Crafting for Cash

So you have this idea that you think rocks and now want to sell it to the four corners of the Earth. I’ve been there. After more than a decade of designing and selling my arts and crafts, I’ve learned a few things. It’s not exactly a snap, but it is extremely self-gratifying if you can pull it all together. Here are some general guidelines to get you going, Crafty Chica stylee.

Getting Started: Experiment with a variety of projects, sizes, applications and mediums until you find a formula/design that you feel confident marketing and selling. The best tip is to give your products a signature edge, theme, style - something that represents YOU. This will be your marketing peg. MISTAKE: Many people see something at the store and think, “OH I can do that and sell it too!” Um - nuh-uh. If it’s already in the store, everyone else is thinking the same thing. Pretty soon, knock offs will be on sale at the dollar store. Plus, you don’t want to be labeled a copycat, right? What you WANT to do, is look at everything out there in the retail world and see what hasn’t been done before. That’s your niche. The best publicity comes from innovation and invention. Take a risk and tinker like a crafty chemist until you come up with something original.

Find a twist: Once you know what you are going to make and sell, come up with a catchy name and mission statement. Think about your target audience and find a way to build a tagline that speaks to them. If you have a cool story about how you got into this, include that. Customers love stuff like that, it gives the piece a sense of history and spirit.

Tips: Catalog sheet: Record your designs and give them names (e.g., Flower Power Soap, large; Flower Power Soap, small). Use a graphics program or Excel to list them all.

Supplies: Comprise a list of all materials, and where you get them. Are they available 24/7? What substitutions can you use if needed? Buy wholesale! For the generic stuff (clasps, molds, varnish, paint, etc.), check out the name of the company on the label of your favorite brand and see if they have a website or call them for a wholesale price list. You will need to purchase a tax license from your state (inexpensive), but it’s worth it! Keep a list of all these companies with their address and numbers for easy reference.

Business tax licenses: You need one from the state just to operate - and a retail one from each city that you will be selling in, as far as festivals, events, etc. Every state is different, check out your local government headquarters to get the 411 on proper licenses needed. Look up your local government web site for applications. Once you get your license, paint a pretty frame for it to show it off! You are now a professional!

Copyrights and clearances: You can copyright your designs, but I found this impossible to keep up with because I create new things every week. I take pictures with a date stamp camera of all of it. As far as using images that you did not create, be careful before you sell! Make sure they are of public domain. Try searching online or take the pictures to your local library and they can help you. Basically, if it is recent and you didn’t paint or photograph it, by law you cannot reproduce it.

Pricing: For each design, write down the cost of materials and time it takes to make them. To come up with a figure, go online and research similar works by other people to get a ballpark figure. I found that it’s difficult to come up with one standard method for everything. Generally, I start with multiplying the cost of materials by three and go up from there. Your work is unique. The selling price doesn’t only reflect the materials; it mostly reflects your talent and time.

Wholesale: Come up with a list for store buyers. Your retail prices are double the amount of your wholesale prices. When I sell my work at festivals or online, my price is in the middle of these two figures. That way direct customers feel like they are getting a deal buying from the artist.

Packaging: A finishing touch looks very professional. For 10 bucks, you can order 1,000 personalized business cards that you can use as tags (w/ a hole punch and string) with your contact info. Or you can check out free cards at websites like vistaprint.com. They offer 250 free color business cards, and you just pay for shipping. It’s also nice to look into clear plastic bags to wrap your items in, or boxes for jewelry pieces. All of this allows you to sell for a higher price because of all the labor involved.

Shipping packages: Not fun, but it has to be done. Personally, I’ve used UPS and USPS and the latter works best for me. We take all our orders to the post office every Tuesday. You can go to their site (usps.com) and order FREE priority mail boxes, tape, labels and more. If you have ultra high volume, it would be wise to set up an account with UPS, so they can come by your house each day to pick up boxes.

Sign your work: ALWAYS do this! Customers love it and it is proof of your design. I use my name, the year, and I add a copyright symbol.

