Cork? An opportunity?

[Cliff Wilson]

Today, I had my third person request a cork board with a "nice" frame for their home office. They picked the Larson Malabar 3 1/4" moulding for a 4' x 6' job. (Also, had one who wanted a white board.) I have a source and have been acquiring them fine. But, ...

The last customer came in for a poster framed and asked about cork. Said he had been "all over the place" looking for "nice" cork boards and none were nice and none were large enough. My question is ... Do any of you sell/market custom cork boards as a "publicized" item? How successsful? There is some indication this could be interesting??

Thanks, Cliff

[volksgirlie]

I frame at a BB (Hobby Lobby...don't shoot me) and we have made and framed more corkboards in the past year than I have in the 9 years I've been framing. We usually take a roll of cork (24"x around 8 feet) and mount it to foamboard. The only problem is if the customer wants it to be wider than the 24'...cork doesn't splice nicely.

[Bork]

I have made few pretty large "cork boards" substituting cork with 1/2" f/c board with drymounted on it colored fabric. Thus, instead of uncheerful cork I offer a board with a color and a texture that is harmonized with the customer's home decor. Also, I have made few combination boards -- half f/c and half chalk board or a magnetic board. I call them- "Communication center" ;) I use a "T"shape plastic molding (Home Deport) to cover the split between the boards.

Bork

[framah]

The other substrate you can use is homasote board. It is made from recycled newspaper which is why it is gray color. In my exhibit building days, that's all we ever used for boards for tacking stuff up. We also wrapped all sorts of fabric onto it for bases in exhibit cases in museums. It takes a thumbtack really well. I also wrapped sheets of the stuff with velcro fabric and then screwed them to my wall for my corner samples. Then I built the addition onto my house using homasote and my hot glue gun. Sure hope it doesn't rain!! :rolleyes:

[Jerry Ervin]

Originally posted by volksgirlie:
The only problem is if the customer wants it to be wider than the 24'...cork doesn't splice nicely. Welcome to the Grumble volksgirlie!

Do they not make the cork panels wider than 24 inches? I remember large panels that were mounted on the walls in the 70s, I was a young child, that were maybe 4 x 8 foot. But there were maybe 1/2 inch thick. I bet somebody has 3 or 4 foot wide stuff somewhere.

[volksgirlie]

Thanks for the welcome! At HL, we have to use what the store has to offer...and that's the roll I mentioned earlier.

The hubby and I were in Concord for my recertification last month...lovely city!

Cindy

[Cliff Wilson]

Actually, I have found a source for 48" cork rolls, or 48" x up to 12' pressed board backed boards. In fact there are a couple of sources and I will probably do some price comparison if I decide this makes sense.

My question was more a business question than a techical one. (Maybe I should try the other forum?) What I am really wrestling with is ... If I order/stock cork and backing material (of any kind) is there sufficient volume to warrant the investment?

Now volksgirlie says her shop have made and framed more corkboards in the past year than I have in the 9 years I've been framing. This is obviously a possitive statement. How many roughly per month is that?

Thanks, And Welcome to The Grumble!
Cliff

[DonB]

While doing a little research on the net over the weekend I found "Shareboards". These folks obviously think there's a market for upscale bulletin boards. Here's their URL -

www.shareboards.com (http://www.shareboards.com)

Pretty slick site showing many of their boards. They come right out and say up front "Shareboards cost much more to make than plain bulletin boards".

Then they tell why - their "high end" mouldings, unique design, manufacturing process, "finest self-leveling system" (Wallbuddies??) and build a case for why they are worth the extra $$$. Some price info is there too - I saw one $400+.

Most of their products should be relatively easy for most frame shops to produce.

Pretty interesting.