TURNING YOUR SEWING INTO MARKETABLE MERCHANDISE
There is a huge market for needlecraft products such as pillows, crocheted or knitted items, quilts, sweaters and bedspreads -- and even larger number of people who make them. The trouble is that the qualifications for creating these beautiful items (patience, TLC, close attention and years of practice) are quite different from what it often takes to successfully market them! They have a Talent!
People have often have difficulty selling their needle handiwork. Even when they do, they often don't even get back the cost of the materials. To make money in this area you must FIND and then ASSAULT the market! and be offering the exceptional or a highly individualized product.
Selling to only to friends and neighbors, the "market" quickly becomes saturated.
Some people view an item made by someone they know (other than family) as "home made" -- a substitute for the real "store bought" thing. But when they buy an item that was crafted by a total stranger, it is "handmade" -- something exquisite (Ah, human nature!).
This explanation does not make much sense, but it unfortunately rings true in too many situations. Even so, it does NOT mean there isn't a good market for YOUR hand made products.
With a imagination, your items can be marketed tastefully, or better still, SHOWCASED. Compare a homemade quilt hanging on a clothesline beside Grandma Brown's house to a HANDMADE QUILT (same quality) featured in a store window with a pleasing background and a couple of spotlights to show off the beautiful color patterns and intricate stitching!
Think of a clever name; have your own labels made; take some good color pictures of your product, then prepare a brochure or Online store showing it in its most favorable light.
Write a product discription that will emphasize the fine detail, the quality work, the durability and describe how it will become a HANDED DOWN HEIRLOOM in the buyer's family.
Put light colors on dark backgrounds (and vice versa) for contrast in your ads; produce business cards to promote your skills and talents as well as your product.
Show only a few products at a time to avoid a clustered or oversupplied appearance, which tends to cheapen the effect, whether the medium is a store window, website store or a brochure.
Marketing any prudct or service is always the biggest challenge. Try newspaper, magazines or bulletin boards and clubs, on and offline. Offer finished goods and take orders that will allow the product to be customized to the potential buyers tastes or particular requirements. Rent store window space or arrange a commission on sales made as a result of the display.
Check on fairs and shows on subjects where renting a booth might be an excellent way of meeting potential customers. A stall at a flea market may or may not be advisable, depending on the clientele (some are great for auto parts, but no good at all for hand made tablecloths).
Call on stores in your area that might handle products like yours -- ask them to buy yours, or at least take them on consignment (if they do and they sell, switch them to outright purchases later).
If you have or can produce a good quantity of your products, contact a mail order house to see about selling to them, or paying them a commission on sales they make for you.
Regardless of which sales system works out best for you, once you have established a satisfactory "outlet", immediately start making plans to buy other (non-competitive) products of equal quality (or take them on consignment), attach your label and add them to your "line."
If you are considering mail order sales, place a few "test ads" in smaller publications to learn which type of ad works best for your product.You need to learn the best wording as well as the best potential market, so keep careful track of which ads are answered by whom.
Use letterhead paper when writing to any commercial supplier. It creates an aura of professional ability and success. The easiest way to do this is to name yourself.
Finally, in business, even the smallest, records of expenses and sales are important. This not just for the tax audit but for you to be able to monitor success and be sure that the cost of making your product does exceed the cost and time for you to making it --otherwise, no profit.
BUSINESS SOURCES
GOODFELLOW, Box 4520, Berkeley, CA 94704. Catalog of toys and handmade home merchandise. Good place to advertise your products. Write for details.
ANNIE'S KNITTING PATTERNS. Box 398, Chestertown, NY 12817. Knitting pattern book, design graphs. Buys and sells.
JAN KNITS Box 315, Ingamar, MT 59039. Knitted sweater kits; garment kits. Buys and sells.
SHELBURNE SPINNERS, North Avenue Extension, Burlington, VT 05401. Knitting kits, Handspun yarn. Buys and sells.
KITS, Box 182, Madison Lake, MN 56063. Knitting kits. Buys and sells.
DAN NEWMAN CO. 57 Lakeview Ave.,Clifton, NJ 07011. Logos and name tags.
ENJOY MACRAME NEWSLETTER, 3817 N Vermillion, Danville, IL 61832. Newsletter for macram? enthusiasts.
HAND DANCER NEEDLEPOINT DESIGN, Box 480, Northville, NY 12123. Needlepoint kits, buys and sells.
