Production Enterprise

Production Enterprise is more than just a class—it's a hands-on crash course in entrepreneurship. We don’t just talk about how businesses run, we build them from the ground up. From branding and budgeting to product development and marketing, every step is student-driven. It’s where creativity meets strategy, and passion becomes a product.

My small business, Caleb’s Crafts, was born right in that classroom. At first, it was just a name—but behind the scenes, there was real work happening. I had to design my logo, calculate cost and revenue projections, source materials, and learn how to use the tools in our Makerspace Lab to bring my ideas to life. I researched which products were in demand, prototyped different crafts, and tested what would appeal to my audience. Then came packaging, setting up for online and in-person sales, and creating promotional materials to market my brand. Every decision, from color palettes to pricing strategy, was mine to make.

Through Caleb’s Crafts, I learned that a successful product isn’t just what people see on the table—it’s the long hours of planning, refining, and problem-solving that happen behind the scenes. That’s where the real magic of S.T.E.A.M. lives: in the process.

The Code Behind Caleb's Crafts!

Caleb Martin - Business Cost Tracking

Caleb's Craft's

Caleb's Crafts is a small business filled with charm, specializing in creating unique collectible items that celebrate a variety of themes. The journey of Caleb's Crafts started with making several prototypes, each carefully handcrafted using high-quality materials like basswood plywood, resin, and other elements. We gathered feedback from a diverse group of potential customers to perfect our designs and make sure they appealed to our target market. Through primary research, we identified key customer preferences and trends that shaped our product offerings. By conducting a competitive market analysis, we understood our position in the market and how to stand out from competitors. We calculated unit costs by considering materials, labor, and overhead to ensure our business would be sustainable and profitable. Finally, we determined the list price for each item by balancing our cost calculations with market expectations and the perceived value, making sure every piece not only reflects heritage and authenticity but also offers great value to our customers.

About Caleb's Crafts

Caleb's Crafts is a quaint small business brimming with artisanal charm, specializing in crafting unique collectable items that pay homage to a diverse array of themes. From whimsical figurines to intricate trinket boxes, each creation is meticulously handcrafted using high-quality materials such as basswood plywood, resin, and various other elements. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for creativity, every item exudes a sense of heritage and authenticity, making them cherished keepsakes for any collector. Rooted in a deep love for craftsmanship, each piece is imbued with care and dedication, ensuring that every customer receives a one-of-a-kind treasure to cherish for years to come.

Atlanta Coaster $7

Atlanta Coaster: meticulously crafted from medium basswood plywood and resin, featuring the city skyline scored into the wood with its coordinates engraved for added flair. Celebrate your connection to Atlanta's vibrant energy with this stylish and functional coaster, a testament to Caleb's Crafts' dedication to quality and creativity.

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Packaging Shot

Sports Bag Tag $5

Eagle Head Sports Bag Tag: meticulously cut from medium basswood plywood and stained with a chestnut stained top layer, customized to your chosen sport. This distinctive tag adds a touch of athletic elegance to your gear.

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Atlanta Center Peice $7

Atlanta Heritage Table Centerpiece: a stunning three-layer masterpiece meticulously crafted from medium basswood plywood, plexiglass, and stained wood. Each layer showcases a different facet of Atlanta, evoking a sense of the city's rich heritage and vibrant culture. This exquisite centerpiece not only adds a touch of elegance to any table but also serves as a heartfelt tribute to the essence of Atlanta.

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Star Sign Keychains $2

Zodiac Plexiglass Keychains: crafted from vibrant colored plexiglass, each keychain is customizable to your preferred color and zodiac sign. Whether you're adorning your keyring or personalizing your AirPods case, these stylish accessories allow you to rock your astrological sign with flair, showcasing your individuality while adding a pop of color to your everyday essentials.

