Craft Shop

justin138

I suggest having a look at the website of craft shop I go to called "The Cheap Shop" in Tiptree. They've never failed me yet whenever I've needed any craft object - from tatting shuttles to wing needles (which are quite rare to find).

I wish you the very best of luck!
Jo

LizD_2

All good advice, don't have anything specific to say, but good luck in your venture!

bestpud

I've always thought it would be nice to have a stamp library as they are quite expensive to buy and it would be nice to have a wider selection than I can afford. Say £5 as a one off fee, which would cover you for any non returns or damage, and then £1 ish to hire the stamp for a week, depending on the size/design etc. Same goes for punches and maybe sizzix (sp?) dies for those that use them? Don't know if it would work in practice though!

Other than that, I would like to be able to buy pick and mix cards, rather than packs of five all the same.

Craft classes are good too, with different techniques to try out. My local one used to do these for kids too and they were always very popular - my children went to several and always had a great time. It was £5 per child, if my memory serves me right, and they were there for an hour and a half.

Hth

bestpud

Sarahsaver

Wool for darning jumpers, fine stuff on small cards.
Dylon dye in the tins.
Image maker...
I could go on and on. Mum works in a haberdashery, dd used to call her 'haberdashery nanna'

newleaf

I've just been to a local craft shop today, on a bit of a wild goose chase really, looking for a bail to fix onto a glass cabochon to make a pendant. I eventually found what I wanted online, however... I did spend ages talking to the lady, who was really helpful, and has only just bought the shop. She sells bits of everything, but is specialising in supplies for textile crafts and has a loft where she is running workshops in things like felt making. She also exhibits work from the local embroiderers guild and gets tutors in to do other workshops. I just make a few cards and bits of costume jewellery myself, but I was really interested in these workshops and put myself on the mailing list, as I quite fancy trying some new things.
So, sorry this is a bit long winded but what I'm getting round to saying is, if you can incorporate some kind of teaching or workshop facility into your shop that might help to spread the word and get your business off to a good start.

culpepper

The stuff you add to acrylic paint to make it into fabric paint. I've just found some in town in a new craft shop after months of looking.
Rubber stamps with generic themes/words like 'love from ' and 'For you on your birthday' rather than a stamp you could only use once in your whole life like 'happy 40th darling'.
Letraset.

Rebob

With regard to the craft lessons, if the lesson was £6 the student could get ?% off purchases made that day. If would offer a bit more incentive to stock up on materials for their new talent!

dragonsoup

Good luck.

I buy some craft items each month . Unfortunately very little of my budget is spent in our local craft shops. I just can't afford them when I know that I can buy the same items on line from the US for a fraction of the UK price. I tend to use the shops for emergency top ups or if I am really in a hurry but for big purchases I will be looking online. Most of my friends who are crafters do the same.

newlywed

dragonsoup wrote:

Unfortunately very little of my budget is spent in our local craft shops. I just can't afford them when I know that I can buy the same items on line from the US for a fraction of the UK price. I tend to use the shops for emergency top ups or if I am really in a hurry but for big purchases I will be looking online. Most of my friends who are crafters do the same.

It's true that you can get things cheaper online but I always find I'm tempted to buy more in a shop. Especially when you are trying to match bead colours etc. It's just not the same looking at a photo online and trying to guess if your monitor is showing the colour correctly or if the picture was taken with good light!

dragonsoup

newlywed wrote:

It's true that you can get things cheaper online but I always find I'm tempted to buy more in a shop. Especially when you are trying to match bead colours etc. It's just not the same looking at a photo online and trying to guess if your monitor is showing the colour correctly or if the picture was taken with good light!

I do take your point. I used to buy a lot from shops/fairs but the last time I went to Ally Pally I came back with most of the ££ still in my bag. I found I was just using the stalls to see what was around and came back to order online ( not good for the health of the stall holders I know but if it boils down to paying £45 for something I know I can buy online for $30...). Using DMC colours as a reference point does give me a pretty good idea of the colours of beads etc.

The point I am trying to make is that I think small craft shops are in for a tough time. A new one opened near me about a year ago as a small start up. It had a limited stock and the choice of pretty much everything was limited. Maybe 20/30 different beads etc.A selection of card blanks, scrap booking bits and pieces, some stamping stuff;you get the picture. Because the choice was poor I didn't go back and neither did anyone else and it closed in 3 months.

Stock is expensive and unless there is sufficient start up capital I think a lot are doomed to fail.