What colors should you be using in your handmade jewelry and crafts?

I’m seeing green. Not just any green. Specifically emerald, a vivid, verdant green. According to Pantone, the color trend-setter for fashion and home decor, emerald enhances our sense of well-being by inspiring insight, and promotes harmony and balance. In many cultures, emerald green represents renewal, prosperity, healing and unity.

So what does this have to do with you and your business? Everything. As you design your handmade jewelry, home decor or other craft, you need to keep in mind what the buyer will be wearing or displaying it with. This doesn’t mean your entire line has to be the hot hues of the season but your work should compliment and coordinate with the popular colors.

In addition to emerald, the palette for Spring 2013 will be “dusk blue, tender shoots, grayed jade, lemon zest, linen, monaco blue, poppy red and nectarine.” As you are purchasing yarn, ribbon, fabric, beads and other materials of your craft, consider that your fashion forward buyers will be attracted to the season’s trendy hues.

Do your Homework before you go to Market

This summer, I’ve heard from crafters who are trying to sell handmade at mainstream gift shows alongside imported bargains.
A designer who hand knits stunning wearable art asked me recently if I thought she should show at one of the large apparel marts. Several metal smiths have consulted with me after having dreadful results at wholesale gift shows.
I do recommend attending mainstream gift shows, more for research than as a vendor.  (see: “Why you should visit Wholesale Craft and Gift Shows” post of 5-25). The price points of goods handcrafted in the US or Canada is likely to be prohibitive to the majority of buyers  at a venue that is primarily imports. You’ll find a much more discriminating,  educated buyer at the Buyer’s Market of American Craft (known in the industry as the Rosen Show in reference to founder Wendy Rosen) or at the American Crafts Council Shows. Retailers attending those shows expect to pay significantly higher wholesale prices for handmade and have the clientele to support those prices.
Again, I do suggest you attend the mainstream gift or apparel shows but as a buyer not an exhibitor. Do your research and then apply to the higher end shows where your work is valued.
If you are exhibiting at these shows, please do share with other readers how it is going for you and which shows have been most receptive to your work.

Are you Doing One thing a Day To Market your Craft?

Are you Doing One thing a Day To Market your Craft?

If you are feeling overwhelmed by everything you hear you should be doing to market your craft, you aren’t alone. Most of us need a map before we start out on a journey we’ve never taken before.

So, take a deep breath and know that if you just start somewhere, take one simple step today, you’re on your way. Wait, don’t decide to start fresh Monday. I know that trick. I’ve done it.  I’ve never thought of my workweek as Monday through Friday because being self employed, I don’t follow anyone’s scheduled. I work when it’s best for me and my family. But, even if you take the weekend off, you’ll be able to relax knowing you’ve  taken that first step.

Today’s assignment: choose your very best piece. Something that hasn’t been out in the marketplace yet. Now, photograph it. OK. I know you might consider that two steps. If you’re really feeling ambitious, upload it to your photo program and save it. So, three easy steps. (if you really must be a stickler about the one step a day, choose the piece today, photograph it tomorrow and upload on Sunday. Those are very tiny steps.)

So, Monday morning you are ready to take a BIG baby step on your craft marketing plan.

I’m not calling this a BIG step because it’s difficult. It isn’t. It’s simple and just so obvious but is a big step because it will make a huge difference in getting your sales rolling again.

Send this digital image of your best piece to your list of past buyers or those who have visited your booth at shows, come to your home open studio or just expressed interest in your work. (You DO keep a list, don’t you?) If you don’t have a data base of past customers, send the image to all your friends and family. You aren’t selling anything. You are simply reminding them that you are a talented crafts person. If you have already made prints or reproductions of your work, mention it. If you are in an exhibition, mention it. If you haven’t ever taken your work out of your home studio-mention it. Be open and honest about your newness and people will want to support you. Ask them to share it with their friends. A great way to get people to notice your work and pass it on is to include a quote or some kind of meaningful sentiment or story. Nothing too long, just something to make them smile or stop and think. Something that makes them nod in agreement and want to pass on to friends.

So, by Monday you will have taken your four first steps. Simple steps that will get you rolling on the the next steps.

In any business, it is always easier to bring back existing customers than to attract new ones. Obviously, you want to do both but if you have an existing buyer/collector list, cherish them. They are your most valuable assets. Send them “love notes” of customer appreciation regularly. Your art is a piece of you. You aren’t selling hardware. This is a relationship and if your buyers feel you see them as friends, they’ll be loyal to you. They will show your art to their friends and your list of collectors will grow.

See how much you’ve accomplished even though you didn’t know where to start?

