Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Enchanted Forest Modular Collection - Q&A #1 - What's The Difference Between the Enchanted Tree Stump & the Enchanted Stump Tower?

This is a very good question.  The main difference between the 2 designs is the number of exposed upper levels, and available listed options.  With the "Enchanted Tree Stump," there are options to make it 24" diameter and up to 86" tall (7' 2"), and you can also add the tapered bottom, like the "Enchanted Stump Tower" has by default.  However, with the "Enchanted Tree Stump" the 2 highest levels would have one completely circular floor with the half-level "balcony" just under the hole in the top of the stump shape.  With the "Enchanted Stump Tower"  there would be a longer vertical cut in the tube that allows for one open floor and 2 balconies, the lower of which is larger in size with a shape that is like half of a Yin-Yang.  This shape makes it easier for cats to jump up to the lower larger balcony while providing a large surface to sprawl out on.  But, since the tube is 24" diameter, the width of the top-most balcony will be substantially larger than the standard size for the "Enchanted Tree Stump", which is 16" diameter.

I'm actually thinking about modifying the listing for the "Enchanted Stump Tower" to allow customers to choose how many fully enclosed levels they will have versus the number of exposed balcony levels.  We both know that cats love to climb and jump to high elevations, and some cats prefer not to be in enclosed spaces, while others enjoy the privacy and quietness of enclosed private condos.  Some customers may also prefer to have more exposed balcony levels so they can observe their cats better.  The tubes are 1/4" thick rigid cardboard.  When I make any "Enchanted Stump Tower" the majority of the cut-out will be a half tube, except for the very top where it rounds-out just above the hole.  With the wood for each balcony being attached to the tube with several screws, this will maintain a tremendous amount of strength regardless of how many exposed balcony levels a customer orders.

One more difference between the 2 designs is that the "Enchanted Stump Tower" includes the tapered bottom in the base price, rather than it being an add-on cost to include the taper with the "Enchanted Tree Stump".  The "Enchanted Stump Tower" is only available in the 24" diameter size, whereas the "Enchanted Tree Stump is available in 16", 18", 20" & 24" diameter.

This week, I will be working on making a mold for a 16" diameter tapered trunk bottom.  So, I am now allowing customers to order the taper for 16" & 24" stumps.  Eventually, I will make molds for 18" and 20" diameter tapers, as well.  But, the time and cost to develop these molds is substantial.  So, this has to be done over time.

Lastly, the maximum number of "tree fungus steps" that can be ordered on the "Enchanted Tree Stump" is 5.  With the "Enchanted Stump Tower" the maximum is 7.  If a customer wants to order additional steps on either product design, they can make a request for it.  The cost per step is $40.  Although this may seem pricey, each step added to an order means that I have to cut the carpet on the stump around the profile where the step attaches to the stump.  This is a lot of extra work.  Also, each of the steps is cut from 3 pieces of wood and the parts must be joined together and hardware fitted and installed so that customers can do the assembly themselves.

The good news is that when you order a few modules and include the "Enchanted Forest Canopy Tree" or large "Enchanted Thriving Stump" there is enough room in the shipping crate under tree branches to allow me to ship the either of the stump designs with the tree fungus steps already attached, for the most part.  However, ordering an "Enchanted Forest Canopy Tree" in the 24" diameter size with the taper AND another module with a 24" diameter taper would require a larger pallet.  Each of these large tapered bottoms is about 35" in width.  So, 2 of them side-by-side would be almost 6' wide.

Any way you slice it, the modules are far superior to ordering from the original "Enchanted Forest Kitty Sanctuary" listing.  But, there are options in the sanctuary listing that allow for a single smaller base with whatever elements are desired.  A good example of this is shown in the photos in which a customer ordered a small canopy tree with a small stump next to it on a single smaller base.  This was custom-built to fit a very tight space between a book self and a couch in her apartment.  So, for homes with very limited space, the modules take up too much floor space to be feasible.

To guarantee that all modules will fit together in all 6 rotations and in any order, the modules must all have bases that are completely identical in size and shape.  This can never deviate, or modules would not tile flawlessly together.  I created a stencil for these bases, which was designed in a 3D program and printed out on large paper and transferred to a plastic sheet to make the stencil.  I will always be using this stencil for all modules for as long as I am in business.  So, if you order additional modules 10 years from now, they will fit together perfectly every time with existing modules that you already have.

The wavy hexagon shaped base for any module is about 47" in diameter (point-to-point) - just shy of 4 feet from point-to-point, and about 40" from inner curve to the opposite inner curve.  To place 3 modules in a straight line, as shown in the main photo on the site, the approximate total width is 130", which is 10' 10" (2" shy of 11 feet across, width-wise).  The standard size for a single "static" sanctuary base is about 10' 2".  But, the shipping costs for a huge base of this size would be much higher than a stack of three modular bases vertically placed in the front of the shipping crate.  Also, a "static" sanctuary cannot be broken-up, rearranged, or added to later.

The "Enchanted Forest Modular Collection" is the most versatile cat furniture collection I have ever developed.  As the collection grows with new designs, eventually there will be over 30 available modules in the collection.  Currently, there are 19 of them on the site to choose from.  If you have an idea for a custom module, feel free to go to https://www.hollywoodkittyco.com/for-cats/custom-design-service-cats.html  to have the design created for you in a 3D design program (price includes renders of the 3D design sent to you by email, 2 rounds of revisions to the design, and a free quote to have it built for you).