Iowa map, cut to the state line
Iowa looks plain from the highway and is anything but on a map. A laser cut Iowa map with two rivers for borders, a heart on the hometown and a Hawkeye or Cyclone backer is one of the cleanest state ornaments you can make.
7 days free, then $12 a month. Cancel anytime. Or 10 maps for $10.
Places in Iowa people ask for
What sells in Iowa
Start with the rivalry. Iowa City and Ames split the state, and both crowds buy campus maps as gifts. A city street map around Kinnick or Jack Trice with a heart on the first apartment is the classic version.
Okoboji is the lake. West Okoboji and Spirit Lake have cabin families with a lot of history. Zoom in to the bay they use. A lake depth map is a nice upgrade where the Studio has depth data.
Then RAGBRAI. Riders cross the state every summer on a route that changes each year, and they want their year. Import the route as a GPX file and engrave it across the state outline. See route maps. It is a niche, but a loyal one.
Farm families are a big part of the market. A heart on the home place, with the gravel roads, the creek and the nearest town, is something a lot of grown kids want for their parents. Zoom in far enough that the section roads show as a grid. That square-mile grid is a very Iowa look, and it engraves cleanly.
Making a laser cut Iowa ornament
Iowa's outline is close to a rectangle with two river edges: the Mississippi on the east and the Missouri on the west. Those two wavy sides are the shape's charm, so keep them. At 4 in, the inside has room for I-80 across the middle, I-35 up through Des Moines and Ames, and a heart on the hometown. That is it. Iowa looks best simple.
The RAGBRAI ornament is a good small-run product: the state outline, the year's route as an engraved line, and the rider's start and finish towns as stars. Make one design and personalize the year.
Backers: black and gold for Hawkeyes, cardinal and gold for Cyclones. Sell both, side by side.
For rural buyers, engrave the county under the town name.
Questions makers ask
Can I put a RAGBRAI route inside the Iowa outline?
Yes. Import the year's route as a GPX file and it becomes a line you can engrave across the state. Add stars on the start and finish towns.
What goes inside a small Iowa ornament?
I-80, I-35 and a heart on the town. The river borders already give the shape its character.
Can I make an Okoboji lake map?
Yes. Search West Okoboji and zoom to your bay. Keep the water on its own layer so the shoreline reads clearly.
Keep going
Places to mapState mapsA US state outline as the shape of the piece, with highways, lakes and a heart on the home town.
Pieces to makeMap ornamentsA 4 in layered hometown ornament with a name and a year. The map most customers buy first.
GuideWhy Map Ornaments Sell (and How to Make the Math Work)Why map ornaments sell comes down to three things: a place carries a memory, the wood costs pennies, and the season does your marketing for you. Here is the math, the calendar and the ornament ideas to sell, plus the one part of the job that quietly eats your profit.Cut your first Iowa piece.
Pick Iowa as the frame, drop in the hometown, and see it in 3D before the laser does.
7 days free, then $12 a month. Cancel anytime. Or 10 maps for $10.
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