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Detail Shot

Lifestyle Shot

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Method of Payment

To the left you will see my Cashapp. I will start making your product as soon as payment is received, and I will contact you as soon as your product is ready for pickup. I am committed to making all orders placed by Wednesday November 8 before Thanksgiving Break. Orders will be hand delivered to staff members or students during our class period or we will have a scheduled pickup day on Thursday November 16 from 3:45 pm until 4:30 pm. For additional orders we will also hold a pickup day on November 30, December 6, and December 13 at the same times.

About the designer

My name is Caleb, I am a Junior at Drew Charter School graduating with the class of 2025 & interested in pursuing law in the future. I have been very passionate in the Production Enterprise Class to come up with different products focused on a specific hyperlocal target market. I hope you enjoy the products & make sure to share with friends & family!! Thank you!!

Coasters Prodject

What is craftsmanship and why is it important when you are making a product you want to sell?

Craftsmanship is the quality of a man-made design/work. Craftmanship can reflect the time and amount of effort that was spent on the product. This is important because the craftsmanship of a product is what will be the main decider in whether your product sells well or not. People want to buy things that look like they were made with effort, not pieces of wood that were haphazardly thrown together.

Rating my craftmanship on my coasters.

6/10 Due to some difficulties I had with the router tool some of my coaster's corners are chipped. I also accidentally sanded off some of the glaze on my coaster by sanding the wrong side when i was doing the finishing touches. I liked how the woods contrasted each other

Process 1) I sketched out the design I wanted for my coasters, and listed the woods I would use and the patterns I wanted

2) After deciding what woods I was going to use I took them over to the table saw where I cut them down to optimal sizes for my coasters.

3) 1 used the Miter saw to cut my wood even shorter so that It could be easier to work with

4) After my wood was cut exactly how I wanted I glued them together side by side and clamped them so that they would glue together frimly

5) During the following class period (2 days later) I took off the clamps and sent my now glued together woods through the planer-which flattened my wood so that all of the pieces were an even height and none of the wood was uneven.

6) Since my wood was now perfectly even I used the table saw sled to cut the wood into 4 even squares, and threw away the little bit of extra wood.

7) Once my squares were done I began to use the router table, which allowed me to customize the corners of my coasters and make them smoother.

8) When all the woodwork was done I moved on to the finishing process, first I water popped my coasters by spraying water on both sides, leaving it to dry, and sanded them smooth again, then the next class period we moved on to glazing. I used a paintbrush to evenly spread the glaze across my coasters then left them to dry. I did the same thing on the other side of my coasters the next class and sanded off the extra dust that had been picked up as the glaze dried.

Unit Cost Coaster's

Unit Cost - Coasters

Resin Project

Pattern: A pattern is a recurring and recognizable arrangement or design characterized by the repetition of specific elements or attributes. Giving my art piece you can see the pattern through the dog bones in the center of the Paw.

Emphasis: Emphasis is the special focus given to a particular element or aspect to make it stand out or be more noticeable within a context. I made sure to include emphasis by adding a big red heart to emphasize & commemorate the love and the entire idea behind the dog paw ornament.

Balance: Balance is the state of equal space achieved by the equal distribution of weight, elements, or forces, ensuring stability and coherence. You can see the balance as well as the symmetry in the center of my dog paw and how each bone is set specifically to be symmetrical on both sides as well as to bring emphasis Into the Heart.

Element of design

Shape: The concept of symmetry revolves around creating an equal space, where the elements on one side of an artwork mirror those on the other side. Achieving this balance necessitates an adequate space & spatial context for you to be able to replicate my forms & patterns. This spatial allocation not only adds an aesthetic appeal but also instills a sense of space and balance, drawing the viewer's eye and evoking a feeling of stability and completeness in my dog paw Ornament.

