a novelty. In stores today, children’s toys that are crafted from wood command very high prices and they sell well too for a lot of reasons. They are considered a novelty, safer than toys made from other materials and they usually last a very long time. In addition, toys that are made of wood appeal to people who are environmentally conscious and averse to the use of plastics.
The result is that parents are ready to pay top dollar to buy even the simplest of wooden toys as long as they are made from quality wood. Wooden puzzles are most popular item among wooden toys. You can make different innovative wooden puzzles for children by using some simple tools. You can adopt this business idea if you really want to get good investment returns.
Since this is an item for children, you do need to make the toys safe, sturdy and durable. Do not compromise on the materials you use. It is very common to have a different set of laws coming into play when making things for children is concerned. Make sure you find out what these are in your state and to adhere to them completely.
2. Baby Cradles
A baby cradle is one very popular wood craft category in baby and children furniture. A wooden baby cradle is a classic wood crafting product that is always in demand. A lot of parents will go the extra mile to get the best cradle for their babies.
Once more, pay extra attention to the safety and quality of the product and use only the very best materials. Another option for children furniture to make is the self assembly kind. You can also make kiddies tables, chairs, storage cupboards, beds and an assortment of other items.
3. Chair Side Bookcase
Bookcases are woodcraft items that are always in demand. Every household needs several of them. However, you should try to spice things up and so that your product can stand out from others. Make bookcases specifically to complement armchairs. They are a popular addition that very few can resist. Not to mention they are items of great utility.
4. Picture frames
Picture frames are a very vast wood craft project. The picture frames can be simple or very intricate with a lot of fine details. A little bit of ingenuity allows you to create several original designs. This is one woodworking project that can never go stale, because you will never run out of ideas to make new designs and also because it is an evergreen item that will always be in demand.
5. Small wooden boxes
This is a relatively simple wood craft item to produce. Think of ideas for making small boxes that serve a purpose. There are so many things that people need small wooden boxes for. You should use high quality wood and craft the box to be strong with a good solid finishing. Your project does not need to have complicated designs.
6. Birdhouse
You should know that outdoor wood craft projects are extremely popular. There are many small projects you can do for the garden, portico et al. A very charming and popular wood craft project is a birdhouse. It’s a little strange but you can charge premium prices for birdhouses and people are ready to pay for it.
People who want to enjoy birds coming to the garden, attach a high value to a functional and nice looking bird-house. And who doesn’t really want pretty birds coming and chirping in their gardens. Therefore, birdhouse is one of the top-selling woodworking projects.
7. Blanket Chest
A blanket chest is a good wood project. In fact, wooden chests in general constitute wood craft items that are easy to sell. Wooden chests look great anywhere in the house and they can be used as a convenient storage for lots of things, including blankets. You can even design one to work as a centre table as well as storage. A blanket chest is not necessarily an item to be only used in cold weather places.
Most households have items that need to be stored away either during the day or at night. For example, extra throw pillows need to be removed from the bed every night before sleeping. Similarly, sheets, covers, blankets that are used while sleeping need to be stored in a convenient and accessible place during the day. A blanket chest is a utility item of everyday and that makes it one of the best sellers. Once again, the stress on making this wood craft project is on quality, endurance and finish. The design and the construction can be left simple.
8. Fruit Bowl
Generally speaking, items that are used for time to time in the house are very popular. This is an example of a really simple woodworking project that sells very well. When making fruit bowls, the important thing to keep in mind is your design and finish.
Because a fruit bowl is a common item, it sells a lot. However, thanks to this same advantage, there is always a lot of this item available. But the fact still remains that making a beautiful and unique wooden fruit bowl that is eye catching is not difficult. A little bit of ingenuity produces great results.
9. Miniature Mantle Clock
Every house needs at least a clock. Miniature mantle clocks are very classy and attractive and the sell quite fast. You will be very surprised at a lot of things about this project. It is very economical to make, simple, takes little time and ends up looking and selling like a premium high quality wood craft item.
