File Update

Links of Interest to Professional Crafters

Some links are "archived" links..as the original webpages have either been moved or "re"moved from the websites they originally were on:
in no particular order to any of these - Happy Linking Around

I wish all of my crafty friends, many sales ahead during this Fall and Christmas season of Craft Shows

About.coms Arts and Crafts Business resources

http://artsandcrafts.about.com/

Getting Started

http://festivalnet.com/other/news_letters/Artists/getting_started_craft_shows_05_08.html

Crafty Business Goal Setting
http://www.craftcritique.com/2010/03/tuesdays-with-toolulu-crafty-business.html

Tips For A Successful Craft Show
http://thinkcrafts.com/blog/2009/07/24/tips-for-a-successful-craft-show/

Laura Bray’s Blog
http://www.katydiddys.blogspot.com/

Arts and Crafts – Business or Hobby
http://katydiddys.blogspot.com/2010/03/arts-and-crafts-business-or-hobby.html

other articles of interest
From Crafting an MBA
excerpt quoted from website
crafting an MBA asks, what would business school look like if it was geared towards crafters, designers, and makers?
http://craftmba.com/

copyright, trademarks, and patents
http://craftmba.com/2010/03/09/copyright-trademarks-and-patents/

Etsy and the culture of cheap
http://craftmba.com/2010/01/19/etsy-and-the-culture-of-cheap/

Visit too
http://www.professionalcrafters.com/articles.html

Excerpt quoted from website
MyMommyBiz Craft Business Central contains useful advice and resources for professional crafters as well as hobbyists looking to expand. Whether you are selling in crafts fairs, consignment shops, auctions, or online, you will find great information to help grow and expand your business.
http://www.mymommybiz.com/crafts/index.html

GetCreativeshow.com
http://www.getcreativeshow.com/Craft_Sew_Business/craft_sewing_business.htm
excerpt quoted from website
Learn from the experts how to run your craft or sewing business or SOHO in the most efficient and profitable manner possible!

Visit
http://artsandcrafts.about.com
Starting a Craft Business
Excerpts quoted from individual archived web pages:
Starting a Craft Business 101
Part 1: First Steps
Having a plan is important! Decide exactly what you want to do and how you are going to do it before starting. Here are some basic things crafters should know when planning a strategy
Read complete details/article
http://web.archive.org/web/20070104181301/artsandcrafts.about.com/bl101.htm
Starting a Craft Business 101
Part 2: Marketing a Craft Business
Marketing is the key ingredient to any successful business! You must have ways to get the word out about your products. Whether you will be attending craft shows, placing mail order ads, or selling your crafts online.
Read complete article:
http://web.archive.org/web/20070102155221/artsandcrafts.about.com/bl101b.htm
Starting a Craft Business 101
Part 3: Finding Craft Suppliers
Running a craft business requires finding reliable suppliers with reasonable prices.
Read complete article:
http://web.archive.org/web/20070110002138/artsandcrafts.about.com/bl101c.htm
Getting Started Selling your Crafts
http://web.archive.org/web/20060208100636/artsandcrafts.about.com/od/gettingstarted/a/08022004.htm

Pricing your crafts
How to Price your Crafts
Deciding how much to charge for your crafts is an important decision. While ultimately you must decide what your products are worth, there are a few steps to follow that can help.
Difficulty Level: average Time Required: 30 minutes to several hours

