Crafters.... I have a question..

**dolphin** · 01-18-2003, 12:09 AM

1. How do you organize your self or your craft materials to be able to do as many as you do for the shows?

2. Do you just craft on certain days of the week? Or certain time of the day?

3. Do you have an area only set up for crafting?

4. How do decide what you will make a lot of?

5. How do you decide what to charge for each craft and will you go below that desired amount just to make a sale or do you stick to the asking price?

6. How do you keep yourself motivated to keep doing a craft after you have made 4 or 5 of them? I tend to want to keep switching to other projects.

7. Do any of you do consignment?

I could really use your help. Thanks.

**captclearance** · 01-18-2003, 12:20 AM

I do crafts according to what I have on hand in supplies, I am not as organized as I'd like to be....... Being organized is key though, it's not frugal to buy more supplies to replace the ones you can't find...... If you do them like an assembly line you can get many done...... I do it in my quiet time........

**heaven** · 01-18-2003, 12:28 AM

yes i would have to rush though and that isn't fun. trying to get ready for sales, I suggest like lori find a time when it is enjoyable.
as for pricing, I decide what i think is fair and usually people pay the asking price,
I have to do mine in the dining room so that room is a mess all the time.
defantly it is easier to do several of one than to bounce from one to another and back to the first one.
I do what i have on hand too, means alot of searching but i don't have a place to run to if i can't find what i want.
I also have that problem of motovation, but i usually only do 5 or 6 of one thing. i don't want a whole lot. if you do decide to do more do 4 or 5 go on to another one then the next time go back to the first one so you don't get burned out.
hth

**dolphin** · 01-18-2003, 12:55 AM

Thanks girls! I appreciate the advice. I'm trying to get this crafting thing going for summer. I waited too late last year and just couldn't get going.

**homesteadmamma** · 01-18-2003, 11:23 AM

We've done craft sales for 4 years now and I'll try to answer your questions.

1. Organize, whats that!!

2. Because we leave most of our craft stuff until closer to craft sale season here, we do our crafts every day and has much as we need to do it, although most of mine is done at night. Dh does cut all year long and he is an early riser, so he is out in his workshop at 5:30 a.m. and then goes out again later in the evenings.

3. I don't have an area especially for crafting. Dh has his workshop which use to be an old dilapitated garage which he redid when we moved here. Most of my crafting is done at the kitchen table other than my quilting where I have set up a small

space in our m/bedroom.

4. That is a good question. What you might sell a lot of one year, you won't sell one the next year. For me, it just seems to be something you learn. I know angels sell well and have every year so we make tons of angels of different sorts. When dh gets his magazines, if I like something we make a couple of them. You can usually tell at your first craft sale of the year if things will sell or not. I usually end up by painting 600 - 1000 angels each year. Our clocks, we usually make a few at a time. One suggestion is always have an extra one on hand. If you sell out, you still have that one for display and you can take orders. Always take a deposit of at least 20% of a special order. At least then, most people will come back and get it if they've made a deposit.

5. We always stick to the asking price. I refuse to go lower than what I've marked because our prices are reasonable and because of the work put into that particular item. I also refuse to sell 2 for or 5 for. Everything is priced to be sold seperately and if they want 5 or more, they pay the same price as a person who purchases one. To set our rates, I went to craft sales before we started crafting and took a pen and marked down prices on my hand. I didn't want people knowing what I was doing. Also, there are some books out on the market about pricing your work. If you've over priced something and you know it, wait until you get home and re-price it for your next sale. Also remember, most of what you make nowadays, Walmart or Dollar store sells. Its a huge beef I have with those stores and when at all possible, I refuse to purchase from them.

6. The way I keep motivated is to have change, other than quilting. I can't keep making the same craft all the time, even with my angels. I have to have a variety of what I do.

7. Yes we do consignment but be very careful of who you do consignment with. Look into their reputation. Ask around. Do they take a huge percentage of your selling price, do they mark up a percentage of your selling price. How do they pay, when an item is sold or at the end of the month? Are they a reputable company who isn't going to up and leave town or go broke with your consignment items there?

HTH