HOOK AND NEEDLE. 31 Broadway, Rockport, MA 01966. Needlepoint kits, buys and sells.
HANDWORKS, Box 545, Smithtown, NY 11787. Needlepoint canvasses. Buys and sells.
JAN'S NEEDLEWORKS, Box 689, Old Bethpage, NY 11804. Needle mug kits; needlework footstool kit; buys and sells.
NEEDLEWORK PORTRAITS, Box 9, Green Farms, CT 06436. Needlepoint portrait kits - from photographs. Buys and sells.
NEEDLEWORK TIMES, Box 87263, Chicago, IL 60680. Newspaper for needlework enthusiasts.
NATIONAL QUILTING ASSN, Box 62, Greenbelt, MD 20770. Publishes PATCHWORK PATTER, magazine for quilting enthusiasts.
THE TREADLE WORKS, 118 Westridge Drive, Portola Valley, CA 94205. Amish design quilting kits.
HARRIS PUBLICATIONS, INC. 79 Madison Ave.,NY 10016. Publishes QUILT magazine.
COVERED BRIDGE FABRIC WORKS, Box 884, Flagstaff, AZ 88022. Good Feelings quilting kits. Buys and sells.
HOMECRAFT SERVICES, 1441 Atlantic, Kansas City, MO 64116. Embroidered quilt designs. Buys and sells.
QUILTS AND OTHER COMFORTS, Box 394, Wheatridge, CO 80033. Quilt kits, pillow kits, quilt patterns and supplies. Buys and sells.
WORK DESIGN, 8916 York Rd.,Charlotte, NC 28224. Latch hook rug kits. Buys and sell.
CRAFTSMAN STUDIO. North Street, Kennebunkport, ME 04046. Rug hooking equipment, hooked rug designs. Buys and sells.
SEW BUSINESS 2100 N Central Rd.,Ft lee, NJ 07024. Monthly publications: ART NEEDLEWORK and QUILT QUARTERLY $15 yr. each.
JANA ASSOCIATES, 49 Longview Rd.,Staten Island, NY 10304. Close-outs: beads, doll eyes, felt pieces, etc.
CREATIVE PRODUCTS, Box 584, Lake Forest, IL 60046. Free subscription to businesses (write on letterhead). Good place to look for sewing product information.
NEEDLE & THREAD MAGAZINE, 4949 Byers, Ft Worth, TX 76107. Also publishes NEEDLECRAFT FOR TODAY.
HOUSE OF WHITE BIRCHES, Box 337, Seabrook, NH 03874. Publishes STITCH N' SEW and WOMEN'S CIRCLE - as the National Friendly Homemakers Club. Both quarterly -$6 yr.
C.M. ALMY & SON, INC. 37 Purchase St.,Rye, NY 10580. Yarns, even weave cloth, ecclesiastical supplies. Buys and sells.
LAURA'S CREATIVE STITCHERY, Box 291, Bountiful, UT 84014. Pillow kits, quilting kits, patterns. Buys and sells.
ROMNI WOOLS & FIBERS, LTD., 3779 W. 10th Ave.,Vancouver, BC, Canada. V6R 2G5. Spinning wheels, carding equipment, weaving looms; Buys and sells.
DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC. 31 East 2nd St.,Mineola, NY 11051. Discount books, clip art, stencils, etc.
QUILL CORPORATION, 100 Schelter Rd.,Lincolinshire, IL 60917-4700, 312/634-4800. Office supplies.
NEBS, 500 Main St.,Groton, MA 04171, 800/225-6380. Office supplies.
SWEDCO, Box 29, Mooresville, NC 28115. 3 line rubber stamps - $3; business cards - $13 per thousand.
ZPS, Box 581, Libertyville, IL 60048-2556. Business cards (raised print - $11.50 per K) and letterhead stationery. Will print your copy ready logo or design, even whole card.
WALTER DRAKE, 4119 Drake Bldg.,Colorado Springs, CO 80940. Short run business cards, stationery, etc. Good quality but no choice of style or color.
|
or Call Now: 1-800-719-8268
x20545 (Outside the United States? Dial 1-480-355-5612 x20545)
If you are totally satisfied with your work
and financial situation, chances are you own your own
Home Based Business. If you're not experiencing
the freedom and financial security...
Get my Special Report FREE:
Discover the "24 Hour 'CMPS' Web Cash Secret" Get it FREE!
Fill out the form above and you'll
be presented with some of the most exclusive and hottest
Work at Home Business Ideas available
today!
|