Whether you've just started out or you've been established for a long time, you are going to have lulls in the crafting business. Unfortunately, sometimes with small businesses it seems like the lulls are more prevalent than any actual work.
I have been feeling this way lately, and with the holidays coming up I, like everyone else, would love to see some extra pocket change. I have been getting orders, don't get me wrong, but I do get incredibly frustrated when I work hard on something and it hardly gets any interest. But if we want to be completely honest, don't we all? We're told constantly we do excellent work in whatever crafty area we specialize and we should try to make money from it, but after the initial excitement and 'oohs' and 'ahhs,' your door's not being trampled down with people wanting your wares, as your well-meaning friends and family gave you the illusion they would be. It's never as simple as, 'If you build it, they will come.'
When I formed Amy's Creations, I went in with the idea of trying to not charge an arm and a leg like I see so many people do. I had to bump up prices slightly because clay went up. Truthfully I should be selling some of my stuff for a lot more than I am... but then I would sell even less. There's the rub. The balance is supposed to be time, details, and materials, which is how I try going about it. But even if you're not charging much at all, there will still be those people who act like you're greedy.
I don't pay to advertise because to be frank I can't afford it, so I do all I can with free advertising. It has brought me likes but not many more orders. So what do you do? You sit and create. And create. Then, you have all these neat things you've made... and no one is interested. Your time and materials are used up on things that you thought people liked, but as normal they just ignore it.
I've started taking suggestions as to what people want to see more of and what they would actually buy, but even that isn't foolproof. I know I personally have spent a lot of time and money on things that never sold, and I'm still waiting for them to leave my 'shelves' before I work on/have to harbor anything else.
I know I'm not the only crafter that feels this way. We don't want to beg people to buy our stuff... but in a way we do, right? Bad thing about that is, desperation seems to drive people away more often than actually bring them in. I know I wouldn't really feel comfortable wandering in someone's shop who kept pushing and pushing. Perhaps this is why a lot of us aren't aggressive in our selling campaigns. I know I'm not. I post my stuff, I repost, but then I leave it go.
On that note, I think I will wrap up this rant ill-disguised as a blog entry (haha!). Fellow crafters, feel free to comment some of your own 'joys'! We all know there are many - I merely grazed part of it.
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