10. Wooden Spoons and Ladles
Another interesting wood craft project that you can sell in your local flea markets are spoons and ladles of all shapes and sizes. These items are really coming back in a big way. People are beginning to use more wholesome utensils in their kitchens. Wooden spoons and ladles are going to be raging popular products.
11. Beer Bottle Crate
Wooden beer bottle crate with lid is very popular utility item. It can be used for household storage, in travelling and also by beer sellers. You can make this item with wood and simple tools. The design is quite simple and easy to make.
12. Making and selling Beer Mugs
Wooden beer mugs are innovative products. You can create different types of wooden beer mugs with different shapes and sizes. Making a beer mug can be very simple but it remains a very profitable business idea in the woodworking industry.
13. Business Card Holder
Wooden business card holder is often considered as a promotional corporate gift. Different variety of wooden business card holders can be made with some simple tools. Wooden card holder are easy to make and they are not time intensive.
14. Cabinet
Cabinets are not only useful for storing things, they can also be decorative. They are used in home and in offices. Feel free to unleash our creativity to make cabinets that are not only functional but also aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Create new designs and make them light and fantastic to be able to attract and keep your customers.
15. Candle Holder
Wooden candle holder is a useful decorative item. It is also considered as a gift item. Various types of wooden candle holders are very much popular and the crafting process is also simple. Candle holders can be carved in different styles and Heights.
16. Chopping Board
Chopping boards are used in the kitchen to cut things into smaller sizes. This product is a must have for every kitchen and as such, it comes as no surprise that the product is very popular.
17. Chopsticks and tooth picks
Chopsticks are an essential dining item. It comes in different sizes. This product is popular and you can make this product by having simple woodworking tools. Chopsticks were developed about 5,000 years ago in China.
The earliest versions were probably twigs used to retrieve food from cooking pots. But today they are very popular in almost all state of the art eateries. Just like with chopsticks, you can earn some good money for yourself carving and packaging toothpicks for sale in your local flea market.
18. Jewelry Box
Wooden jewelry box is a widely used product among ladies. Ideally, a wooden jewelry box should come with intricate and beautiful designs that are appealing. This is a popular product and the business can be initiated with small capital investment. This business can fetch you great income to solve or take care of your needs.
Jewelry boxes can retail for as much as 10 to 20 times of what it costs to build them, making this a very profitable home based manufacturing venture. This is the type of manufacturing business that will let you be very creative in design and in the materials selected for the construction process.
19. Wristwatch Holders
Along with jewelry holders, you can also create wristwatch organizers that people can use to arrange their wristwatches neatly and safely.
20. Planter Boxes
Planter boxes can be designed as customized also as per client’s required size and shape. It normally used in windows and in balconies. Sometimes wooden planter boxes are used for indoor plant decoration purposes also.
21. Storage Box
Storage box is necessary household furniture and also considered a decor item. Storage boxes with sitting arrangement are a very popular concept. You can make different types of storage boxes with innovative pattern. You can also make customized storage boxes as per client’s specific requirement.
22. Wall Art
Wooden wall art is a popular home decor item. Different types of wall art can be made for home and office use also. For small and large wall, you can create different types of wall art of different sizes.
23. Wardrobe
Wardrobes are where personal belongings are kept in a house. Wardrobe is an essential furniture item and it is used at almost every home. You can make different types of wardrobe with door and without door also.
24. Wooden Pen
Now-a-days wooden pen is considered a promotional gift item. And for that purpose, people buy wooden pen in bulk. Apart from this, it is used for official and educational purposes also. You can start wooden pen making business by having simple woodworking tools and with small start-up capital investment.
25. Wooden Tissue Boxes
These are far more durable than the regular paper-made tissue boxes that people hang in their cars. A lot of car owners would patronize you if you can craft beautiful wooden tissue boxes for sale.
26. Wine Rack Manufacturing
Are you searching for an inexpensive business start-up that can be operated part-time from home? If so you may want to consider starting a business that focuses on manufacturing and wholesaling custom-made wine racks.