Heres How: *excerpt quoted from website

From William T Lasley,
Your Guide to Arts / Crafts Business

"Decide how much you (or your employee) will be paid per hour to produce products. Multiply this hourly rate by the number of hours a week that will be spent producing crafts. Write down this figure, this is your weekly cost of labor. (If you need to make $10 per hour, working 40 hours per week the weekly cost of labor would be $400.) Calculate the total cost-of-supplies needed to make one finished product. Determine how many products one person can produce in a week. Multiply the cost of supplies-per-piece by the number of products produced in a week. (If your cost of materials per piece is $1 and you can produce 100 products a week, the figure would be $100.) Add this figure to your weekly labor costs. (In our example here that would be $400 + $100 = $500) Divide this figure by the number of products produced in a week. (So $500 labor/materials divided by 100 finished products a week would be $5.00 per piece.) If you will be wholesaling your products, multiply this number by two. (Which would give you a retail price of $10 per product.) Compare this cost to similar products on the market. If your price is more than similar products, you may need to reduce it by cutting hourly price, finding less expensive supplies or by increasing your production time. If your price is significantly less than similar products, you may want to consider raising your price. Tips:
Usually one piece will not use an entire supply unit. For instance an 8-ounce bottle of glue may make a hundred pieces. In this case, calculate how many pieces can be produced from a supply and divide by the cost of the supply. This equation does not take into account any expenses other than labor and materials. You can figure in weekly costs of any other business expenses that you may have and add it to the weekly labor and material cost. "

From William T Lasley,
Your Guide to Arts / Crafts Business.

Related Articles
Price Your Crafts
and read this article
Adjusting Prices of your products

http://handmadeforprofit.com/2009/02/barbs-quiktip-5-pricing/
Also:
The Crafts Report
http://www.craftsreport.com/
Industry FAQs
http://web.archive.org/web/20080327092305/http://www.craftsreport.com/commonfiles/faq-industry.html
Overcome Doubts and Fears about running your own craft business
http://www.craftsreport.com/beginning-business/168-overcome-doubts-about-running-your-own-craft-business.html

More articles
http://www.craftsreport.com/articles.html

6 Important Things To Know About Setting Up Your Craft Business
http://www.sunshineglassworks.com/articles/settingupbiz.shtml

THE 12 SECRETS TO STARTING A HOME-BASED CRAFT BUSINESS
http://www.getcreativeshow.com/Craft_Sew_Business/Business_Seminars/craftbusiness4.htm

Home Based Craft Business Survival Tips
http://www.craftmarketer.com/home_based_craft_business.htm

Selling your crafts
http://www.craftmarketer.com/sellyourcrafts/

How to Sell at Craft Fairs and Shows
Interested in turning your artistic hobby into a business? Find out how you can make money by selling your handicrafts at art shows and craft fairs.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/businessideas/article76936.html

Do You Want to Make Money or Create
http://smallerbox.net/blog/growing-your-business/do-you-want-to-make-money-or-create/

Creativity Counts
Discover how to take your crafting hobby from downtime to big time.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneursstartupsmagazine/2008/may/193422.html

Making it yourself *PDF file 19 pages
In this book, craft refers to any handmade item that can be given as a gift or sold
http://www.entrepreneur.com/downloads/guides/1304_Crafts_Business_ch1.pdf

Barbara Brabek’s Homemade for Profit
http://handmadeforprofit.com/2009/01/home-business-family-issues/

See too:
Creative Printing and Computer Crafts
http://desktoppub.about.com/od/crafts/Creative_Printing_and_Computer_Crafts.htm

Computer Craft Project links
http://www.allcrafts.net/computer.htm

Video:
How to Blog
http://www.becomeablogger.com/

Updating with more sites of interest to the professional crafter
**may include sites mentioned in first thread
Websites for Professional Crafters

*note some websites may be out of date or not updated recently but information is still useful.

Buying and Selling Crafts Online
http://www.craftcritique.com/2010/07/buying-and-selling-handmade-crafts.html

Craft Marketer (sells books but has lots of Free Information too)
http://www.craftmarketer.com
example of Article online:
Hand Made Crafts that sell best
http://www.craftmarketer.com/handmade-crafts-that-sell-best.htm

The Crafts Report
http://www.craftsreport.com/
Read articles online for free
http://www.craftsreport.com/articles.html
Article Categories

Profile in SuccessBeginning Business

Business Wise

Crafts Marketing

Crafts Photography

Crafts Law

Show Basics

Show Business

Craft Scene

Just Ask

Insight Gained

Regional Profile

Regional Vignette

Craft Matters

Article Examples

License Requirements for Art and Craft Show Businesses

http://extravaganzacrafts.com/Blogs/189/license-requirements-for-art-and-craft-show-businesses/

