Crafting for a living.

It would be fair to say that most, if not all, people who love making handcrafts have dreamed at some point about turning their hobby into their living.  After all, that takes care of two pressing issues in one- the need for money and the need to create.  I think about it frequently.  One month, I'm scribbling notes into my inspiration book with a view to the requirements for starting up a 'proper' business.  The next month, I feel like I'd never have the time or mental energy to implement it all and I ask myself, do I really want to anyway?

I've been in and around the fringes of the craft industry  for just over 11 years.  Starting out by helping my sister run her mail order patchwork fabric business, I then bought the business from her, ran it for three years, trailed off into listing the remaining stock for sale at online auction houses like eBay and finally, tried turning out a few finished items to list on Made It.  

I still have my Made It store.  Most of the scribbles in my book relate to expanding the range of stock, trying other venues like Etsy and holding market stalls.  After all, I still have a sizeable stash, not only of quilt cottons but also of thread, haberdashery, yarn and other fabrics.  I have a certain amount of industry knowledge, including supplier contacts and the experience to feel somewhat confident with that side of things.  And I need paying work.

So what holds me back?  Insights that I have gained into myself and the craft-o-sphere in general.

1.  This first point is critical.  I am NOT driven.  Without a doubt, some crafters out there are making their creativity pay.  They leave their day jobs and live off craft.  They make.  They blog.  They market effectively.  They often teach.  Sometimes, they don't even 'sell' directly anymore, rather offer their finished product at wholesale to be passed on to customers via another retailer.  They work long hours, have seemingly boundless amounts of whatever kind of energy is needed to make that happen.  That is not me.  I have many interests and even though handcrafts will always feature high on the list, I lack the single-minded focus and drive that seems to be at the core of successful crafts businesses.

2.  There are a LOT of talented handcrafters out there competing for the handmade dollar.  It must be said, I've never met a handcraft business owner I didn't like.  They are a really nice bunch of people. So I don't mean 'competing' in a cut throat kind of way, nevertheless, Etsy, MadeIt, Craftsy, Craftumi, Red Bubble, Artfire, eBay, Ravelry and others, along with countless personal websites are offering handmade goods, patterns, supplies, kits and services.  That's a good thing, no, a great thing, for buyers.  There's really no excuse to ever buy cheap Taiwanese giftwares or homewares if you'd really rather not.  For a seller however, you really can get lost amongst them all.

3.  Fads in craft come and go.  Stock needs to be fresh, interesting and meet the market.  Sure, the world wide web does in fact make it possible for me to reach out to the handful of people that still love nylon crocheted toilet paper dollies  or shell encrusted picture frames,(see, they're really out there!!) but it's doubtful I'm going to make a living from making them.  A handmade seller needs to keep abreast of trends and turn over their stock, even if they're selling from their own website.  All of this takes time and focus.

4. Online sales have unique challenges.  Not having the overheads of a store is one thing.  But reaching your target customer is quite another.  How will people find you?  Will you advertise?  Will you use a venue such as Etsy or Made It?  How much are the fees?  Will you still need to do more advertising on top of that to help people find you within the venue?  How much more will that cost?  What will you do with unsold stock?  How will you convince browsing potential buyers not only to buy from you once, but to come back again?  Craft products are tactile.  Texture and colour are important and it's difficult to determine just what you're getting over the internet.  Will you also do market stalls or offer items to local stores at wholesale price or to sell on commission?  There are costs involved with all of these options, in time, money or both.

5.  Pricing- another big consideration.  Most handcrafts are not whipped up in minutes, sometimes not even in hours or days.  To succeed in business, you need to be paid for your time, not just your product.  Will your potential customers appreciate the time that goes in to making a handmade item?  Other crafters probably will.  But we've all heard the non-crafting customer at the craft market saying "She want's $80 for THAT?  I can get it at (name of department store or even Dollar store) for half that price."  Which is probably true, except that the department or dollar store version is either not handmade or is made by a child or an underpaid adult in a sweatshop somewhere overseas.  Struggling Australian painters on the now defunct AussieBids site were discussing the dfficulties of selling art online.  One told of being in India and seeing children sitting on the streets turning out quite nice looking paintings by essentially backlighting a master copy and tracing over it with paint.  They looked good and were, of course, incredibly cheap.  That is what we are up against as artists and artisans.  As a result,  your 'best' customers are likely to be other crafters.  There's one slight catch with that- the other crafter may look over your item with the intention of making it herself.  Even if she doesn't rock up with the same item for sale at the same venue a few weeks later, it's quite likely she won't need to buy it from you a second time because she's now added it to her repertoire!