The business is easy to establish and only requires basic woodworking skills and equipment. In addition to constructing the wine racks from wood, you could also build the racks from metal, or even better, all recycled material, such as scrap metal and used building material that can usually be acquired for free with a little bit of detective work.
Once you have designed and constructed a few wine racks, you can sell it in flea markets or in wine stores, furniture stores, liquor stores, u-brew-it wine shops and even restaurants. The key to success in wine rack manufacturing is to have a unique product that consumers are compelled to purchase for themselves or as a gift for others.
27. Wind Chimes Made From Wood
Wood chimes can be manufactured from a variety of materials of which wood is one of them. Starting a business that manufactures wind chimes can be a great way to turn spare time into extra income.
28. Bookends
Bookends make for a great gift to give other people and what’s more, you can start this business with as little as $500 or less from our home. One of the key elements for this manufacturing venture to take off and fly will be your ability to design and create very unique and different bookends. One idea may be to capitalize on the ever-increasing environmentally friendly theme and manufacture all the bookends out of recycled materials.
If this route is chosen, be sure to include the fact that your products are manufactured from recycled materials in all packaging and promotional material, as this can be utilized as a fantastic marketing tool.
29. Bag Hangers
People prefer to use bag hangers to organize their bags. You can make these bag hangers and sell them at your local flea market.
30. Chess Board Game
A lot of people enjoy playing Chess, and Chess boards can make for very good gift items. You might find this particular market competitive but not when you are innovative with your chess board designs such that they stand out and are very appealing.
31. Wooden Trees
A lot of people use these to decorate their homes and some use them as Christmas trees during the festive season. They may come in small table-top sizes, or in large standing sizes. Wooden trees are easy to make and can be sold for good money.
32. Wooden table coasters
Once again, table coasters are an essential household item. It’s a great idea to make table coasters out of wood. People buy lots of them and you can offer a lot of options in design, quality, material and workmanship. Wood table coaster is a high selling woodcraft and that requires relatively very little effort and time to make.
33. Wooden eyeglass case
Eye glass cases that are made from wood are quite popular. However, there are a few challenges that you are going to face. Eyeglasses come in all shapes and sizes. So you are going to have to decide what the shape and the size of your wooden eyeglass case is going to be. You may take the approach of making 3 to 4 different sizes or you could make one generic popular one.
Better yet, you can start your collection with one size and then expand your collection to include more as time goes on. You might even take custom orders for this wood craft item. As people use eyeglass cases to protect their expensive glasses, this means that your wooden eyeglass case will be required to have the proper finishing with adequate contouring and padding to ensure that it also protects its delicate contents.
34. Wooden CD and DVD shelves and stands
In recent times, digital music has gained a lot of popularity. However, physical music and movie storage like CDs and DVDs are still popular but they have to fight a battle with the digital media. People who buy movies and music on the CDs and DVDs definitely like to have a good place to store them. Making absolutely simple wood CD and DVD stands and racks to meet the high demand is a great idea.
You will find that you have a ready flock of customers who are willing to buy this product from you at a great price. CD and DVD shelves are utility items and therefore do not have to be very fancy. However your quality in both workmanship and the material will often enable you to fetch a premium price.
35. Wooden paperweights
This is a very basic idea for a wood craft project that you can sell in your local flea market. All you need to do is essentially make something with a bit of weight in wood. There are many ways you can go about doing this. For example you can simply take a piece of wood in some rich texture. In order to further beautify it, you can cut it into intricate shapes and then finish it with a polish.
You can also make some engravings in it, in order to increase its aesthetic value. You can also make a paperweight that doubles as a small box. Just like in most wood craft items, the options of designs will be numerous. But the one thing that they would probably share in common is that it will be a simple woodcraft that costs very little and sells a lot. You can expect to put a good profit margin on this item since there is a lot of scope for fancy craftsmanship without increasing the cost of materials and tools.
36. Small wooden shelves
These are a kind of wooden shelve that are attached to walls for the purpose of displaying and keeping small objects. They can be used virtually everywhere in the house from bedrooms to bathrooms to living rooms and the kitchen. The designs are extremely basic. There is a wooden platform that has supports under it which adjoins it to the wall.
