Hey all, sorry for the lack of replies, it's been a busy weekend.
First off - difference between Gibbs and R&B. For me, personally, it comes down to 3 main things. Sizing, durability and price. I personally find the Gibbs sizing a little odd on the koho spoon. The ironheads sizing is what you're after, but at over 8 bucks per spoon, they hurt to lose. Probably my biggest two issues with Gibbs are their absolutely terrible hooks they put on, and the fact that their plating and color flakes off after short usage. Maybe they've since corrected the flaking issues, it's been a number of years since I've used them. For the most part, R&B paints will last until you lose the spoon. I'm simply a huge fan of R&B for the fact you can get a genuine silver (or copper, or brass) plated spoon, with good components, for a pretty reasonable price comparable with what you'd pay for a lesser quality spoon at shops.
Ralph, I'm thinking for this year at least, it will only be online. I could likely give an option to meet in person as I live in chilliwack, and it's very easy for me to meet on the Vedder, etc. I also travel to the island often. If I were to put them in shops, we'd be looking at 7-8 bucks a spoon, and they'd want me to match that. I feel better about charging less personally. Shipping would only be around 5 bucks from personal past experiences, unless it's a large order that weighs a lot.
sts - as far as I know, all of the blanks are stamped in the US. The blanks are then sent to Rob who does all of the plating and finishes. As for stock, this year I will most certainly run out based on the interest I've gotten on Instagram, etc vs what I currently can afford to invest. It will take me a while to build inventory, so you're absolutely correct that people will need to buy elsewhere when I run out. My goal eventually would be to have good stock of each finish I want to carry that I'd top up each year to never run out.
If anyone else has any other questions just ask!
Cheers,
Dan