So You Want to Sell Your Handmade Crafts

 

 

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As a regular pinner on Pinterest, I come across a plethora of crafty ideas.  Some ideas are cute do-it-yourself gems that may be a springboard for your creative muse to get busy.  You may look at a cute idea and think, “I can tie dye shirts and sell them on Ebay/Etsy or at a crafts fair.”  You may find yourself counting those chickens before those eggs hatch because of course the idea is cute and more than your Aunt Agatha would be interested in buying one.  Right?

Let’s set aside the classes, books, and hours of practice it takes to produce a quality product and look at what else it takes to actually sell your one of a kind gems.  If you are interested in selling at a crafts fair, you need to be mindful of the legal steps you must take to be above board with the federal, state, and local government.  Some well organized craft events may expect you to have a business license and a seller permit.  To have these items, you need to register your business as a sole proprietorship or LLC.  If you find a crafts event that is not making these items necessary to participate, then be aware that the organizers are not the end all-be all of what is legal in selling your wares.  If you want to fly under the wire and hope you don’t get caught, then be aware that when it comes to money, the government is a genius in recouping what they deem as their take.

Listing for Crafts Festivals

 

If you are interested in selling online via Ebay, Etsy, or the like, be aware that the government has their magnifying glass on the worldwide web and are working on legislation to recoup taxes from online sellers.  Yes, there are laws already on the books that cover a lot of what is expected of you as an online seller, but the requirements will soon be more defined and the salad days of avoiding the tax man will soon be over.  Once again, many people sell online believing they are not a real “business”.   Well the tax man may beg to differ and you may not want to tangle with that.

So now that I have pretty much presented myself as a killjoy, you may wonder what you could do to sell your handmade crafts.  Well if you don’t want to fly solo into a highly competitive arena, try working from small to big.  Church bazaars and yard sales are a start if you want to see if there is an interest in what you make.  Selling to friends and family may seem like a cheat, but if you start there, it can turn out to be a 1980′s Faberge Organic shampoo commercial where they will two friends, and so on, and so on.

If you know a local business that might be willing to stock your items for a commission, this will get your feet a little wetter in the business of selling.  Sometimes small business would welcome your inventory if it compliments or expands their inventory.  There are many ways to sell your handmade crafts.  You just need to make sure you do it the right way.

 

 

 

Retail Therapy Heals What Ails You

Somewhere down the rabbit hole of despair, retail therapy touches that happy place.  Some people can take retail therapy to the level of bankruptcy.  Michael Jackson’s Bashir interview comes to mind when I think of a person spending money recklessly to soothe their troubles.  For some people, their troubles become a money pit.  Buying a scarf may not make the pain of a significant loss disappear, but it may make you feel better if you cheated on your diet…again.

Recently my friend and I indulged in some “retail” therapy at a local antique market.   If you want to have a fun virtual ride back in time for a small fee, go to an antique market.  If you’re 40+, you will find yourself reminiscing on the games you played, the toys you owned, or the common household items that are now considered “antique”.  I played with an old school wooden Duncan yo-yo I once owned.  When I was told it was being sold for $25, I wanted to go back in time to tell my younger self to be more careful with my toys.

Yes, antique malls and markets are great fun, but you must beware.  Sometimes items that are considered antiques are really not what they seem.  You need to be knowledgeable about what you want.  If you ask the vendor direct questions and they don’t have an acceptable answer for you, you may want to weigh your options carefully.  Sometimes a vendor’s ignorance is a collector’s lucky break or terrible nightmare.  Try to go to the market with an agenda for what you want to purchase and a limited amount of cash.  If you don’t like dealing with cash and only use credit cards, you may have a hard time purchasing something you really want.  With cash, you will be in a better position to negotiate a price that will be beneficial to both seller and buyer.

After spending 4+ hours antiquing, we felt better.  Our feet may have been tired and our skin a little sunburned, but we were pleased with our finds and felt…good.  It cost less than a spa day!