Although most of my points have been presented as negatives, this is primarily from my own perspective.  If you have another perspective, especially on point no. 1. and you are in fact driven, passionate, or even desperate, with the will, energy, knowledge, ideas and creativity to succeed, then you should definitely go for it!   Create & Thrive is a brilliant resource I discovered recently and it's where I'd be gleaning level headed business advice from, had I decided to go full steam ahead.

Instead,  I've once again decided to keep craft as my hobby.  It will always be a major part of who I am- short of a major disaster, any place I live will also house my stash and in some corner, there'll be a table topped with half-finished projects, craft book from the library and scribble pads of ideas.  I'll usually make more than I can use myself, so I'll still keep a little Made It store and if I occasionally sell something, the couple of dollars will come in handy.  A bonus is that there will be no expectation of profit, so it won't be a business by taxation standards, saving me paperwork headaches.  I'll keep looking for a paying job and come home to my beloved crafts.

If you've borne with me to the end of this article a) thank you!  and b) I wonder if you've processed many of the same thoughts.  If you have, I'd love to hear the conclusion you've come to about crafting for a living.

Oh, and BTW, I'm working one afternoon a week volunteering at an op shop and I love it!  No hard sell involved, just smile and be friendly and shuffle all the lovely second hand stuff around.  Now that's something I can do!

Happy Dances!

I made social media buttons all by myself!!  Well, with a little bit of help.  Thanks to Project Alicia's Idiot's Guide to Adding Social Media Buttons to Blogger for the easy step-by-step instructions and nice big lines of code, because I seriously am terrified by HTML though I've tried to learn the basics several times.  One little  character accidentally deleted and the whole thing goes into the ether.

I used one of my photos, Picture It software, a calculator (to divide the photo into 5- I have a spare that I'm keeping for later.)  And it worked; at least I think it worked.  If they don't work for you, could you please let me know?

Woot, woot, feeling rather proud of myself.  Just don't expect me to tackle my own template any time soon.

xx

Checking Myself In...

...to my blog.  What did you think I meant??

Can you believe a month and a bit of 2013 is already behind us?  It reminds me of those lines in the Neil Young song (Comes a Time):

Oh, this old world

keeps spinning round

It's a wonder tall trees

ain't layin' down

That can be the tune in your head for the rest of the day. :)

My youngest has had a week at school and so far so good.  He's a bit tired but happy.  

The eldest still has a week to go before his Pre-Apprenticeship starts.

Hubby has been running around getting things organised and will soon have his business up and running.  Now that everyone else is pretty much sorted, it's my turn.  I went in to Centrelink this morning to notify them of some changed circumstances and came away with 'an employment pathway plan.'  Sounds impressive, doesn't it?  Actually, all it means is that I have an appointment next week with an employment services provider and then we'll really get down to business.

I know Centrelink gets a really bad rap sometimes and have heard some horror stories that I fully believe, but I've found our local office's staff to be really fantastic.  I had a bit of a wait this morning so I could covertly observe and I saw them deal with the various clients with a lot of dignity and respect.

A wise woman on a forum somewhere said  that when dealing with Centrelink, "bring a cut lunch and your knitting."  I didn't need the lunch, but I did take my little travelling purse with crochet hook and yarn and knocked off three face flower swabs while waiting.  (Similar to these.)

As my dreams of making craft my primary source of income are almost certainly just dreams at this point, I'm going to pursue studying book keeping.  I've already seen a few people advertising locally for a book keeper so the opportunities are there.  They're almost always part time positions and can partially be done from home.  I may also be able to do the study for it by correspondence so I can still be here keeping an eye on things and supervising my household.

I'll keep you posted.

A Few Finishes

It appears to be a time of finishes. 

 The year is about to finish.

Our homeschool is finished; my eldest is going to TAFE (Tertiary and Further Education) and my youngest is returning to the school system.  

My husband finished at his employment.

My time as a home ed facilitator and full time stay-at-home mum is almost finished as I'll now have to look for part time work.

Now that we've packed up the school books, I've had a bit more time for craft.  In the last 24 hours, I've managed 3 crafty finishes (and a mend but that doesn't count!)

The "Mixed Flowers" Applique panel did become a cushion.  I had thought of going the whole way with a quilt but my aim is to get through as many UFOs as quickly as possible.

Another little set of crocheted cotton face swabs in their own delicates wash bag- a pre-order for a friend.

