what to do?
after today, what do I do? The things I thought would go down well didn’t, I didn’t sell one pincushion…. are they too expensive?
I sold two needlebooks…. I don’t think people use them anymore…. maybe I’m just being a bit down about it all, don’t want to be, but I can’t just keep selling stuff to my friends, it will not work, maybe I should also look at Etsy, but with the exchange rate and postage, I cannot see that working either…
any ideas?
23rd September 2006 @ 9:10 pm
It a grim feeling, I know it well. The last stall I had, I only managed to break even because the stall holder next door bought a silk bag! I think your work is great. I have a stall at our local craft fair next Sunday so I hope to be a bit luckier.
23rd September 2006 @ 11:09 pm
hello!! don´t let it get you down. i think you make beautiful things. your pincushions are sooo cute!!
i also love felt and i make pincushions, corsages, pouches and handbags.
i’m a great fan of your work, keep it up!!!
and don’t forget to smile 😉
24th September 2006 @ 1:46 am
I love your pin cushions! I also simply find your work inspiring. I can only imagine how it feels to stand by your table of work while people peruse and pass by, talk about a character building activity! Perhaps you can strike a relationship with a boutique(s) designing products specific to their needs. You have the eye and skill to make all sorts of sweet fantastic things that people should want to buy. It’s just the matter of finding the venue.
24th September 2006 @ 5:43 pm
I know the feeling too Alice but I definitely don’t think that your pincushions are too expensive – you’ve priced them about right. It is so frustrating trying to connect with the people who want to buy. At one craft fair I sold absolutely nothing – it was a completely demoralising experience. On the other hand I’ve also sold lots to shops and that’s no fun either – they end up making more money than you and you get none of the benefits of people commenting on your work. Your work is beautifully crafted and unique – keep going! xxx
24th September 2006 @ 6:25 pm
I’d be wary of Etsy ~ as lovely as it looks, there are draw backs. For a start, you really do have to do loads of self advertising and even then there is no guarantee that your stuff will be more visible than all the other shops there. Whilst the fancy ‘Shop by Color’ and ‘Sampler’ pages are fabbie, it is a hit and miss affair if you want to buy a specific thing ~ or even just have a wander. It really is over whelming and therefore offputting.
I’ve had an Etsy shop for almost a year, and sold not one thing. Not even with lots of mentions of my site, personalised business cards, links in my email siggies . . . it really is disappointing. I adore the ethos behind it, and with the exchange rate it means it is much cheaper to put goods there rather than EBomb, but I’m afraid that for selling stuff, we could really do with a UK based version instead . . .
25th September 2006 @ 12:10 am
Oh, hang in there. Your work is gorgeous.
Have you ever thought of ebay? I have sold half a dozen pinchusions there. And for 2 of them there was a mini price war going on!
You do have to work out prices etc…but people were willing to pay the postage and if you are careful with how many images you post, it works well.
26th September 2006 @ 1:21 am
One of the nice things about etsy is that it wouldn’t hurt to try. There is no cost in setting up your shop. Right now the listing fees are only $0.10. Maybe it is worth a shot.
i also don’t know how paypal works for those in the UK, but they let you add paypal ‘buy it now’ type buttons to webpages, so maybe you could set up something that way.
Also, your domain name provider might have some type of online shop-thing that can be installed on your account with them….
Good luck!
26th September 2006 @ 5:24 pm
I admire your work greatly. My hubby (hobbyhorsetoys.com) and I (irishcraftworker.typepad.com) have both gone to many craft fairs. We find that at the little local ones people just don’t really want to part with money. At the bigger, and of course more expensive stall fairs, where the punters pay in, they are there to buy. Coming up to Xmas is a great time to go into one of these fairs. Its a bit scary forking out the cash for the stall, but we find it pays back.
Also another great thing hubby did was to have a massive sign printed, which draws people to the stall as they can see what its all about from far away in the crowd! It really is about competing (in a friendly way!) with all the other stallholders for the punters attention. It cost about E200.
Also, you never know what contacts will arise from having been at a fair where you might have sold nothing. Have loads of business cards to hand out. We find people get in touch months later to order something. At the last fair Dan had 2 tv stations ask if they could come to our house and do a little piece on our work! They are due next month. Keep going, your work is beautiful and speaks for itself.
I have had a few enquiries now about orders on my blog site. I think its due to an increase in my traffic which has been greatly boosted by joining a blogjolt group.
We have also had orders from having little write ups in national & local newspapers, and magazines. I just emailed the editors with our web addresses and a couple of images.
27th September 2006 @ 7:57 pm
Followed Domesticali’s link here. I don’t know if anyone has an answer to your question. I’ve never found craft shows to be a money-maker, yet I keep wanting to do them because I just LOVE chatting with other crafters. All the successful stalls at our show were selling embellished or imported items rather than handcrafted from start to finish. The buyer market is incredibly hard to predict which makes it even more difficult. Oops…I just saw your follow up post so I’m heading over there. :o)