I have high hopes for 2021. Of course, I had high hopes for the year that shall not be named, but the thing about planning is making sure to be flexible. If you can’t adjust then expect disappointment.
My first priority right now is inventory. I keep getting excited about new projects I am working on and want to make the things. However, with the conventions that are already on the books for later this year, and the retail stores that need to be restocked, I have to make sure that boxes are available.
Full disclosure, I did do some redesigns and updates while I had downtime on the cold days. Expect to see a new small box because I just wasn’t too happy with the square box. I just didn’t put a ton of thought into it originally due to the simplicity, I changed it to a rectangle shape to match the medium and large box shapes. Small change but I think I will feel less “meh” about it.
I redesigned the dice slot in the rolling tower. It was never as clean as I wanted it to be, but I have yet to cut the new one so the jury is still out on the result. The benefit to the new slot is sizing. I can now make a smaller tower that matches the dimensions of the redesigned small box and I think it will make a great matching set. I also made a micro tower for fun, but there’s not a lot of micro dice out there so we’ll see how it plays out.
For pending redesigns I have the three piece tower box, and the travel size DM screen. The tower box doesn’t need so much of a redesign, more just figuring out a better way to streamline the build process. It’s a bit tedious right now but I have had people ask me about it so it may become a priority. The DM screen is a similar story. The build process is wonky and I need the pieces to not have tear out in the wood, but I did upgrade the magnets so that feels like progress.
DW is in two retail stores right now, Saltire Games, and Hometown Comics and Games. I am happy with the result of the holiday season, but am unsure about off season sales. Regardless, I will make sure they are stocked with boxes and towers. I also intend to add a couple more stores to the list soon (again, inventory) so if you are local to Indy then go take a look and support your FLGS (friendly local game store, for the muggles).
Conventions are starting to come back, albeit slowly (which I support). InCon and Indy Pop Con in July, and Origins at the end of September. I don’t know how much I can stress the importance of Origins to Dirty Woods, it’s like hitting the big time. I don’t know what other cons will pop up, but I do know that for the most part we are going to try to focus on the ones in state. Connecting to the game community locally has become more important to me over the last two years.
Dirty Woods online footprint is something I have given a lot of thought to lately. I’m not happy with Etsy right now, don’t expect to see listings on there any time soon. Obviously DW is on WordPress, and I’m waiting on a domain transfer so the .net address will be alive again soon. I also plan to list available products on here, once I have more products available (buzz word, inventory). My experience with the FB shops was just ok, it works but there are little things that make it just “meh” overall.
There is more happening behind the scenes at DW but I feel like I’m rambling at this point, and I want to save some for more posts. Feel free to post questions or suggestions. Community input means a lot to me, and is a big factor in what drives Dirty Woods. Also, if you are playing games in person, send me pics of your boxes and towers in action. I love seeing DW stuff “in the wild”
Happy gaming!
Dirty Woods 