And finally, the socks.  I'm wearing them now. :)

So.  What comes after so many finishes?  Beginnings, I guess.  The next year will bring a lot of change; possibly some discomfort as we all adjust but also new opportunities, new experiences and new projects.

I'm ready.

(I think.)

Busy, Crafty Days

Well, what a mixed bag of weather we're having!  We're gettiing it all in one day today; warm sunshine, then gloomy grey clouds and rain and round and round it goes.  Yesterday's forecast top was 15oC and the day after tomorrow it will be 27oC!  It's even more extreme in NSW.  A week ago there were bushfires, now there's snow!

No matter the weather, there's always something crafty to be done.  Since my last post, I've finished a couple of projects:

"Biased Opinion" scarf

"The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief"

I've also opened a tiny Madeit shop and listed a few small items.  I have big plans for this but they will of necessity be executed gradually. In other words, get on with your life and don't hold your breath....I'll get around to making more eventually.

Have you seen the new social sewing site on the web?  It's called Threadbias and while it's not huge at the moment, it welcomes all sewers to share projects, fabric stashes, advice and know-how.  Hopefully this will help motivate me to finish some sewing UFO's.  I've pulled out this one to get done next:

It's Mixed Flowers by The Rabbit Factory.  It's supposed to be the centre medallion for a quilt but I'm thinking I might use it for a big, colourful cushion.  The living room needs refreshing.

And lastly, although I'm not supposed to be knitting for a while, I do need socks.  So I'm using this gorgeous Wisdom yarn 

to whip up a quick pair of comfy socks that don't constrict my ankles.  The joys of getting older!

Happy busy, crafty days to you too.

It's Finished!

Lucette.

New WIP: Biased Opinion (same red yarn. Sorry!!)  And The Age Of Brass and Steam (refreshingly blue.)

These shouldn't take long.  Then I really need to take a break from knitting and get some sewing/quilting/stitching/mending WIPs finished.

The Heart's Home

It's Friday morning.  This is the day we've all been waiting for.  It's been two years and several days since we've had a vacation, even a weekend away.  It's been even longer since we stayed at the little town of Blackwood. I'm driving on my own.  The kid's- our two boys and an extra,, are travelling with the hubby.  We're in two cars as we get to stay an extra day after he returns to work.

The first sensation is the little buzz I always get from reaching highway speed after weeks of town driving.  We live near the edge of suburbia so it isn't long before I'm passing small acreages and farmland.  Golden fields of canola stretch to my horizon.  I've got a CD playing and it's just possible that I may be singing.  Loudly.

The road spools out behind me.  In my younger days as a truck driver's daughter, I would sit up beside him on trips imagining the truck to be a big mechanical spider, spinning out a silken thread of bitumen.  I don't remember ever saying "Are we there yet?" There was always so much to see; some familiar sights like the house that was never finished because it burned down with the young wife inside.  The field of ancient skeletal trees that were dead already when the first white men came.  Now they are nests to cockatoos.  My dad knew all the stories.  Some sights are new; brand new homes under construction, waiting to be written all over with new family histories.  New roadside enterprises, waiting hopefully for the customers that will make their owners' money.

On this trip, I take fleeting glances at old favourites.  The home on the windswept hilltop that I looked longingly at a few years ago when we were in the market for a new home.  It was way out of our budget.  The house I like even more that I can barely glimpse now behind it's screen of trees, still sparkling in it's white painted weatherboards.  Smoke rises lazily from chimneys.  I briefly wonder about who may live there.  Do they ever wonder who is driving by and where they are going to?

Farmland switches quite abruptly to bushland about two thirds of the way through the hamlet of Anakie.  My little Suzuki begins the climb through the hills of the Brisbane Ranges.  Wattle trees, with their tiny powder-puff blossoms now dot the landscape.  From the palest pastel lemon, through every shade of yellow to the deepest gold.  First the canola, now the wattle; Coldplay's "Yellow" begins to play in my head.  I pass a eucalyptus plantation.  The trees are neat, tall and straight, grown so close together that they've had no opportunity to spread outwards.  Instead, they use all of their energy to go upwards, competing for that precious light.  I can remember seeing them newly planted.

Once again, I'm back in farmland but it is more undulating than before.  The paddocks are brilliant green.  Fat white lambs, many of them twins, lay in the grass while their mother's munch sweet, long grass.  Further along on a steep green slope the sheep share their paddock with a huge flock of cockatoos.  Suddenly, the sheep don't look white at all.  They look a rather dirty shade of cream next to the cockys' crisp, bright whiteness.

