A lot goes into choosing the pallette and the selection is primarily based on making the colors different enough from the past year that people feel they must update. Yes, it’s all about merchandizing. So, while the colors for 2012 shades of orange, gold, purple, aqua, green and brown, they are very specific hues of those colors. The  pinks are “sweet lilac” and “cabaret” and the while aqua has been big for a couple of years now, this is a very specific “cockatoo”.

So why does this matter for you as a crafter? Because people are going to buy those colors or compliments of them subconsciously. They get used to seeing them in shops and catalogs, recognize them and are attracted to them, possibly because of the familiarity. If you make wear-ables such as jewelry or scarves, your customers are probably looking for pieces to compliment their wardrobe so you do need to become familiar with the color trends and make sure that you do have at least a portion of your line in that pallette. If you attend bead shows or wholesale fabric shows, be sure to bring the pallette along and use it as a guide for purchasing your supplies. And by all means, if you exhibit at wholesale tradeshows, the pallette should be part of your booth display because retailers will be impressed that you have planned your line around what will sell best in their shops and that will increase your sales.

How has color trend influenced your craft business in the past year? As always, you’re invited to comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts and observations on this.

Place your work in their hands. That’s it. Easy peazy, right?
When I attend craft fairs, I notice artists only speaking to people who ask them questions and mostly just saying “hi, how are you?” or “thank you”. Or worse,
sitting in their booths texting, reading or looking bored.
People who shop in-person for crafts want to have face-time with the artists, to know the person who makes the art. To be able to tell the gift recipient or their friends who admire the piece they met the artist.  They want to touch and feel the work.

Try this next time you display your art: Greet every single person who walks by your booth. If they hesitate, they are interested in knowing more. Invite them into your space and tell them a little about your work. Talk about the process. If they are looking at a particular piece, put it in their hands and even invite them try it on if it’s wear-able.

I guarantee you will have a lot more sales and happy, return customers.
Let me know how it works for you.

The weeks prior to the holidays, everyone is feeling rushed and wondering how they’ll find time after work to get to the stores to shop. It seems employers are not falling for the frequent “sick days” employees are taking to get their shopping done.

In order to have their employees come to work rather than play hookie at the mall, or spend on-the-clock time shopping online, companies are now very receptive to vendors coming in to sell to their staff during lunch breaks.

It surprised me that the corporations weren’t taking a percentage of the sales or asking for a space rental fee. They seem to have recognized that it is to their advantage to have the option for their employees to get some f their shopping done during business hours.

It’s always nice to hold an events with no fees or percentages going out. If you’re used to there always being a trade-off, it may seem odd that there are people who simply would love the convenience of being able to shop at their workplace. Talk to the HR person at a hospital, school or office and ask if you may set up in the break room or lobby a few weeks before the holidays to offer gift shopping to the staff. Since you have items that can’t be found in the mall, teachers, nurses, office personnel, etc will be excited about having this option.

It’s a good idea to set up two consecutive days because as employees go back their workspace, they show their co-workers the treasures they purchased and the excitement is viral. Be sure to bring plenty of cards, brochures or other material with your contact information. And of course, ask permission to capture contact info for your mailing list. Do some kind of drawing where people can drop in their business card with email address for a chance to win a piece of your work.

The next time you return to each venue-for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day- you’ll be able to notify your customers in advance.  They’ll look forward to your return and likely have orders from their friends who don’t work there.

For more tips like this, put your name and email address in the box to the right and you’ll receieve a free copy of “13 Quick, Easy, Low-cost or NO-cost Ways to

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You’ll find many of these tips can be implemented NOW.

Have you noticed that many of the small boutiques and galleries that sell handmade are low in inventory two weeks before Christmas? I have, and I know why. And this is to your advantage as a craftsperson.

