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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Fetching RSS feed... please stand bySo, 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!
Check out Lisa's booth.
Best books on the business of crafts
Crafting As A Business
Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)
How to Sell What You Make: The Business of Marketing Crafts (How-To Guides)
Amazon Price: $13.46 (as of 07/26/2008)
The Crafts Business Answer Book: Starting, Managing, and Marketing a Homebased Arts, Crafts, or Design Business
Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 07/26/2008)
Handmade for Profit!: Hundreds of Secrets to Success in Selling Arts and Crafts
Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 07/26/2008)
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.
Top Crafts Photographers
in no particular order
Steve Meltzer Photographer, Business & Crafts Photography, Gig Harbor, Washington
Steve Meltzer Photographer, Business & more...0 points
http://www.juryslides.com/
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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
Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)
Business Forms and Contracts (In Plain English for Craftspeople)
Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)
The Small Business Start-Up Kit: A Step-by-Step Legal Guide
Amazon Price: $24.99 (as of 07/26/2008)
Free eBook
The Jewelry Maker by Elaine D. Luther
If your craft happens to be jewelry, you might be interested in downloading my free eBook, The Jewelry Maker. To get your copy, just go to Creative Texture Tools. Websites where you can sell what you make
Add your own and vote! If you want to share more, post a blurb at the end of the Lens. Thanks!
Antiques, Collectibles, Fine Art, Jewelry at Ruby Lane: Sun, July 8th
Stroll down Ruby Lane to find quality Antique, Col more...0 points
WSC new homepage
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Vote for Your Favorite OnLine Crafts Marketplace
There are more and more of these web storefronts/communities to choose from all the time. Which one do you use? Which one would you choose, if you were going to sell your work in an online group site? Vote below!
Antiques, Collectibles, Fine Art, Jewelry at Ruby Lane: Sat, September 22nd
Stroll down Ruby Lane to find quality Antique, Col more...1 point
http://www.buyolympia.com
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Shopify Marketplace
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Mintd : Shop Style Sell : Home
Mintd is a global collaborative space for artists, more...0 points
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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Go on, rate me.
Seriously, if you found this lens helpful, please take a moment to rate it above. Star ratings help others find this lens.Thanks!
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!
The Fine Artist's Guide to Marketing and Self-Promotion: Innovative Techniques to Build Your Career as an Artist
Amazon Price: $17.96 (as of 07/26/2008)
Great Books from MarketingJewelry.com
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Reader Feedback
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hamutie28
Great lens with information! Posted July 21, 2007 |
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MSchindel
Congratulations on publishing another extremely useful online resource. Great job, Elaine! Posted July 13, 2007 |
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rgcopeland
Great resources listed. I wish I had known some of these things before I started doing shows. Good work Elaine! Posted July 10, 2007 |
