Welcome back to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast, today we are pleased to welcome Cameron Porter of Cammie’s Garage!
Cammie’s garage started back in 2017 when Cameron and his wife bought their home. Previous to that Cameron had graduated from the University of South Carolina with an art degree, and had a 20 year career in the animation business before he started doing woodwork.
Cameron considers himself an artist primarily and it just so happens that wood is his preferred medium at the moment. Camerons wife saw that he really enjoyed woodworking and he himself had realized there was a passion for it when he was doing his art degree. So when they bought their house, one of the reasons behind their choice was that there was a two and a half car garage Cameron could turn into a workshop.
Preferred Equipment and Pieces
Cameron makes mostly unique art pieces with the lathe as his primary tool. He also will occasionally do commissions. People ask him to do certain things and he considers himself very lucky to be able to create unique art pieces to be enjoyed by art lovers.
When Cameron first started, he was using reclaimed material. Really just stuff that he would find in the neighborhood. His neighbors would be doing renovation projects to their homes and Cameron would literally get wood out of the dumpsters.
If someone was having a tree cut down in his neighborhood, they’d leave logs by the street and Cameron would pick up a log here and there and use the greenwood.
Now he purchases lumber from a local sawmill. Cameron notes that he’s also gotten many scraps from friends, and local woodworkers. Cameron is really concerned about the environment, and his wife is a climate scientist, so those are the types of things that are on his mind when he uses reclaimed material. Cameron hates to generate waste, and likes to keep things out of the landfill if possible.
The Business Model
Currently Cameron uses an online store to facilitate his sales. He sells through Etsy, does commissions and will also find customers occasionally through Instagram or email.
In terms of Cameron’s demographic he says it is mostly middle aged, middle class people that are just art lovers.
Cameron says he was able to grow his Instagram because he started re-editing his YouTube videos for Instagram, because he was listening to podcasts like this one and they would talk about how to grow. So Cameron decided to edit his videos down to one minute and when he started posting them on his feed and many went viral.
From there, a lot of videos got millions, if not 10’s of millions of views. They were shared on Reddit, Facebook, and other profiles on Instagram. Every single day multiple Instagram profiles are sharing Cameron’s work, even videos that he posted over a year ago are still getting reposted by other people. Unfortunately the algorithm stopped pushing Cameron’s work and he saw a bit of a delay in his growth for some time.
Still, this woodpreneur wants to encourage people to use social media. He recalls he even said to his wife, while they were talking about it the other day how one should use all the features of the platform, and Cameron recognizes that he hasn’t been doing that.
Sponsorship Opportunities and Great Brands
Uneeda approached Cameron initially because of the reach he has on Instagram and they were interested in having him try their product because Cameron is a woodworker and does a lot of sanding.
Cameron found that the products Uneeda sent him were lasting much longer than the ones he had been using, and that they felt better and more durable, just a better product overall. Cameron notes how pleased he is to have them as a partner and how finding a product that really made a difference for him that he could get behind was ideal.
Another deciding factor for Cameron was that they were really easy to work with. When he talked to a representative there, they did a handshake deal and she was really easy going, and willing to make some custom products that would suit Cammie’s Garage.
The Future for Cammie’s Garage
Cameron is editing and releasing a video about his latest epoxy adventure and he wants to do more power carving in the near future because he recently got some new tools for it. He also wants to continue doing segmented woodturning.
For Steve’s Marketing advice segment Cameron asks for advice trying to reach his target audience and notes he thinks it may be best if he has a gallery to represent him.
Steve suggests the Dream 100 Method, a strategy where you compile a list of the top 100 brands, or in this case galleries, that you want to work with and you pitch yourself and follow up with them until you get a meeting.
Steve also suggests having different tiers that appeal to different demographics. Someone may not be able to afford a $10,000 table, but they may be able to afford a $150 cutting board. For the people that can’t afford the $150 cutting board, they can still buy the $20 t-shirt, having those small options there because people want to support you is crucial.
Finally, Steve also suggests that Cameron get off Etsy, or start slowly moving off of Etsy and start developing his own platform, and collecting email addresses.
To see more from Cammie’s garage check out the links below!
Instagram: @CammiesGarage
YouTube: Cammie’s Garage
Thank you Uneedainc for sponsoring this episode of The Woodpreneur Podcast.