As a result of the media’s fear-based reports, small retailers ordered light this season anticipating slow sales. But guess what? Discerning consumers are searching for unique, handcrafted, meaningful gifts this season, catching retailers unprepared with insufficient supply and no time to re-order handmade gifts.  Most people say they haven’t even started shopping yet which means shop owners are missing out on revenue if they don’t have inventory. While the big-box retailers can mark their wares down after the holidays, and still make a profit, as you know,  craft retailers don’t have the margin to discount since their markup is so low. So, they are afraid to purchase this late in the season.

But this is where YOU come in. Boutiques and galleries that may not have had space to display your work previously need the inventory between now and Christmas. You likely have pieces you’d love to turn into cash and the shops NEED your work now. It’s risk free for them if you put pieces on consignment and you have nothing to lose either. (review previous tips on consignment.)

Don’t limit yourself to galleries. The next three weeks, women are dressing for holiday parties and looking for that one-of-a-kind accessory to add pizazz to their outfit. Approach apparel shops and offer to consign your handcrafted jewelry, evening bags, shawls, etc.

No one can buy them if they are sitting in your studio unseen,

Check back frequently for more “eleventh hour” tips on selling your crafts.

They can’t possibly produce enough work by hand to make a living and they can’t compete with the imports and knockoffs. My feeling on the issue of copie-cats is that you aren’t competing with knockoffs. You either  market to the discriminating collector who values handmade and is willing to pay you for the time or you license and get paid for someone to mass produce your designs.

There is another option though, and it answers the “must have more meaning” criteria that so many of us feel is integral to inspired livelihood. Rather than struggle to produce enough product to make a living or seek a licensing agreement to have your work mass produced overseas, what if you were to find a group of people who are either stay at home moms who love crafts and want to do something to keep busy and make a little spending money without leaving their children OR find a group of people in an underdeveloped country who have no industry, training or marketable skills?  Either way, train those people to make your craft according to your designs and techniques, furnish them with the supplies and outsource. If you love to travel, you can tie in a third element . You’ll be visiting a different culture to source and train the crafters (joyful and deductible), you’ll be bringing satisfying gainful employment to people in need and you’ll have enough handmade inventory to make a living.

Are you already outsourcing your work to stay at home crafters either in your community or around the world? Feel free to comment. We’d all love to hear what you’re doing or what you’d like to be doing to make your craft more meaningful and profitable.

We all know that you can make the most gorgeous product but if it isn’t marketed correctly, it won’t sell. Likewise, it doesn’t matter how great your marketing is if you don’t have something people want to buy.  I know, this is common sense, but there is much more to having a marketable product than its’ being beautiful or functional.  I decided it was time to take a look at what these crafters are making.  Maybe there was a common product factor among those who were not making money with their craft.  Bingo! Those who were reporting slow or no sales mostly had lovely crafts but their products all had one thing in common.

They were handmade versions of what the importers are selling for a fraction of the price. And yes, I can absolutely empathize with these crafts people. In addition to material costs, they are spending hours beading,  hand knotting and sewing up a storm so they can’t possibly compete with what the importers are paying laborers in a third world country to knock out similar products. I also understand the American consumer well enough to know that they aren’t likely to pay several times more for something they perceive as the same item they can buy at the big box stores. Now, you and I know it’s NOT the same product, and I’ve spent years supporting and promoting hand made crafts.  I’ve also spent enough time in retail to know that even buyers of handmade are savvy consumers and are only willing to shell out more money for something green or handmade if they perceive the product as different enough to be worth the increase in price. So, what’s the solution? 

I’m not advocating your pricing your work like an import, which would be paying yourself about a nickel an hour, and I”m also not suggesting you have your work produced oversees.  (The latter is an option if you have a design that someone is willing to pay you to license but that is another topic.) 

I’m suggesting you take some time to shop around and do some homework. 