(When I went back for a photograph the next day, the cockatoos had moved into the cow paddock)

It's about at this point that I feel like I'm coming home.  I realise I've been slowly turning the stereo down so I turn it off altogether.  I think about this home-coming emotion.  It isn't really true.  I was born and raised in the suburbs.  I've never lived in the country.  Yet I know it's where my heart lives.  I think back to childhood farm visits and many bush holidays.  Traipsing through muddy paddocks.  Vistas of gently rolling farmland fringed with untouched bush.  Cockatoos, kookaburras, magpies and ducks.  Neighbouring houses just visible in the distance. A row of muddy gumboots at the back door; a wisp of wood smoke from a chimney.  Fresh, earthy scents, endless birdsong, the swish-swish of a breeze through trees.  Space.  Peace.  Soil.  Living things doing what they were created to do.  My heart is coming home.

I slow down for the roundabout at the Greendale pub and know it's not far now.  We're back in the bush and climbing again.  The temperature is dropping; my car tells me it's only 7 degrees out there.  The smell of gum trees and wattle has worked it's way in through the ventilation so I wind down the window a little to welcome it.  Houses begin to appear amongst the trees.  Little roads meander off to right and left.  I reach the outskirts of Blackwood.  Tiny miner's cottages alternate with newer dwellings.  A little further and I take the turn into Martin Street, the main street.  A pair of cockatoos graze on the grassy verge.  A couple of metres further, a pair of ducks waddle along together.  I notice the restaurant has closed down.  That's two businesses closed in the last year.

I take the turn towards the caravan park.  The little cottage I once photographed is looking even more dilapidated with junk piling up outside.  Ah, here we are.  Down the steep road into the park.  I check in with the ranger/manager then drive over to the little place that will be home for the next five days.  As I'm unlocking the door, I hear hubby's 4WD.  I didn't realise they were so close behind!  We're all here now.  It's great to be back.

P.S. Craft Circle cancelled due to lack of interest.  That's fine. I was probably reinventing the wheel anyway; there are already some great blog-alongs out there.

Batteries, Blocking and a Craft Circle

I have a little portable radio that runs on 4 AA batteries.  The first indication that the batteries are running flat is that I struggle to dial in a station.  Within a day or two, the radio will start up and run for about 20 seconds before dropping in volume to barely audible.  Well, that's how I'm feeling today.  My batteries are flat.  I've been struggling to stay focussed, to sequence simple, everyday activities and today I'm at the point where I fire up for a few minutes, then waves of tiredness come over me and I feel my energy drain rapidly.  There's a reason- about a week ago I ran out of B12 tablets and I haven't got around to getting more. Apart from the lack of physical and mental energy, low B12 makes me crave food.  It's not the same feeling as hunger; I can't really explain how it feels.  It's as if the subconscious knows that food is where the energy comes from but the lack of B12 means I can't unlock it so I instinctively want more.  B12 deficiency can be quite serious; apart from the lethargy and weight gain from over-eating, it can lead to pernicious anemia (LINK).  I may drag myself to the shops this afternoon to stock up.  The sooner I start, the sooner I'll feel better.

Well, as far as craft goes, I'm still in the red.  Red Lucette, that is.  Over the weekend, I managed to block her.  Blocking is probably my least favourite part of the process and so much seems to hinge upon getting it perfect.  As my yarn is 50% wool, 50% acrylic, I wasn't sure about blocking.  I'd read somewhere that anything made up of 50% or more acrylic can't be blocked.  Just to be sure, I did a quick search and turned up this article on Bead Knitter Gallery which convinced me that steam blocking was the way to go.  I'm glad I did as the side edges aren't curling in and the fabric has come up a lot smoother.  The lace is still not quite flat in some places; I hope that isn't a problem once I'm wearing it.

 
Since this photograph was taken, I've sewn the shoulder seams and commenced picking up for the neckband lace.  Halfway along, life became rather distracting so I've put it aside for now until I can concentrate.  That probably won't be until I have a few doses of B12!!

Lots of coffee and tea is going down here, in fact it's time to heat up the coffee machine again, I think.  I still have a Science lesson to do with DS13 and a trip to the chemist as well as the usual dinnertime shenanigans to get through.  This morning I made some Apple Breakfast Bars from Chet Day's blog.  Despite the 'breakfast' part of the name, I think they will go quite well with afternoon coffee.

Have you been sewing, knitting, jewellery making, scrapbooking or creatively crafting?  If you'd like to link up, just add your current crafting blog post to the widget below.  Leave a comment too, if you like so that I'll notice you've dropped by.