Patent Protection for Your Craft

http://www.craftsreport.com/crafts-law/75-patentprotectionforyourcraft.html

Art and Craft Show Display/Booth pictures

http://extravaganzacrafts.com/Blogs/469/art-and-craft-show-booth-display-pictures/

Booth Etiquette

http://extravaganzacrafts.com/Blogs/28/booth-etiquette-for-artists-and-crafters/

Indoor vs Outdoor shows

http://www.craftsreport.com/beginning-business/178-indoor-vs-outdoor-shows.html

Booth Layout at Craft Fair
http://www.craftsreport.com/show-basics/153-booth-layout-at-a-craft-show.html
How to Get Customers 4x More Likely to Buy
http://www.craftsreport.com/show-business/30-how-to-get-customers-4x-more-likely-to-buy.html

Psychology of Sales at a Craft Show

http://www.craftsreport.com/beginning-business/154-psychology-of-sales-at-a-craft-show.html

Think Crafts
http://thinkcrafts.com
**see winners of the Craft Room makeover contest
http://thinkcrafts.com/blog/2010/07/07/winners-of-the-craft-room-makeover-contest/

Craft Professionals
http://thinkcrafts.com/blog/category/craft-professionals/

Tips for Successful Craft show
http://thinkcrafts.com/blog/tag/professional-crafter/
**written by Laura Bray – Laura Bray is a mixed media artist, painter and paper crafter. As an artist with an MBA, she strives to help other artists achieve their dream of making a living doing what they love.
visit her blog
http://www.katydiddys.blogspot.com/
sign up for her free newsletter : Get Monthly Tips for Your Creativity & Business
Check out her tutorials
http://katydiddys.blogspot.com/search/label/craft%20tutorial

more articles online
Do You Have A Niche To Scratch?
http://thinkcrafts.com/blog/2009/01/15/selling-crafts-professional-crafters-art-and-craft-shows-bazaars-crafting-profit-do-you-have-a-niche-to-scratch/

Quick and Simple Pricing for Handmade Items
http://thinkcrafts.com/blog/2008/06/09/simple-pricing-for-handmade-items/

Lets Throw a Home Crafts Party
http://thinkcrafts.com/blog/2008/06/09/lets-throw-a-home-craft-party/

another article re:
Selling your crafts Online
Making the Internet and Ecommerce Work for Your Craft Business
http://artsandcrafts.about.com/od/sellingonline/tp/websitecraftbusiness.htm

Professionalcrafters.com
articles
http://www.professionalcrafters.com/articles.html
article example
Trends and Classics
http://www.professionalcrafters.com/trends_classics.html
21 Crafty Insights
http://www.professionalcrafters.com/craftyinsights.html

From http://extravaganzacrafts.com/
7 Ways For Your Art or Craft Business to Outsell the Retailers Part 1
http://extravaganzacrafts.com/Blogs/54/7-ways-for-your-art-or-craft-business-to-outsell-the-retailers/

7 Ways for Your Art or Craft Business to Outsell the Retailers

7 Ways For Your Art or Craft Business to Outsell the Retailers Part 2

7 Ways For Your Art or Craft Business to Outsell the Retailers Part 3

7 Ways for Your Art or Craft Business To Outsell the Retailers Part 4

7 Ways for Your Art or Craft Business To Outsell the Retailers Part 5

7 Ways for Your Art or Craft Business To Outsell the Retailers Part 6

7 Ways for Your Art or Craft Business to Outsell the Retailers Part 7

Make Your Craft Show Display Stand Out From The Crowd
http://extravaganzacrafts.com/Blogs/776/make-your-craft-show-display-stand-out-from-the-crowd/

Grow Your Business During Tough Economic Times
http://www.art.mt.gov/soa/pr.asp?ID=1289

Other sites to check out

Artful Crafter
http://www.theartfulcrafter.com/

Craft Gossip - sign up for free newsletter
http://craftgossip.com/

Card Making Tips
http://www.making-greeting-cards.com/card-making-tips.html

Paper Crafts
http://thinkcrafts.com/blog/category/paper-crafts/

Read more »

Posted by Unknown at 10:22 PM

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