Start a 'cottage industry'... official MoneySavingExpert.com discussion

Frugaldom

nykmedia wrote: »

...My plan is to make whatever I can from scraps of whatever I can get - kind of a recycling project as well as a cottage industry. I've got loads of offcuts of wood, board and card now and have been asked if I could make use of glass offcuts...

My most exciting buy ... an electric Loctite hot glue gun and an extra pack of glue sticks! :rotfl:That means my start-up budget is now down to £37.93

I thought I would just do a quick update on the above, as things have been slow to kick off on my new cottage industry, but the plans are now all in place to 'get going' properly. Of my original £50 capital I allowed for the setting up of this 'mini-business', I have spent a further £11.82 on 14 packs of assorted vegetable & herb seeds and a large bag of potting compost, leaving me a balance of £26.11.
Having spent several weeks devising ways of making up small planters, and unusual pots, planting seeds, taking cuttings from my houseplants, and salvaging as many free seed trays and plant pots as possible (now being made from empty milk cartons and plastic food trays) can you guess what I'm going to try to sell this summer? My little keyring sized offcuts make great plant markers and I can borrow one of those pyrography / burning irons for writing the names. My biggest problems are
1) motivating myself to get started and
2) waiting for cuttings to take root / seeds to grow and
3) spending far too much time in MSE forums :rotfl:

I've already found out about market stalls and can share with a friend. I've also spoken to a local shop who will display items on a sale or return basis, so that's my progress so far... I just need to stay out the forums long enough to build up some stock.

How (and what) is everyone else doing to progress their plans?

JimmyTheWig

My dad is a potter and has got some spare pottery (vases, jugs, bowls, etc) to sell. I tried these at a car boot sale but this wasn't particularly successful. Got £27 for 14 items. Having paid a tenner for the pitch that didn't leave much profit for the amount of work involved (sorting out stuff, getting up early, etc).

A craft fair is another option, but I'm not convinced this would be much better. Anyone with any opinions on this? Any experience selling pottery in SW London / Surrey?

And then thought turn to the internet. Have looked on eBay, but not much seems to be selling - it's all about named manufacturers.
Went on to Etsy (as recomended by various posts on this forum). All looks a bit American. Is there a way to see what's in the UK? More importantly, is there a way of seeing what pottery has been sold in the UK on Etsy recently? (And what pottery hasn't been sold.)
I'd rather sell it face to face as I'm concerned about packaging it securely enough. Anyone got experience selling pottery online?

Any other ideas for selling it?

Frugaldom

Hi JimmyTheWig, for handmade pottery, I would approach craft shops and garden centres with a view to offering sale or return and just remember to incorporate their percentage commission when costing. You could also try local craft groups during their sales of work, see if it would be possible to stall share rather than cover all the costs alone. Then there's the Internet route - set up a cheap or free website and list somewhere like eBid free of charge with the links on your own site. You could tick the box for 'collection only' and that way there's no need to worry about postage. Nothing to lose even if they don't sell at first

misspixierocktastic

Etsy is an american site alas but theres a growing number of uk sellers
To see sellers from the uk you can shop by location or type uk after whatever you are looking for because a lot of uk crafters now put uk in the tags so that people searching specifically for items in the uk can find them easier

Alas you cant search for whats been sold recently by product it only brings up in the time machine items of all kinds that have been sold recently

I'm afraid i dont know so much about how pottery sells on etsy i only know about jewellery :-)

JimmyTheWig

Thanks for these ideas you two. Will have a ponder...

RosaThorne

I want an etsy shop! I just wish I had some more stuff to sell - I've spent more time reading this thread than actually making things!

How's everyone else doing with their crafting? I want gossip

Frugaldom

My crafting skills are still eluding me. I spend too much time online and not enough 'doing' stuff and when I'm not online, I'm making food or sleeping. Hmm... not condusive of good business practice, even for a cottage industry. Some gossip would be quite a novelty!

Can someone/anyone please send me a detailed, but lighthearted, dummies guide of how to get motivated. Failing that, does anyone want to buy a homemade lksjhdVKGUAB*-/NFBYZX? :rotfl:

RosaThorne

I don't thinkanyone has the motivation to write a guide about it!
Managed to pull all the fabric/ribbon/buttons etc out of the cupboard - I was so exhausted after that, I went and made a cup of tea! I need a deadline to work towards... Off to look for some local craft fayres...

tru

nykmedia wrote: »

how to get motivated.

Frugaldom

Thanks for the motivational suggestions, folks Still searching for it, though, and reckon it's along the lines of what RosaThorne says. I don't need a deadline, as such, I need an actual goal that can be achieved. So far, someone has always moved the goalposts and I'm not far-sighted enough to see beyond them. I thought, perhaps, a really easy challenge to begin with, like make and sell one item. Except I'm still waiting to sell.... :rotfl: Now I'll need to try another item! :rolleyes: Then another, and another and another... how's that for motivation?