Hyperlocal Target Market

Understanding your target market is very significant when making an item. It is the key to creating a successful marketing strategy and ensuring the item's appeal to the right audience. Given we are using a hyperlocal target market which will be the Kirkwood & Edgewood area, during my brainstorming process I thought about what is something I know that people in this area really love. Dogs!!! With this idea I began to brainstorm what will be the best way to carry out this idea and what will be the purpose so I created a dog paw ornament so your dog can leave a mark on this year's Christmas tree and throughout the New year.

Design Process

Brief

For this project we are tasked to use wood and resin and create a product that can be remade using resin and 1 one of the techniques practiced in class or trying a new method given we start off with a prototype. We also had to research our product to make sure it is not only reproducible but it focuses on a hyperlocal target market while tying in our elements and principles of design, making sure its profitable & in the end, present 3 exact replicas of our products ready to sell.

Dog Paw Ornemet

Research Idea

Research was the start of my project. My idea was to create a dog, their own personal touch to put on this year's Christmas tree and the idea was a signature paw print but I needed to research what I want in a paw print and how I was going to incorporate resin into this design.

Development/Sketch

A couple of my sketches are shown here to give a rough design of what all I want to be in my paw print, and what Vision do I want to portray throughout the paw print.

Prototype

Here are some of my prototypes and ideas that were being worked on. My goal was to find a design that I liked but also find a design that was able to be replicable and easy for resin to be poured into each spot.

Dog Paw feedback

Feedback/Evaluate

For feedback on my project I discussed between the members at my table to figure out what could be done better and how could we make it physically more attractive and easier for the resin to be poured.

Product Photo's

This is my Dog Paw ornament guaranteed to let your dog leave a mark on this year's tree and throughout the new year. It shows off different elements of the winter season as well as the year and a pattern with emphasis to show how much your dog really means to you the spatial allocation on the paw not only adds an aesthetic appeal but also instills a sense of space and balance, drawing the viewer's eye to the center heart of the paw and evoking a feeling of stability and completeness in your Dog Paw Ornament.

Unit Cost

Resin: $0.22

Plywood: $0.30

Acrylic Paint: $0.03

Acrylic Paint: $0.02

Plastic String: $0.01

Total: $0.58

Resin

One gallon of resin is $54.99. I believe I could create over 250 ornament's with one set of resin. This means the $54.99/250=$0.22 is my unit cost for resin (per ornament)

Plywood

One pack of 12x12 sheets used to make my ornaments contains 16 sheets. I believe I can make 5 ornament's per sheet. This means I can make 5x16=80 per pack. This means $23.99/80=$0.30 is my unit cost for plywood (per ornament).

Acrylic Paint

16 ounces of Acrylic paint used to make the ornaments is $15.24. I believe I could make 500 ornament's per bottle. This means $15.24/500=0.03 is my unit cost for paint (per ornament).

Acrylic Paint

16 ounces of Acrylic paint used to make the ornaments is $15.24. I believe I could make 900 ornament's per bottle. This means $15.24/900=0.02 is my unit cost for paint (per ornament).

Plastic String

100 yd. Plastic String used to make the ornament's is $6.00 If I cut 8 inch strings for each ornament I can make 450 ornament's per spool. This means $6.00/450=0.01 is my unit cost for string (per ornament).

Labor Costs

For my hourly rate, I would like to get paid at least $18.50 per hour. At the conclusion of my project,I am even, but now that I have been able to find an effective rhythm to complete the ornaments neatly and quickly. I believe I can make 1 batch of 10 ornaments in about 2 total hours (1 class period & 30 mins). To do this, I will use the file I have already created, and cut out 10 ornaments on 2 sheets of plywood back to back on the laser cutter. I will then mix the resin in the 12 minute duration it takes to cut 10 ornaments. To follow that I will pour the resin in all 10. Then cut the plastic string to length. This can all happen in one class period. The following class period I will peel back the tape and burn the ends of the plastic string together through the hole to finish the ornament.This means 2 hours x 18.50/hour = $37. I can make 10 ornaments for $37 in labor. This means $37/10 = $3.70 per ornament.

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