Creating Mementos

Works from our hands to becoming cherished memories in their new home. News and views from the DustyNewt Workshop 04/16/2025

Apr 16, 2025

Temp: Currently 79 degrees. High of 84 today 😎
Humidity: 2 on the “Soup” scale. (1=light broth, 5=thick chowder)
Today’s Playlist: 90s Grunge shuffle.
Conditions: Picture Perfect!
Estimated Travel Time: 18 seconds
Food: Sausage and toast & banana… Eggs and Breakfast for supper? Mmmmm….
Coffee Level: 1/2 Tank

On the Workbench…

Along with the orders you see in the “Sneak Peek” Slideshow (below), I finally addressed the rotting front porch column. The bulk of the work is done. Just trim and paint left to do. I will post fully when it is completed. Stay tuned…

Here is a before photo…

Sneak Peek Slideshow

Here is a quick view of the orders carved and shipped from my DustyNewt workshop this week.

Creating Mementos

We tend to collect a lot of stuff in our travels through this life. Taken as a whole, they are overwhelming. But when you narrow your focus to an individual item, you will recall the reason you saved it. Trinkets, along with aromas and musical passages, bring back memories of a moment that was meaningful to us.

“My cousin found me this Olive wood bowl in Istanbul.”

“My Grandma gave me this keychain when I first got my driver’s license.”

“This pillow is covered with my Grandpa’s favorite flannel shirt.”

Most people have them, even non-hoarding minimalists. To friends and family, these items may be meaningless junk, with no “real” value to anyone else, but they are treasures to their owners. Our hoards become a museum to ourselves. So, don’t be judgmental of others.

Whether it is an unfired 38 caliber bullet that you picked up while getting moon-tanned on Harney Peak at 2 am, a shark’s tooth you found on Venice Beach with long time friends, or a pair of boots that you hitchhiked across country in. Mementos are the hard proof that we (or someone close to us) went through something monumental. A reminder to give us strength, peace and courage to face the future.

“Where’d all this stuff come from?!”

Mementos come in various forms. They can be a cheap plastic mirror dangler in your car or a diamond studded belly ring. Its real value is in its provenance. It commemorates a time when you overcame, conquered and/or celebrated your strength.

A FREE subscription gets all of my NEW posts.
I publish every Wednesday afternoon (4:00 pm-ish).
Please subscribe to get it sent directly to your email.
If you enjoy what you read and would like to access my archives, I will still happily accept “Paid” subscriptions and tips through my “Buy Me a Coffee” account. I appreciate the encouragement.

Making Memories

As a maker of quality items, it is a wonderful thing to discover your items have become (or are destined to become) mementos. Three or four times a year, we get emails from customers we created for, twenty or thirty years ago, wanting to replace their lost name keychain or pass a new memory on as a gift.

*Oak Keychains for a retreat center in New Mexico.*

Any occasion, depending on its importance to the holder, can cause a bauble to become a memento. Weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and holidays are common occasions that need “markers”. But there are more personal life events that also rank memento status… overcoming a vice, passing that test or the death of a loved one.

We regularly do batches of personalized, carved chopsticks for wedding parties and corporate dinners. They may only be used once or twice, but they will be held in memorandum of the event. Because of their labor-intensive process and uniqueness, we do not discount chopsticks (but you can always ask).

I have seen an uptick in “Memory” items on Etsy. These are usually items like Teddy bears, pillow covers, and keychains, using the buyer supplied treasured shirt or blanket.

I once had a client send me a box of rough-cut oak and had me carve 50+ name keychains from the downed tree that their great-great-grandfather had planted on the family homestead in Virginia. They were given as favors at the next family reunion.

We have found it prudent to read and consider each customer’s requests. The idea for our carved name chopsticks, which are now our best seller, came in 2014 from a request that I found in my “Spam” file. Our 2-Liner keychains came about similarly. Listen to your audience. They will tell you what they are looking for. Your job is to visualize what it will entail for you to produce or reproduce it (if you can).

The only time I will attempt to copy another artist’s style is when attempting to replace a customer’s similar memento that has been lost or broken. I will get an email or message with a pretty bad photo of the item (because, Who takes pictures of keychains?) requesting that I match it. I consider each by wood, size and methodology to make it. I cannot always help them, but will try to steer them in the right direction if I can.

Potential Markets for Mementos

Campgrounds, resorts, bars and restaurants have been a great source of income for us. They order in discounted batches and resell them as point-of-purchase items at their cash register or in their “Mini Bars” along with a cold Pepsi and bag of salty nuts. Some even give them away as mementos of their visit.

We currently have over a dozen customers that have been batching with us for over ten years. They may only order two or three times a year, but they sure help keep the lights on during slower months. However, we cannot do any batch discounting during the holiday season (October - December) when we are barely keeping up with singular orders.

*Wedding party place setting with our chopsticks.*

Party/Wedding planners and Caterers should be aware of you and your work. We have three that regularly contact us for their events. They budget in the cost of party favors when working up their per-person quote to their clients.

School Fundraisers were a boon to us in our initial plunge into selling online. I designed order forms for the kids to sell our custom made Name Keychains and keep 50% of the proceeds for their particular cause. The teachers that organized the “sales” were flexible and open-minded and used to dealing with the work-arounds that their system required. The kids and families loved them and it was highly successful. We stopped doing this about ten years ago, as the red tape that the schools required became too thick for us. If you are good at left-brained paperwork, this is an avenue that you can pursue. I am not.

Visit My ETSY SHop

I currently sell my work on Etsy ONLY. Beware of spoof sites, using my photos and descriptions. You will be disappointed ordering from them.