Getting a Jump on Christmas

I have a regular customer who is much more forward-thinking than I am.  She recently asked me if I could make something simple that she could give her co-workers as Christmas gifts.  Always up for a challenge, I came up with key rings that could also serve as hands-free cell phone stands.  The beauty of these is that they’re more compact than most phone props you find on Etsy, and easily fit into a purse or pocket.  And since these are each made of a single piece of wood and don’t require the time and work of gluing up multiple pieces, purchasing 20 of them wouldn’t break the bank.

I started out by selecting some nice wood and cutting it to size.  I made a few mock-ups before deciding on 2 ½” in length, 1” wide and ½” in thickness.  I also had to test the depth and width of the dado.  (That’s the slot cut into the side of the stand that holds the phone upright.)  You can see a few of the test pieces in the photo.  I think what I ended up with is the perfect size; shorter than a car key so it doesn’t get bulky in your pocket, but large enough to find by feel if you’re searching for it in your purse.

After cutting all the pieces to size, the real work began.  Sanding, sanding and more sanding.  Whew!  I may be working on Christmas gifts, but the temperature in Southern California in July and August has been hovering in the high nineties to low hundreds.  I do all my sanding by hand.  It may take longer, but each edge is burnished to ensure a smooth feel with no sharp corners.  After sanding comes finishing.  I like Home Depot’s water-based Polyurethane in a satin sheen for finishing my Portable Wine Tables, and I use the same finish on these Key Ring Cell Phone Stands.  I applied 4 coats of poly to each one, for a nice smooth.  All that was left was to screw in the eye screw and add the split ring to hold the keys.

Tell me what you think.  Is this something I should offer for sale on the website?