Starting A Craft Business

It's easy to set up your very own handmade shop without any web design skills. You can have your own very shop in less than 24 hours!

Etsy: Etsy is the most powerful handmade community that I have ever seen. It has a a wonderful forum with many Etsians offering helpful tips to newbies. There are many categories for crafters from scrapbooking to diy clothing. Martha Stewart has had many Etsy sellers featured on her show and it's such inspiration to see these artists!

Dawanda: Dawanda is a gorgeous handmade marketplace as well. It's the German version of what Etsy is in the USA. One of the great features of Dawanda is that the site of your choosing can be in French, German and English. So if you are bilingual, this would something to captialize on.

Art Fire: Art Fire is relatively new but promises a great marketplace for buyers and sellers. I've seen Art Fire's advertisements in magazines so they definitely promote their site. With a clean look and easy set up for sellers, it's a favourite of artists and crafters.

Photo Credit: Paper Girl Productions

Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby into a Business
An excellent practical guide for all creative entreprenurs.

So you've decided what handmade venue you would like to start selling on and you're going to begin uploading your pictures. A picture is worth a thousand words and two of those words should be "Buy Me!". You want to tempt people to buy your work.

Tips For A Great Picture:

Lighting is key here. I find taking pictures in the daytime with natural lighting is the best capture. If not, you can always create your own lightbox.

Use a backdrop for your pictures. You can use fabric or even scrapbook paper that goes well with your creation. Don't pair up a dark creation with a dark background. Stay away from a background that is too busy. You don't want to take away from your product.

Take different shots of your product from different angles. This will give your listing a more in depth detail for buyers and it will capture more attention.

Be careful of the distance from you and your product. If you zoom in too close, it can make the picture blurry and too far can make the product smaller. Zoom in with the camera until it looks sharp. You can always fix up the photos in your photo imaging program if need to be.

If you are taking a photos of a multi-fabric doll you've made, do take close-up shots of her face, fabric pattern on her dress and more.

Create a visual impact.

Photo Credit: Paper Girl Productions