Wanted: Dead or Alive

We want your new product ideas, dead or alive.

Some of the coolest and most practical items we carry came from your suggestions! Best of all, we will give you a $100 gift certificate for every idea we use!

Here are some great ideas that customer sent us:

Diamant Grain Mill – The world’s best grain mill! (Special thanks to Peter V)

Water distiller – Safe, pure water without electricity. (Special thanks to Kristina F)

Victorian Sewing Bird – Your third hand, it holds pins and fabric for you. (Special thanks to Carol P)

Steam Canner – Faster, lower temperature canning! (Special thanks to Karen L)

Waspinator – Banish wasps from your yard! (Special thanks to Kristin R)

There are hundreds more on our website. We’re grateful for your help! We’ll take all the ideas we can get.

We’re willing to try most any idea. What doesn’t make the cut? Only the most far out ideas. Here’s one that didn’t:

The main thing that kept us from trying this idea, outlandish as it may seem to some, was that it was not a “ready to go” manufactured item. Sorry to be skeptical, but I’d like to test the prototype before I bet on it.

For the “insider’s secrets” on how to choose a winning product idea, click on “Read the rest of this post”, below!

Here are the insider’s secrets on how to choose a winner:

1) Make sure it fits our mission, “Authentic Products that Work for Life.” We like non-electric items, old-fashioned things you remember from your childhood, supremely practical labor savers and the things that enhance or enable simple, self-sufficient living.

2) Give us a supplier name. We can do the legwork, too, but you give your suggestion a leg up when you can name the supplier.

3) Direct us to items that are already in production. We can build some things (click here for an example). But, our design work is done with a pencil and graph paper. Our “manufacturing” is done in a tiny two-man shop, mostly with hand tools and a drill press. Advanced product development and design are out of our reach.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you! Email your ideas to info@lehmans.com with “Product Idea” in the subject line.

Or, send it by mail to:

Catalog Editor
Lehman’s
289 N Kurzen Road
Dalton, Ohio 44618

Or, ask for the store manager when you visit our store at 4779 Kidron Road in Kidron, Ohio (click here for a map).