Assuming you’ve followed the baby steps so far, today you are going to make a vital move. If you don’t have a data base of your mailing list, or even have a mailing list, today you will start one. This is everyone you know. Everyone. Remember, you aren’t selling to your friends and family. You are sharing your art with them. (If your work is wearable or home decorative, see other blog entries for tips on getting your work seen and download the free tips in the upper right to give you more great ideas.) If you are like the rest of us, you probably have scraps of paper and business cards all over with names of people you’ve met. Most of us toss them because we have forgotten why we picked them up. But, each of those people might know someone who could become your best customer or the connection to many great collectors. Maybe someone’ sister has a gallery or uncle is a decorator to the very wealthy. You won’t be imposing by sending them a beautiful image with a brief greeting or sentiment online. Think of it as a gift. Because it is.

Even if your list has only twenty names right now, use a contact management program such as Constant Contact. You can start out with their free trial, it’s simple, user friendly and you will have your list automated to start.

This should be day six. Now you have a list, you have an image and you are going to order some postcards. Use a site like modernpostcards.com to order one thousand postcards of your favorite piece that you photographed on day one. You can have the same quote or sentiment that you used for your email printed on the postcards. These are very inexpensive marketing tools which you will use both as mailers and handouts.  Include a special offer or invitation to a home exhibit or trunk show. (more on this in other blog posts and tips at right.)  Also have your domain address (url) printed on them. YOU DON’T HAVE A DOMAIN NAME OR WEBSITE? NO PROBLEM. YOU WILL BY TOMORROW.  At least you’ll have a domain name and landing page.

Day seven, if you haven’t purchased your domain name, do that now. Go to a site like bluehost.com and buy your own name. Even if you have a business name and already have a web site, for ten dollars a year, buy your own name. If you already have a site under a different name, you needn’t change that, just re-direct the url with your own name to the site. This takes three minutes and is important because people are more likely to remember and search for you under your own name than a business name.

In the first week, with one small step a day, you have a great start on your art marketing program. If you need help implementing any of the above steps, be sure to email me at the contact above and I will point you in the direction of someone who can get you on your way to a successful craft marketing campaign. Keep checking back for lots more tips on where to go from here and remember to go up to the right hand of this site and get your free gift of “13 Quick, Easy, Low-cost or NO-cost Ways to Turn your Craft into Cash NOW!”

See how much you’ve accomplished in one week with just baby steps? And to think you didn’t know where to begin.

Have you noticed the Green trend in Craft Fairs?

Have you noticed the Green trend in Craft Fairs?

We are deep into the spring craft fair season and daily I learn about festivals that have an eco-conscious section. The 33rd annual Union Street Festival in San Francisco will have a whole section dedicated to crafts created with recycled and sustainable materials and eco-friendly exhibits. 

The Eugene, Oregon Saturday market features recycled wares, but that’s no surprise in the “Greenest City”. 

There’s the Crafty Feast Indi Fair in Columbia, SC featuring alternative and experimental  crafts made from re-purposed materials including handbags made form recycled inner tubes, scrap monsters made from recycled socks and sweaters, and lapel pins made from recycled ties and vintage buttons.

At Handmade Mart in Silversprings Md., you’ll see recycled hard bound books turned into one of a kind purses, paperbacks repurposed into wallets, and skirts made from re-purposed t-shirts.

At the Annual Haddonfield, NJ Crafts and Fine Art Festival July 11 & 12, you’ll find bracelets made from recycled soda can pull tabs, clocks and lamps made from recycled cookware, jewelry made from recycled silver, antique buttons and bottle caps and quilts from recycled clothing. 

According to the artists and crafts people I’ve spoken with, buyers are getting more eco-savvy and starting to appreciate green crafts more. 

So, what does this mean for you as an artist? It means if you already have at least part of your line that is made from recycled material or is recyclable, kudos to you. If you aren’t already doing something earth-friendly with your craft, it’s time to get on the green wagon. If you are using toxic substances in the processing of your craft, it’s time to visit alternative materials, both for the environment, your own health and your image. 

I’m not suggesting “greenwashing” or going green strictly for marketing purposes. However, it does seem that finally consumers, or at least buyers of handmade crafts, care. They finally get it. 

It means that part of your story on your hangtags and promotional material should contain language about how your crafts re-use materials and the benefits to the consumer and the environment. Target your press releases to publications and websites with a more progressive readership and learn to talk about how what you do benefits the universe. 

Get into the conversation with conscious consumers and start hanging out with people who care about the footprint they leave on our earth. Put the word out that you will help people dispose of their unwanted items-but be specific. If you do strictly metal art, you don’t want neighbors dropping off used clothing as if you were the Goodwill depot. If you get the word out that you make purses out of old sweaters, you may never have to peruse the thrift shops again. 

While everyone is whining about the state of the economy, I find it hopeful that we as a nation are growing more committed to saving our planet. 

How has your art changed and what has been your experience with greening your craft?  I’d love to hear your green stories and so would our readers.