Well I know the difference between an artist and
seller. The straight seller is in it for
the money, (and there's nothing wrong with that by the way. We all need money), but the artist just wants
to create. If they didn't have the landlord and the electric
company after them, they might not think
about money at all, and they're kinda pissed that they even have to think about
finances.
But, we can't live in la-la land. We have to sell if this is more than a
hobby. So how does that work?
Well for me, I started out as a crocheter 6 years ago, and
made handmade sewn goods a decade before that, it was all about inspiration and
OOAK (one of a kind) goods. I was making
stuff for me more than for any customer.
In the 90's, I mostly made things with cowry shells,
mudcloth and ankara prints. That worked
out well because there was a kind of cultural awakening going on in New York at
that time, and those types of cultural goods were in high demand, so I really
didn't have to think about it any further.
But once I learned to crochet 6 years ago, well the 90's
were over and not everyone in my neighborhood was thirsting for African
things. Still, there is a good sized
market for it and while I mostly sell amongst them on land, I'm looking for as
wide an audience as I can get online.
There are the men, the women who I call "glam" (who like
diamonds and pearls and bling), the high end customers, the bohemian style
customers, and so forth. I have so many
styles and things that I like that I can create things for all of them, even
though the cultural community will always be my home base.
So how do I know who to cater to most if I want my business
to be successful?
On top of that there are the little bursts of inspiration
that every creative person gets. I LOVE
following those to see where they will take me.
But will those bursts of inspiration be enough to pay my
rent?
Back when I worked for my family, we too made a lot of our
goods, but some we bought. Me and my
mother would do the buying together. She
could count on me to get the odd and funky, unconventional pieces and If times
were good, I could get quite a few. But
if times were tight, we had to get the conventional stuff because that's what
sells fastest and pays for rent and salaries.
The reason I was always allowed to get some unconventional pieces was because
when we had a piece like that, the person who had the not-so-common taste would
not only buy it, but become a customer for life because we had a piece that
spoke to them. Problem was, it could
take two years for that certain someone to find that piece. Meanwhile, the conventional stuff sold to
everyone and ran out quickly.
So when I started my own business, my dad advised me to make
more than one of each style and make them in different sizes and colors. I had to wait a minute to take his advice
because I was still churning out OOAK pieces and I didn't yet know which ones
would catch on. But because I do a lot
of made-to-order, eventually I could easily see which ones were the "sure shots".
I noticed that other artists had taken to doing exactly
that, with much success. They had named
their pieces, and they had a host of colors their items were available in. Etsy and many other sites facilitate this by
offering "variations", a feature where the customer can choose what
sizes, colors and more for the item.
They also did made-to-order, offering the customer the same
choices.
And they were successful doing it too.
So I'm finally doing it too.
I started on land when I vend and do consignment. I send out the most popular styles in
different colors and watch them sell like crazy.
I set up my own website with Prestashop (free!) and it calls
this feature "combinations", so I get to make one entry offering the
different variations. I've had a really
hard time doing well with online sales so I'm hoping that this will be the
thing that turns it around. So far I've
been selling out of those items to the point where I can't list them online,
which is hopefully a good sign.
Even if OOAK is where your heart lies, try this method if
you haven't already. Don't worry. You won't lose your creative edge. But with an inventory that moves, you won't
just have to come up with stuff to fill up your table or online store. You can wait until you are truly inspired before
you make your next piece. Plus the artist in you won't let you only just make
the same stuff over and over without doing something new.
Besides, that next burst of inspiration might just be your
next sure shot, hot seller!