Arzosah wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 4:27 pmItsy: absolutely. Use the system - it's been decimated, so you have to be extra canny with how you work it. I'm not up to date with it, but I'm glad you are.
Jansman: I'm glad you've got an efficient welfare section to your union still, that's what they were originally for, after all, back in the 19th century, and wouldn't they be horrified that they're just as badly needed now as then?
Lil: Knitting was a big thing for those old dears who sat by the basket that carried the heads they chopped off with the guillotine I really hope we don't go there, but if we do, I'll be the runner with the yarn :
PS itsy - you have a proper knitting sideline, from the sound of it, I hadn't *quite* clocked it was at this level. Such a good idea!
I knit all year then do a few winter/Christmas markets. I like being creative and it brings in some money - I'd like to expand it but this bloody job I have creeps into my personal life too much, I'm working on changing things but they take time. Of course, I do need a guaranteed income and markets are a bit hit and miss - at least this year they are! to give you an idea, a two-day market that I sold well over 2k's worth of hats last year, didn't even break a grand this year. It's not that people weren't buying, it's that it just wasn't busy - I think the weather had a detrimental impact - it was really rubbish and rained both days, and I also think that people had perhaps gone elsewhere this year as it's the busiest market weekend for Christmas events. I did another event and took almost 4k. You just never know. But I love doing them, I love being with the other stallholders, and I love being in stately homes/estates at Christmas so it's a win-win situation.
Quite a figure that itsybitsy.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.
Robert Frost.
Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.
That's a lot! But it nets a fair amount, and you do get to be in lovely surroundings with other creative people, got to try to find a bright side....
Are you near a chichi type of tourist place, like Brighton or York? A friend of mine in London was making diamante/velvet headbands, when they were fashionable, and I took them round a few Brighton shops when I lived there: two of them accepted 3 each on sale or return, and all 6 sold (all different, she was just doing what she felt like). Even Brighton was better off in those days: I think the materials cost her £6, she sold to the shop for £20, and the shops sold them for £40.
If you can set that up somewhere with some of your stock, it would be a steadier income, but I don't know if shops do deals like that with artisan producers nowadays.
Arzosah wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 5:11 pm
That's a lot! But it nets a fair amount, and you do get to be in lovely surroundings with other creative people, got to try to find a bright side....
Are you near a chichi type of tourist place, like Brighton or York? A friend of mine in London was making diamante/velvet headbands, when they were fashionable, and I took them round a few Brighton shops when I lived there: two of them accepted 3 each on sale or return, and all 6 sold (all different, she was just doing what she felt like). Even Brighton was better off in those days: I think the materials cost her £6, she sold to the shop for £20, and the shops sold them for £40.
If you can set that up somewhere with some of your stock, it would be a steadier income, but I don't know if shops do deals like that with artisan producers nowadays.
I've done that before when I had a jewellery/handbag business - I'd put stock in hairdressers etc., and give them a cut of the proceeds. Not the same with the hats though - my target market is a bit different now and I position myself as an artisan maker, which opens up much better opportunities as a lot of the Christmas markets don't want mass produced items and their customers are happy to pay for good quality hand crafted goods.
You've got to focus on the artisan part, its true - handmade is the whole point of it, and buying from the maker themselves feels *so* good. My friend was doing them by hand, in her bedroom but I think the shops were selling mass produced clothes.
Arzosah wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 5:22 pm
You've got to focus on the artisan part, its true - handmade is the whole point of it, and buying from the maker themselves feels *so* good. My friend was doing them by hand, in her bedroom but I think the shops were selling mass produced clothes.
Handmade is huge now, and people will pay for quality. There's still money around - I had a number of sales upwards of £150, and people weren't even batting an eyelid at the prices of my luxury range. You just have to find those pockets of affluence!
Arzosah wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 5:22 pm
You've got to focus on the artisan part, its true - handmade is the whole point of it, and buying from the maker themselves feels *so* good. My friend was doing them by hand, in her bedroom but I think the shops were selling mass produced clothes.
Handmade is huge now, and people will pay for quality. There's still money around - I had a number of sales upwards of £150, and people weren't even batting an eyelid at the prices of my luxury range. You just have to find those pockets of affluence!
That’s great! My dear wife is an ardent crochet fan ,and as I see what she makes ,the quality is obvious. It’s good that you can get a fair price for yours Itsy.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.
Robert Frost.
Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.
I really hope we don't go there, but if we do, I'll be the runner with the yarn :
