Resin Tables: Kick-off Idea!

This post is long overdue.. but it's better late than never.

About a month ago, I was on Facebook Marketplace trying to flip the used dining table set I had bought when I just moved in. While I was there, I noticed another posting from someone in the neighbouring city just 30 minutes east of where I live that caught my attention. This person was selling a custom built river resin coffee table for around $900.

A light bulb moment. At this point it was mid February 2022 and I'm looking for ideas on side hustles to build. After spending the last 1-2 months always hawking Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace for furniture deals to furnish my place, furniture flipping was one of the ideas in mind. But this one was a lot more strenuous on me physically and sometimes hard on my back.

Seeing the resin table gave me a great idea. I've done a bit of work with epoxy resin in the past (to do a custom design of a skateboard). With some quick 5 minute Google searches, I was estimating that 1 coffee table would take about $300 in materials to build.  Approximately: $50 for wood, $50 for table legs, $150 for resin, $50 for other misc. parts and materials. (Update: these numbers are not that accurate, but we'll do a detailed number break down in a later post citing material sources and everything).

With some fun creativity, hands-on wood working, and patience, that's a rough profit margin of $600 for a coffee table. Side tables, dining tables, benches, etc. could be added to the list of options too. Doing custom client requested designs. Variations in colours, wood patterns, and more. I could even add resin abstract paintings to the arsenal at a later point. Extend my reach by offering delivery and setting up ecommerce platforms such as a Shopify store or Etsy. The details are naïve, fuzzy and vague. But it's an idea that can expand, and that's an idea I can get behind.