Where to Sell (plus more tips):
Go cyber: The best thing I ever did was launch a website. You can find inexpensive DIY ones online like homestead.com and bigstep.com, where you don’t need to know html. If possible, invest in a scanner and digital camera to upload your pix. TIP: Purchase a custom rubber stamp or labels with your web address and put it on all your finished work. If you send a piece to Mildred in Portland and her cousin Lucy comes over and gushes over it, she can jot down the address and surf your site at her work…

Finding real-world places to carry your work: This takes some serious legwork. Start small and local. In the beginning with the safety pin bracelet phase, I always carried a few around with me. Not to mention that I always wore them, especially when I went to check out local art shops. Every time, someone would say, "Wow, that's cool, where’d you get it?" Whip out the business card and say "I make them!" Also, I would go to my favorite coffeehouse, take over a table and work on my bracelets there. All sorts of fun people stopped by to chat - this is how I found my first store to sell at. TIP: Look for places that rent affordable shelving spaces to emerging artists.

Portable stores at festivals, conventions and concerts:
Festivals: Only do the ones with affordable entry fees to keep prices low. If it is a big event, find some friends to go in with you. Don’t give up after one try. Sometimes it’s a matter of finding the right kind of festival and area. Call local museums; they always have art festivals.

Conventions: Check out your local Chamber of Commerce for women-themed conventions and call the event coordinator. Most conventions have vendor booths from corporations; ask if you can have a booth to represent the struggling female artist. Explain your prices and see if you can donate a portion of your proceeds to the cause in exchange for the booth.

Concerts: My husband has a band and in the early days, I used to set up a table at every gig, mini-light and all. Maybe you know of a band that will let you do this. Offer to put their CD’s and t-shirts at your table as well. Occasionally we tried to set up an impromptu booth at large public festivals and concerts, but I discourage this - we always got busted! TIP: Before you do any of these, make sure to bring plastic bags for people to carry their purchase in, business cards and a mailing list. Other items; calculator, tape for windy weather, pens and markers, a tablecloth, and, of course, a cashbox with change.

Other ways to score orders:

1. eBay! Post several items a week, give them snappy headings and attach a link to your website. This is a great way to expose your work to new people.

2. One idea I’m going to try this year is to make a one-page color catalog sheet and pass them out to friends and family so they can take them to work (think Avon).

3. I also want to have an open house art sale at our house around the holidays.

4. For national accounts: when my friends and family travel, they pick up business cards of cool shops for us to send a sample package to.

Buyers and beyond:

Approaching buyers: Be thankful for your talent and expect the worst. If you find a great store where you know your work will fit, give them a buzz and ask for the buyer. Ask when the best time is to stop by. They probably get a lot of calls like this and may decline the offer. I was passively relentless - if they turned me down, I mailed them a gorgeous sample, a price sheet and a colorful flier about my work. Most of the time, I got a call back!

Putting a package together for buyers: Use a folder and include a Bio sheet. Sure your work will sell itself, but it helps for your clients to see who is behind the creativity. Make it fun and personal, explaining why you do this, your background, credentials, etc. Include a photo or graphic.

Info sheet/price list: List your items with descriptions and prices. Include your terms of payment, required minimum order, contact info, names of other stores that carry your work, and art shows you’ve been in.

Sample item: Send a couple of items from your line so the buyer can inspect and try them out.

Press clippings: If your work has been covered anywhere, include copies here. If you want press coverage, include all of the above, but include a color slide of you or your work. Ask if they would like you to share a craft idea in return for the coverage.

Press releases: When you have your system up and running, make sure to set up an event every now and then. Maybe a "Meet the Artist" reception, or teach a craft workshop, debut new works, or get involved in an art show. All of these are great reasons to send out a press release to local, and even national, media. Just make sure you are ready for the orders it may bring.

Photos: Invest in making color slides and digital images of your work. These are great for juried shows or for print publications to use.

Sales Reps: These aren’t for everyone, but if you think you can handle high volume, check with your local Chamber of Commerce for trade shows in your area. Go to the show, cruise the aisles and pick up business cards of reps you think would be interested in your work. I wouldn’t confront them at the show with a sales pitch though. Most of them have paid mucho bucks for the space and want to spend their time schmoozing with buyers. Mail them a package later with all your goodies. Another idea is to pick up craft magazines and look through the back pages of ads. If you have a website, you can also post a request there. Surfing the web can’t hurt either.

Payment - It's all about the Benjamins: Open a separate business account for your work. If you go online, the most affordable way to take payments is with a service like PayPal. Or you can go through your bank and get a credit card machine. It's good to have every option available for accepting money.