The Business of Crafts

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Welcome to the Business of Crafts

How do I get started in crafts fairs? What do I need to know to start a business? Which tent should I get? Which magazines should I read? All this and more will be answered in this lens.

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So, ya wanna be a person who makes a living doing crafts shows?

I couldn't think of a shorter way to say that

What do you need to know to start doing crafts shows? Plenty, but I'll try to give you an overview here.

You'll save a lot of time if you do plenty of reading; I've given you books and magazines below that will help.

So let's say you want to start doing shows. Summer is the biggest time of the year for shows and it's summer now, so great you can dive right in, right? Not so fast. This summer you should do your research, attend shows and see if they are a good fit for what you make.

To get into crafts shows you need:

1. a booth shot
2. professional quality slides/images of your work
3. application forms (or Zapplication) for shows you want to be in
4. A booth and tent (so you can take a picture of it)
5. inventory
6. packaging and bags for your inventory
7. a merchant account, which means a credit card processing company so
you can accept credit cards
8. business cards and/or color postcards

That will keep you busy until next summer, won't it? For researching shows, many artists and craftspeople rely on Sunshine Artist.

A terrific example of a booth design

and a peak at how to do it!

Lisa Gallagher of Lisa Gallagher.com has generously shared pictures of her booth, which uses the "Z" layout, a layout that gives you the most countertop space in a 10 foot booth.

Check out Lisa's booth.

Best books on the business of crafts

Crafting As A Business

by: Wendy Rosen

Amazon Price: (as of 11/12/2009)

How to Sell What You Make: The Business of Marketing Crafts (How-To Guides)

by: Paul Gerhards

Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 11/12/2009)

The Crafts Business Answer Book: Starting, Managing, and Marketing a Homebased Arts, Crafts, or Design Business

by: Barbara Brabec

Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 11/12/2009)

Handmade for Profit!: Hundreds of Secrets to Success in Selling Arts and Crafts

by: Barbara Brabec

Amazon Price: $14.35 (as of 11/12/2009)

Where to buy what you need for your booth

to do your first crafts show

Light Dome Canopies (tents): THE tent that you want if you are serious about doing shows.
Pedestal Express: Pedestals that break down for travel and assemble with no tools.
Abstracta: These are expensive, but a stand by for those selling jewelry. A portable solution that gives you a real "showcase" look.
Dynamic Display: A new comer to the market, preferred by some over abstracta.
Canopies by Fred: An excellent source for sand bags for your tent, and other neat accessories such as sign holders and awnings.

Robert Diamante Photography

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Photographing your jewelry or other crafts

how to, what to buy, DIY style

Photography is such a big topic, I decided to create a whole new Squidoo Lens on the topic. You can find it at jewelryphotography.

There, I have book recommendations, where to buy light tents and backgrounds and my two favorite books on photography.

How else can I do this crafts business thing?

Maybe outdoor shows aren't your thing. Though even if they aren't, doing at least some every year is a great way to test market new work and really see who your customer is and how they respond to your work.

What are some other business models?

One is the home party. The best resource on this is Rena Klingenberg's Blog. You can also visit her Squidoo Lenses.

Another avenue is the indoor trade show. For a how to on this, read Wendy Rosen's Crafting as a Business. (See link in the books section) In this model, you do shows (with your indoor booth) and take orders from gallery and store owners. Then you go back to your studio and fill the orders. If you've done it right you'll have enough money and enough work.

A third model is the internet. You can have your own website, of course, but if you're not ready for that there are a number of group sites where you can post your wares. Etsy is one.

Some folks I've heard from who use Etsy or similar sites report that they need to do additional work to promote their work on the site, it doesn't just happen. Of course, Squidoo would be a great way to drive traffic.

Best Magazines to Read on the Business of Crafts

Art Calendar: The best magazine on the business of art. Excellent articles and an amazing listings section with shows, exhibitions and residencies.
The Crafts Report: The only magazine for the business of crafts.
Sunshine Artist: This magazine is most often sited as THE source to go to when you want to find out, should I do this crafts show or not?