 

 

 

Breaking News and the End of Joy

Yesterday I was watching People’s Court. To my surprise, they were rerunning an episode that was interrupted by the Christopher Dorner manhunt that was plaguing us here in Southern California. One of my simple joys is watching People’s Court and knitting. So when I saw this rerun, I happily pulled out my needles and started to settle in for a pleasant hour. Unfortunately, as soon as the second court case began, the show was interrupted again by another BREAKING NEWS story. Someone made a bomb threat to Cal State Los Angeles, and the television station felt it was important to watch the students and faculty clog the streets and freeways during an evacuation.

Today the breaking news is the manhunt for one of the Boston Marathon bombers. I will make sure to craft with the television and radio off. It’s important to not get sucked into the over-saturation of media coverage of tragic circumstances. If you let the media drag you into the black hole of BREAKING NEWS, you will certainly experience an end of joy as you know it.

 

The 2013 Spring/Summer Trend is Pink and Natural Beauty

Now that Spring is here, people are pulling out the warm weather clothes and shelving the cold weather clothes.  Every year I eye my  aging wardrobe and wonder what I should do to spruce it up and not look like a refugee from a bad 80′s movie.  So I put my ear to the ground via the internet and see which trend fits my style.

Yes, I look for the trend that fits me.

So with a little effort I see that pink is in.  If you go to the department stores, you will see this lovely color in all wonderful shades on display.  I even purchased 10 skeins of coral (pink adjacent) yarn to knit myself a top I saw featured in Vogue Knitting.

New knitting project from Vogue Knitting.

Now that pink is in, I can wear these delightfully feminine Pink Pearlescent Frosted Drops to accent the pinkish tones in the coral.

 

Pink Pearlescent Frosted Drops

As for natural beauty,  well that can be left to interpretation.  Personally, I believe that means less makeup.  Recently, Taylor Swift made a move toward this trend when she appeared on the cover of Wonderland magazine without her trademark black eyeliner.

A fresher face for the “Trouble” singer.

Now that we are aware of the warm weather trend, let’s purge the ugly and worn and infuse the wardrobe with the pretty pink.  As for the makeup, let’s follow the steps of Miss Swift (yes, I just typed those words) and go natural.

 

 

Get Lucky with Free Shipping

Sunny days…longer days… and…St. Patrick’s day means Spring is coming.  Ready to jump into Spring in style?  The studio is serving up springtime accessories, jewelry, and greeting cards with a generous helping of free shipping.  Click on the banner below and you’ll be directed to Kelli Craft Studio Etsy shop.  Upon check out, enter the code FREESHIP to get free shipping on your purchases.  This deal will end March 23.

 

 

Crafty Links to Tickle Your Do-It-Yourself Spirit

Whether you are the self proclaimed Craft Queen/King or a weekend crafting warrior, my Crafty Link blog is for you.  I have been posting fun, unique, and useful craft tutorials since 2010.  You will find everything categorized by type of tutorial on the right of the page.  Today I posted a great tutorial by Katie J. Gibson on making your own body wash.  I can honestly say that I used this tutorial to make liquid hand soap and it’s a true money saver.  Click on the photo and it will take you straight to my Crafty Links.

 

Spring Brings a Breath of New Life to Sales

After the winter celebrations surrounding Christmas, New Years, Hanukkah, and other winter holidays, there is a definite slump in retail.  The pre-holidays sales are everywhere starting with Black Friday and the spending frenzy takes a nosedive a short time after New Years.  In January, people are getting their credit card statements from a month of spending, tax season is breaking dawn, and the drawstrings of the coin purses are pulled a little tighter.  Every shop owner notices the late winter dry spell and try to financially tread water until spring.

While spring means rebirth and growth for many people, it has that same type of meaning for the small business owner.  Customers who are winter weary are eager to update their warmer weather wardrobe for the spring.  A small token of brightness and fun in the form of jewelry, an accessory, or a novelty item will get purchased to add a little light in the dreary tunnel we still need to crawl through in order to get to spring.  To capitalize on this surge in spending, the small business owner may find it beneficial to start stocking their stores now with the hope of “soon-to-be”.  Don’t wait until a week or two before spring to market your spring line.  You should have your shop loaded with spring and summer items NOW.  And if you are ready, have your summer items lock and loaded for showcase.  The year may be only 2 months old, but the small business owner should already be focusing on mid-year sales.