i have been buying mini rolling pins and decorating them, but they wont sell

POPPYOSCAR

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

You have to ask yourself though - if you make enough money in your shop where all your stock is, why are you traipsing it to a craft fair on a weekend?

Because you don't make enough money in your shop!

Perhaps some people do not see it this way?

Perhaps they enjoy actually being there?

Or perhaps they are prepared to put the extra hours in now so they can reap the rewards later. I have worked round the clock at times
in the early years of my business.

Not everyone wants to earn a living from things like this anyway, some just want some extra pocket money from doing something they enjoy.

nat21luv

Rather than aiming these at an adult market (essentially dust collecting stuff) how about aiming these for children? Write their name on it and like another poster said, sell it with cookie cutters ect. All kids want to help in the kitchen and even more so when a utensil has their name on it you could draw cookies on it, possibly cartoon characters ect but I strongly recommend changing the colour scheme, think shabby chic pastel colours

antrobus

soolin wrote: »

That is a poor example, Body shop surprised even the Roddicks with its success when they first started up. When they opened their first London shop I remember queing to get in as I had heard rumours about their Brighton shop selling out of stock regularly

http://www.palgrave.com/business/burns/students/pdf/06%20Body%20Shop.pdf

Oddly enough, that case study makes no mention of 'The Body Shop' that was trading in San Francisco in 1970 when Roddick paid a visit. Roddick's Body Shop was essentially a copycat version of the original SF Body Shop. The lesson being, of course, if you want to succeed in business, find an idea that already works, steal it, but do it better, and go global asap.

bobble_hat

shop-to-drop wrote: »

Keep refining them and make a batch that say Mum's Kitchen, Gran's Kitchen etc and then have a turn out at home and then take them along with you to a car boot sale. Ask those who look at them for feedback even if they don't buy. What colours would they prefer? Do they like the ribbons, stickers etc? It would be better if you had a range of items rather than just the one but ofcourse you need to start somewhere.

I would agree with this, it's all about market research, try the same crafting with different items too, wooden spoons, wooden fruit bowls, wooden letter racks etc. Then take them to a local car boot (have a clear-out at the same time to make some funds for your craft kit) and gain feedback. You have to put the graft in first, and sell your items, as they won't sell themselves. If you can take someone else with you so that you can wander around the car boot sale and get a feel for what is selling, visit local craft fairs and talk to the stall holders, find out how they started, what is selling, try to identify gaps in the market. As other posters have suggested, functional yet crafty items are going to sell much more easily in this market than solely decorative items.

Looking at your picture, I would suggest using a stencil for the font if you can and making sure the bows are symmetrically placed as that really stood out for me. Good luck!

thatlemming

I don't think the OPs age can be used as an excuse here, judging by her username '91' she's exactly the same age as me so should be able to take criticism seeing as she so openly posted on here asking for opinions.

Secondly, as a teenager I used to work at a well established craft supplies shop, and we used to have regular 'events' where people would turn up and do scrapbooking, cardmaking etc under a leader. The difference was, that these leaders actually had talent, they were regulars on create and craft etc, I think the most popular at that time was dawn bibby? The OP couldn't do this because she doesn't have this.

Thirdly, the handmade craft market is absolutely saturated these days. Unless you're really talented, you're not going to make any money at all. Sorry.

JimmyTheWig

duchy wrote: »

Jade-Take yourself off to craft fairs over the next few weekends -but go with your business head screwed on. Identify the stalls who are selling similar products to yours and have a good browse -whilst doing so listen to what the other browsers are saying about the products -work out who buys what -see if particular themes (Christmas, Easter,New Baby, New Home etc) are more popular (with buyers not what looks nice).
When you get home write down what you learned and any ideas you've got from the day. Once you've done this a few times you'll have some decent market research and perhaps the beginnings of a business.

OP, I think this is a good suggestion.
I looked at the photo you linked to and it was quite nice. Not perfect, as has been mentioned, but certainly better than what I could make myself.
If I was looking for a mini-rolling pin to go on the wall and you were in my Facebook group then I may well buy one from you.

But I'm not looking for a mini-rolling pin to go on the wall. I don't know anyone who is.

If this is the sort of thing that you enjoy then you need to (a) find out what people are interested in buying and (b) find out where they are buying this sort of stuff from.
Then practise making them.
I think if you get the market right then you can sell them.

Sambucus_Nigra

beccie wrote: »

Totally untrue - when in business you try to make as much money as possible therefore you don't just stop at having a shop, not if you know you can make further sales at other places plus get the name of your business out to even more people.

People who do craft based things also enjoy meeting and talking with others who do the same - ie at craft fairs.

Not everyone will see it as 'traipsing' to a craft fair - people do actually enjoy going to them!

No - not 'totally untrue'. Vaguely untrue in your friend's case. If she was making more money opening her shop at the weekends, she would do.

Sambucus_Nigra

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

Perhaps some people do not see it this way?

Perhaps they enjoy actually being there?

Or perhaps they are prepared to put the extra hours in now so they can reap the rewards later. I have worked round the clock at times
in the early years of my business.

Not everyone wants to earn a living from things like this anyway, some just want some extra pocket money from doing something they enjoy.

Aye, but this is the 'Up your income' section.

POPPYOSCAR

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

Aye, but this is the 'Up your income' section.

So extra pocket money is not upping your income??

lambourne

Whilst these are not to my taste at least the poster is not sitting around doing nothing complaining like some people on these forums, I suggest you try a local craft fair or stall at a local festival, you could share with another crafter. to make cost more reasonable although this involves some initial outlay it would give a better idea of whether there is a market for the idea; I would also suggest using better quality decorations than in the photo.