You can make this in a very basic form or put fancy touches by carving and engraving design elements to it. These basic wooden wall shelves are something that literally sells on display. Someone just has to look at them and they can instantly imagine a place and a need for such an item in their homes.
37. Wooden laptop trays
There are actually a lot of things that you can make on the lines of a wooden tray. A modern version office wood craft product can be a laptop tray. People are constantly looking for something to put their laptops on when sitting down with them in order to avoid direct contact with the heated machine. Wood serves as an excellent insulation material for this purpose.
These wooden laptop trays can also be used when putting the laptop on couches and other soft surfaces. They would keep the laptop cool and hence protect it from overheating. Many people also prefer to use desktop stands while using their laptop on tables simply because they look great and also add comfort to use.
38. Serving Trays
Wooden trays are an evergreen item; as long as the designs are beautiful, people would always buy them. Serving trays are usually sought by restaurants, gift shops and regular people.
39. Armchair shelves and side rests
Both these wooden products are a good concept that is received very well with customers. Armchair shelves are small shelves that people can put adjacent to their favorite armchair. They are meant to hold small things of frequent use like books, coffee cups et al. Arm rest trays work on almost the same principle. Wooden side rests converts the arm of any couch or armchair into resting platforms.
People love this product because they can then use the armchair as a platform to put their cup of tea, remotes, laptops and other things that they might be using at that moment. Although you do not need to create anything fancy, the quality of build and material will have to be dependable.
40. IPod and Device Stand
IPod stand is a utility decor item and is widely used in both homes and offices. Wooden iPod stand is an innovative product and also is a very attractive one. You can make this product with simple tools. With the widespread of iPod, smart phones and other devices, wooden iPod stand is indeed an environmentally-friendly stand that you can make and get rich.
41. Piggy Banks
A lot of people use and even buy piggy banks for their children in order to encourage a culture of saving. You can make piggy banks with lovely designs that you can sell to students, parents, or even supply to local stores around you in wholesale quantities.
42. Stationery Holders
You can create small stationary organizers that can be used to organize and store stationeries neatly.
43. Wooden Phone Amplifiers
Wooden phone amplifiers help to boost sound emanating from a mobile phone when you place the mobile phone inside them. A lot of people would love to buy this smart gadget that doesn’t even take so much time or effort to create.
44. Salt and Pepper Shakers
Almost everyone needs these in their homes. You can create beautiful salt and pepper shakers and sell them at flea markets.
45. Paper Towel Holder
Another idea is to create paper towel holders. People can use these in their toilets or kitchens, or gift them to other people during holidays or festive periods.
46. Boot or Shoe Jacks
Instead of struggling with taking tight-fitting shoes or boots off, your customers can easily use these boot or shoe jacks to remove them mechanically.
47. Knife Blocks
Attractive knife blocks command a lot of money in the market place. You may have to purchase some knives to place in the box. You can sell your knife block for between $30 and $100 depending on the quality of the wood and knives.
48. Wooden Hanging Swing
Home owners put these in their terrace or gardens and they command good prices in the market even though they can be very easy to make by anyone who has knowledge of wood crafting.
49. Toothbrush Holders
Another wooden bathroom supply is toothbrush holder. Toothbrush holders can be used to organize the family’s set of toothbrushes and keep them safe from exposure to germs. Wooden toothbrush holders are more durable than the common plastic ones so this item is guaranteed to be a best seller.
50. Cake/Pastry Stand
Making and selling cake or pastry stands are also a great wood craft project idea. People that deal in cakes and pastry will be very eager to get their hands on this item.
In conclusion, one of the main benefits of the wood craft business is that you can easily start it from the wood shop in your home. With these wood craft ideas, you can be on your way to becoming your own boss. A lot of people prefer to buy handcrafted items whenever they can.
Build your inventory with small craft items until you get your business going; then you can move on to the larger items once you’ve developed a reputation for quality products. In order to succeed in making and selling wood craft items, you should be imaginative and creative and constantly come up with designs that your customers will not only appreciate but be willing to spend their money on.