Anyone handcrafts anything, that they sell profitably?

amother

Sun, Feb 01 2015, 8:44 pm

Anything hand made anyone sells?

So many different things are sold on Etsy. Do most of these sellers make a living doing this, or is this just a hobby for most?

Im pretty handy and artistic. Im thinking about this.

amother

Sun, Feb 01 2015, 10:16 pm

greenfire wrote:

go for it ... I would try selling things local before I try on-line though - then you can see how it sells before you make a million

op here.

A million? Im considering one of a kind table linens (dont want to divulge too much). I cant see getting more than $50 a piece, and each piece taking hours of work! Million? Ha. Not sure if it pays altogether. Wanted to hear from people who have done this.

Dolly Welsh

Sun, Feb 01 2015, 10:23 pm

If you are embellishing fabric, you might consider framed pieces as wall art.

People need and like wall art, but they want it ready to hang. Fully framed with a wire or hook.

With table linens, you have a lot of competition, and the piece is larger and it gets hard use.

You might embroider and bead the letters of the alef-beis.

Maybe a "mizrah". Or just one letter. Or samplers of the whole alphabet of the alef-beis.

We are fussy what imagery we put on our walls, so there is always a need for something acceptable to us.

You might consider ribbon embroidery. It covers a lot of space quickly. It is nice framed under glass. There are books on how to do it. It isn't hard at all. Maybe You Tube videos or e How.

Pre-wash and iron your linen. But you knew that.

Don't sign on the front.

FranticFrummie

Sun, Feb 01 2015, 10:29 pm

I used to make a very good living selling my jewelry, but over the years, as the economy has gotten worse and worse, my sales have dropped off more an more.

I've had to give up my main website, because it was costing me too much to host and advertise, and my sales weren't covering my costs.

Listing fees on Etsy add up, and my sales are getting fewer and fewer there, too.

I can't even remember the last time I had enough money to buy new beads and play around, I'm basically forcing myself to use up all of my back stock before I allow myself to get new things.

My advice is don't over invest in stock in the beginning. Have a large ad budget planned, and use that to launch your brand. It doesn't matter how beautiful or affordable your product is, if no one can find it.

Get your own website as well as an Etsy store, and hire an SEO consultant to maximize your internet search placement. Blogging about your product on a weekly basis is also crucial if you want to get the best traffic flow. It's exhausting work, but necessary.

Rubber Ducky

Sun, Feb 01 2015, 10:31 pm

A very long time ago (like 3 decades ago) I used to paint baby outfits and sell them to to stores, including some department stores. Before that I handcrafted bread dough jewelry — boy, this really dates me Wink

. I also sold my creations at craft shows. I had a rep who did the actual selling to stores. Craft shows were somewhat problematic as I couldn't sell on Shabbos, although there are workarounds for that.

If you can make something unique and hard to copy. and if you can make it quickly enough so that the return per hour of work makes it worth it to you, it is possible to make money at handcrafts. Not great money unless you're running your own little sweatshop, but yes, it's possible.