Clients are always surprised when they are starting a business selling handmade and I suggest they attend a mainstream wholesale trade show.  It is important to stay current with trends, but that isn’t the main reason  to attend a gift show. (no, it isn’t where you would purchase and it isn’t to get ideas or inspiration.)  What you’ll find is that even in the so-called handmade section of these gift shows, most of the items are imports. (There are separate venues for strictly handmade in America.) I suggest you walk one of the wholesale gift shows -there are many this summer. You do have a resale license, don’t you? )  Look for several things:

Most importantly, are there items that look similar to yours (to the untrained eye, of course)  priced such that retailers could at least keystone (double) and sell for significantly less than you price your work? 

Is someone knocking off your work? That’s an issue for your attorney-I am only telling you what you need to be aware of. 

Can you tweak your work so that discriminating buyers recognize the value of paying more than they would for the the import? 

Do you have your personally “story” , a photo of yourself and something about how your work is crafted on your hangtag? Can you sign your work-if it is jewelry, for example, this can be done with a custom silver  logo tag. These can be ordered through a charm company inexpensively. If you are a textile artist, embroider your signature. Do as much as possible to make it obvious that your work is hand crafted. If you sell online, your bio page should be very personal including your story and images of you doing the craft. If you show your work in shops or galleries,  be sure that the staff is well versed on who you are and your method. At craft fairs, trade shows or trunk shows, if there is space, either do demos or have photos or videos of yourself  making your craft.

As always, I just can’t stop giving you info. but that should get you started on making your craft stand out and increasing your sales.   More tips coming soon…

How do you go about getting your name and face out there as well as your work? (remember, part of the appeal of handmade is knowing the human behind the work. ) Demonstrating every chance you have will begin to establish you as the expert in your medium. Craft supply stores, galleries, workshops and trade shows are all opportunities to demonstrate your craft. Approach the manufacturers of the materials you use, either in person or by sending them a nice professional looking portfolio with examples of  different techniques for using their products. Offer to make appearances in stores that carry their products, showing both the staff and customers the benefits of using their  products,  and at craft trade shows demonstrating to retailers. Not only will this give you some extra cash (the going rate for demos is $45 to $60 an hour) but the main advantage is that your name becomes associated with your medium and you gain expert status. This also can lead to opportunities to do television appearances on craft and home shows as well as writing and speaking gigs. So, get out of the studio and make a name for yourself.

Your target customer is the discriminating shopper who wants something unique and handcrafted. Yes, people are being more careful with their dollars now and you have the advantage in that when times are tight, consumers want what they are spending on to be special. They may not be shopping for household appliances right now but when it comes time to purchase a gift or a piece of artwork for their home,  they are making conscious choices and want something they don’t see everywhere.  

Keep sight of who you are and what your work is all about. You are an artist and unless you are not staying ahead of the off-shore knock-offs, you have no reason to be concerned about ‘competition. You have something special that your customers are proud to give. They love to tell the recipient that they met the artist in person-it’s important to know the story behind their purchase. 

Right now it’s more important than ever to have your products “shout” of handmade. Take the time to put hangtags on each piece, identifying it as handmade, maybe even talking about the technique. Include a bio and ideally a headshot.  Remember, it’s the human connection that makes the difference.

How inspiring that all of these entrepreneurs had people waiting in line for very high end products and that these items were labors of love. Four of he six sold hand crafted, labor intensive  items with working parts, something that a Chinese factory couldn’t knock off because the hand built quality is reflected in the  function.  

So, how are these entrepreneurs thriving in an economic downturn?  A common thread appears to be quality control and supply vs demand. Slow, calculated growth and thinking ahead.. Having a distinctive product, staying small and flexible. Morgan made sure to make few enough cars to not have an inventory glut when the great depression hit. And like his grandfather, Charles is focused on “efficiency over expansion.” 

What lessons can you take away from these unlikely entrepreneurs? If you are uneasy starting an upscale business in this climate, take it from these entrepreneurs who are thriving in an economic downturn. Decide what what will make your product stand out.  How is what you do different or special enough to be exclusive, to be coveted? Take it slow, make calculated decisions and start now.