Best legal books for crafts businesses

The Law in Plain English for Crafts

by: Leonard DuBoff

Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 11/12/2009)

Business Forms and Contracts (In Plain English for Craftspeople)

by: Leonard D. Duboff

Amazon Price: (as of 11/12/2009)

The Small Business Start-Up Kit: A Step-by-Step Legal Guide

by: Peri Pakroo

Amazon Price: (as of 11/12/2009)

Free eBook

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Three Stellar Sources of Business Information

to increase your cash flow

These three men have a lot to say about making a living in the jewelry biz, and helping you to make more money.

Bruce Baker

Thomas Mann

David Geller

Bruce Baker has made a second career of advising us on how to sell well and how to design a better booth. His terrific CDs are available from Rio and from his site. If you get a chance to take a workshop with him in person, do it. You can see his teaching schedule at his site.

Thomas Mann's Design for Survival Workshop is now available in a home study version. You can buy it as a DVD, VHS, or audio cassettes. A pricing spreadsheet is also available.

David Geller is known for his price book, The Blue Book, which aims to teach jewelery store owners how to keep from underpricing their repair work, as so many of them do. If you're not in that industry, don't think David doesn't have anything for you, check out his books section.

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Review: Quick Money Secrets

Top Notch Guide for Tough Economic Times from Barbara Brabec

Barbara Brabec's Quick Money Secrets: How to Quickly Raise or Borrow Needed Cash for Personal Needs, Home Business Startup, Cash Flow Problems or Mere Financial Survival.

I just finished reading this ebook by Barbara Brabec, author of Homemade Money and Creative Cash, both books you probably know already. All I can say is "Wow."

I read a lot of ebooks, and this is the most professionally researched, written and created ebook I think I've ever read. It's a real book, it just happens to be electronic. Brabec has approached it just as she would any book.

I've been a small business owner for 16 years, and I've read all of Barbara's books already; I really wasn't sure how much more I could learn from this book -- but I did -- and I learned a lot. And when I have the time to follow the many, many time saving links to additional reading, carefully selected by Barbara, I know I'll learn even more. (I've already started...)

Regarding small business financing, Barbara has excellent advice that I've only ever read one other place (buried in a much longer book). Every new business owner needs to read the sections on business financing.

As a bonus, the information on raising quick cash will be helpful should you ever need it. It's 12 full chapters of informative, engaging reading, with real stories from real business owners and regular folks. If you've been wondering what to do with your business in a tough economy, Barbara's Chapter 2 advises you on how to make sales even in tough times.

Whether you're a new or experienced business owner, with Quick Money Secrets you will learn top notch financial strategies, in a thoroughly researched, tightly written book.

I'll be recommending this book to my friends who are business owners, so so I have no problem recommending it to you (and using my affiliate link).

Click here to view more details

Learn more about jewelry making

If you craft happens to be jewelry making related, you will love the resources and community at Ganoksin.

If you work with metal clay, or want to, check out the PMC Guild, and join the yahoo list Metal Clay Gallery.

Another resource is my Squidoo Lens How to Get Started in Jewelry Making and Metalsmithing

Promote Yourself, Your Art on Squidoo

Promote Yourself, Your Art on Squidoo: My lens on how to promote yourself, quickly, easily and for free, using Squidoo.

An Entire Book on Self Promotion!

Promoting yourself and your work is always a part of marketing when you're a craftsperson.

The Fine Artist's Guide to Marketing and Self-Promotion: Innovative Techniques to Build Your Career as an Artist

by: Julius Vitali

Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 11/12/2009)

Great Books from MarketingJewelry.com

affiliate partner

Links to http://www.marketingjewelry.com

Reader Feedback

Lensmaster

OhMe wrote...

Lensrolling to Spring Jubilee Arts and Crafts Festival. You've included some good resources here. I also enjoyed your blog.

Posted March 08, 2009

Lensmaster

Marc_Brook wrote...

Top lens. I have created a Craft Business Planning Package for those that are serious about turning their craft into a business.
Address is www.MyCraftBiz.com
Affiliate Tools for you at
http://www.mycraftbiz.com/aff/affiliate.htm

Posted September 18, 2008

Lensmaster

hamutie28 wrote...

Great lens with information!

Posted July 21, 2007

Lensmaster

MSchindel wrote...

Congratulations on publishing another extremely useful online resource. Great job, Elaine!

Posted July 13, 2007

Lensmaster

rgcopeland wrote...

Great resources listed. I wish I had known some of these things before I started doing shows. Good work Elaine!