Changes on the Way and Christmas Market

On the 14th and 15th of December, I had the opportunity to showcase my products for the first time at a Christmas market in Estoril. Despite the cold weather and the few visitors, my presence there was very enlightening in relation to many issues.

Starting with the presence of two other "stalls" with laser-engraved products, this, in a small fair with about 20 stalls in total. It is clear that this technology is here to stay and that it is being embraced by many Portuguese people.

Secondly, by chance, the little square where the fair was taking place had a wooden toy shop (and others) right in front of it. It was something that really interested me and I immediately went to take a look to see what they had and what kind of prices they charged for what they offered. I managed to chat a little with the shop owner about this issue of toys, construction, brands, what customers expect, etc. The conversation was short but enlightening. I remembered a few names of some Portuguese toy manufacturers and especially one name that kept coming up during the conversation, due to the notoriety and excellence of the brand - Maileg.

As soon as I had some time, I immediately looked up what it was all about and what the brand sold. I was fascinated by all the little houses and accessories and all the toys they sold. I could see why they mentioned it repeatedly during the conversation. The prices were a little higher than reasonable for a Portuguese consumer, but it was justifiable, given that the company is Danish and obviously, for them, the prices end up being acceptable. I spent a lot of time browsing their website and all the products until I decided to click on the information button to see the dimensions of each one. This is where all my surprise went down the drain, immediately after the dimensions, there was a field saying that it was made in China. I was disappointed, but I thought it was just a one-off. I started looking at the houses, the other accessories and everything I saw, it was made in China and not in Denmark as would be expected, considering the prices and the nationality of the brand.

This small coincidence ended up becoming something much bigger. I started looking for other brands of supposedly handmade baby products, products that I had bought for my children, and I noticed that they were also produced in China or Asia, as many people end up saying so as not to specify the country. Basically, we are talking about European companies where only the headquarters and marketing are truly European, because the product is manufactured on another continent, at obviously very low prices, thus having a huge profit margin.

However, I could end here, but no 😅 I started looking for suppliers of wooden products and toys in bulk. I found several websites in this field, practically all based in China, and I was surprised when I saw so many products being sold in online stores or even physical stores for ridiculous prices. Wooden games for just over €1, so you can't buy them individually, but always in absurd quantities.

This is where I started to think a little about my work, my products, prices and what I offer in my online store. I often felt pressure to have low prices to compete with X or Y store, because I didn't understand how they could have X product with a colorful finish and everything else at prices that would be unthinkable for me, and I realized that there doesn't have to be this competition after all. I work with raw materials purchased in Portugal, with the costs here, I spend my time designing, designing and prototyping all the new products, and then I'm also the one who executes all the orders received. Obviously, it's impossible to compete with these markets, especially in terms of price, which is why practically all my products available in store will be revised, some with more radical design changes, others with minor changes, all with the focus on the best possible product, without wanting to compete with the prices of other brands supplied externally.

There are a lot of changes on the way, starting in January 😊 Happy entries and many thanks to everyone who made this work of mine possible.