print email stumble Digg

Crafty DIY Lessons for Entrepreneurs

Lauren Bacon

| August 23, 2010

Image by: Hiking Artist

A renaissance in the world of craft holds more than a few lessons for the savvy entrepreneur.

When was the last time you hit a craft fair? If you're not an aficionado of things made painstakingly by hand, it may have been a while. But I'd wager that most of us are aware, in one way or another, of the huge renaissance in the world of craft; its influence can be seen even in the most mainstream marketing of global corporate brands, from the hand-lettering and faux-DIY styling of the latest Starbucks campaign to, well, just about everything sold at Urban Outfitters or its up-market sister, Anthropologie.

But the craft world has more than one-of-a-kind gifts and funky aesthetics to offer – it's also a hotbed of do-it-yourself, bootstrapping entrepreneurial spirit. And it's full of people who take a share-and-share-alike attitude to their hard-won business wisdom, which makes it a goldmine for new entrepreneurs and creative types who are learning the ropes of earning a living from their hobby.

I'm much more of a consumer of crafty goods than a producer – the last time I picked up my knitting needles was years ago, before repetitve strain injuries made me choose between the computer keyboard (AKA my livelihood) and stitching uneven (but charming – or so I tell myself) scarves and wrist warmers. But I've found a deep camaraderie with crafty business people like Jenny Hart from Sublime Stitching, an Austin, Texas-based company that sells the coolest embroidery kits I've ever laid eyes on, and Kristen Rask from Schmancy, a shop in Seattle that sells quirky plush toys and collectibles. Jenny and Kristen aren't just artists who also know how to run a lean, mean small business; they're also community hubs who have gone the extra mile to share what they've learned with others. (Kristen's latest endeavour was the Conference of Creative Entrepreneurs, which took place in Seattle mid-August.)

It stands to reason that crafters – for whom do-it-yourself is a way of life, and who have a long tradition of joining forces to sell their work together – are among the most generous purveyors of advice, support and encouragement I've come across in my ten years as a business owner. There's an ethic of supporting the underdog, encouraging first-timers, and creative experimentation that makes the craft world one of the least intimidating places for a new entrepreneur to learn the ropes from more experienced professionals. The mainstream business community could learn a lot from observing the way newbies are welcomed in online craft-biz communities like Glitter, The Switchboards and Craftster.

Pricing, marketing, selling to wholesalers, protecting your intellectual copyright – some of the best business advice I've ever received came from small-scale, creative entrepreneurs who approach business the way they approach the crafty side of their work, with humility, creativity and the heart of a born teacher. I'd love to see more of that co-operative ethic & mutual support in the business world writ large.

Tags
- etsy,
- lauren bacon,
- schmancy,
- Small Business Ideas,
- Entrepreneurship,
- Women,
- Manufacturing

Hi there, I'm glad you wrote

Submitted by JohnR123 (not verified) on Thu, 2010-08-26 10:59.

Hi there, I'm glad you wrote this. I hope it encourages people to take that next step in their passion for crafting or creating practical art objects -- and begin marketing them. It will add an incredible new dimension to their their lives, and of course it will add some welcome cash to the kitty. For several years I ran a successful full-time business creating practical art. I sculpted briar pipes for the connoisseur pipe smokers that remain in small pockets across the globe. I built these pipes to exacting engineering standards in the technical end, and lovingly sculpted them in the aesthetic department. What began as a lark in the garage to create a pipe from some cherrywood I found, just for fun, evolved into purchasing select briar wood blocks from a mill in Algeria and ebonite rods from Germany for the stems, while the garage became a full-fledged workshop. My first foray into the marketing was Ebay. The first few pipes sold for around $60 each. Within two years the prices were topping at over $500 per pipe, while the time it took to create them was halved. The gross profit was somewhere around 90%, I could sell everything I could produce without difficulty, and if I produced more than was selling quickly, I had established three dealers in New York, Knoxville, and Framingham that would purchase at 35% discount from retail. It was a good business, and most importantly it was a joyful business. I reached my market entirely through the Internet, and all product was sold directly from my web site using PayPal as the payment gateway. People often wonder how to sell their products. My answer would be to go where the market is. The market never comes to you. You have to find out where the people who will buy your products hang out, and go there. In my case, I found that the pipe smoking community was a tight-knit (albeit worldwide), loyal, enthusiastic, intelligent, well-heeled community -- and that they hung out in a few popular forums on the Internet. My marketing then was to simply hang out there as well and ensure that folks knew that I was a Pipe Maker. What you say about the sharing and helping one another in these craft or practical art businesses, it is true. My business was conducted entirely on the net, but I became part of a web of pipe makers from across the world. Helping each other was common, it was pleasurable, and in the end it helped the industry by encouraging high standards, which of course comes back to benefit everyone. I no longer do that business. I am an artist (painter) and I write. I quit the business due to serious hand and wrist problems, but I look back on those years as some of the most satisfying and productive years of my life. The community of other makers and the clients were a joy to experience. Opening my shop each day after sitting in the garden with my Wife having our morning coffee was a great way to begin a workday. I would encourage anyone who has some real skill and enthusiasm for crafting or creating practical art, to think about how they can extend that pleasure by sharing it through a well-crafted business plan. The market they open up may surprise them. Many people feel they don't want to be commercial, but they might be forgetting that their customers are likely to be kindred spirits. And hey, the money's not bad. It could even be good :-) Best, John Rocheleau http://www.zen-moments.com http://www.johnrocheleau.com