In 2024, we decided to get a laser engraving machine to make some items for our Woodside Cat Trees business, plus have a play around to see what other things it could do. To our delight, we found out that the machine could do so much more than we ever imagined!
In April 2024, we acquired our very first laser engraving machine. Our goal was to produce labels for our cat trees, as we had been hand stamping them before. With a background in engineering, IT, and design, Ady quickly mastered the machine along with its settings and software. This sparked our creativity, leading us to conduct various tests to explore its capabilities. Simultaneously, Theresa took the initiative to explore AI design creation to enrich our other projects and crafts.
- By mid-2024: We dedicated time to refining the images and organising them into collections, preparing to create sets of coasters and concepts for various other products.
We also decided to design a clock for our Woodside Cat Trees workshop, featuring four of our charming wide-eyed cat illustrations.
Our coasters have been highlighted on two YouTube channels: Joey Does Tech in the UK and Mr Paul L Daniels - PLD Live in Australia. We provided them with small gift packages that featured coasters adorned with their logos and other creative designs.
We have also been commissioned by several clients to create personalized bookmarks as gifts for teachers at the end of the school year and for birthdays. Each bookmark was customised with a name and an image that we designed to align with the individual's hobbies or interests.
- In the second half of 2024: One of the staff members at Future Radio commissioned us to create a set of four granite coasters that prominently display the Future Radio logo for use within the station.
We were thrilled to be featured on YouTube once more, sending a congratulatory gift package to Joey Does Tech for hitting 50K subscribers, which contained a framed mirrored 50K plaque, keyrings, magnets, and a personalised jigsaw puzzle. He also shared some of items with family and friends.
As an addition to our collection of stud and hanging earrings, we expanded and began to develop a new line of laser-engraved jewellery.
- 10 September 2024: We created our Woodside Gifts Facebook page, opened a store on Folksy, and developed a one-page website for Woodside Gifts so that we could have a dedicated online presence and, in the future, an online store for the gifts side of our business.
We were tasked with creating custom keyrings and fridge magnets for Hallswood Animal Sanctuary, located in Norwich, Norfolk
- 10 October 2024: We invested in a second and larger laser engraving machine, which enables us to do larger projects.
December 2024 and into 2025 - the next phase: Next blog entry!!