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

Frugaldom

RosaThorne wrote: »

My Mum did quite well with knitted bootees in some "shabby chic" style shops, the one's that sell Cath Kidston stuff - Not cheap shops at all, but she made got about £6 a pair... Best thing was, she only used scraps of wool left over from other projects!

That's my idea of frugal enterprising! :beer: Shabby Chic always sounds so rustic yet so designer, don't you think?

RosaThorne

What I don't get, is there are people (those with 'okey yah' names!) who turn their noses up at "second hand" but will quite happily pay a fortune for a piece of furniture to look old and knocked about!!

Oh, and I forgot to mention: Paperback books; either bootsale them (10p each?) or put them on Freecycle - Charity shops tend to chuck them!

pink_elf

What an inspirational thread!
I've been thinking about doing some knitting but if I follow a pattern, would I be able to sell the item?
I'm not good enough to make my own patterns

Frugaldom

pink_elf wrote: »

What an inspirational thread!
I've been thinking about doing some knitting but if I follow a pattern, would I be able to sell the item?
I'm not good enough to make my own patterns

I know I have loads of crafting patterns but I can't make them to sell because of the copyright issues. Perhaps you could stick to standard garments and then decorate them in different ways? That would make them exclusive 'one of' designs

pink_elf

Thanks for your reply, that's what I was thinking. Good idea about personalising items though and I'd prefer to do 'exclusives'. :-)

xxAD3L3xx

I have read this entire thread (took me awhile :rotfl: ) & I've been really inspired what I've read. I have always been interested in crafts & would love to start doing something. I'm currently a stay at home mother & I'd like to do something to occupy myself when my daughter has her naps.

I did have an idea of painting on canvas with my own designs. I don't know how successful this would be, but I am thinking of buying some canvas & just letting my imagination take over.

Frugaldom

xxAD3L3xx wrote: »

...I did have an idea of painting on canvas with my own designs. I don't know how successful this would be, but I am thinking of buying some canvas & just letting my imagination take over.

Hello and welcome to the wacky online land of frugal enterprise

Just when you mentioned painting on canvas, I'm one of these people, sadly, who knows someone somewhere who has tried what seems like absolutely everything. Anyway, your idea reminded me of a friend who used to paint or draw on to white cotton, personalising the itmes for weddings, anniversaries etc by including names and dates. Then she'd cut to size - napkins, tea tray cloths, tablecovers etc and trim them with lace. I don't know what kind of paint or pens she used but I do have proof that, to date, they are permanent because I have a tablecover that has been machine washed at least once a week for the past don't know how long (years). OK, so mine does say Happy Anniversary to someone else and has a picture of the people's pet collie, but it has lasted really well and still looks good. (It was one that someone ordered then never returned to collect, so we used it as a sample in the shop that we all used to stock.) If I saw them at a reasonable price, I'd recommend them to anyone. GOOD LUCK!

With the above in mind, I thought I'd make a list of some of the things that our little group used to make.

Painted fabric items - personalised
Hand painted glass items
Handmade candles & rolled beeswax
Homemade jewellery
3d boxed art
Miniature wall-hanging rooms - boxed with hinged and framed glass fronts
Decoupage cards & pictures
Original art
Faberge style eggs from duck, goose, rhea or ostrich eggs
Personalised printed items
Individually designed pet products - embroidered saddle cloths, dog coats etc
Clay models - chess sets, cottages
Concrete garden ornaments
Rag rugs & handwoven items
Cross stitch, tapestry & embroidered items

Can't remember anything else at the moment but will keep adding to my list in case it inspires someone else somewhere. I think our shared work display space was ahead of its time back then and that's my excuse for not having earned a fortune back then. :rotfl:

mrs.maverick

nykmedia wrote: »

Has anyone got any ideas for alternative uses for paperback books? I had started listing them for sale but they are nothing special and only worth pence, so nobody will be interested in paying the postage & packaging on them. I have been racking my brains for some time now, but can't come up with a worthwhile way of recycling them and I'm not sure of there are any laws concerning defacing books! You never know these days! :eek:

How is everyone doing with their cottage industry earnings? Am I the only one who isn't making much progress? I know that I NEED to get my act together if I'm ever to make anything of it, but I just haven't reached that 'lightbulb' moment in my homebased career ideas. Still searching.

One way of making old paperback books work for you is to list them on www.ReadItSwapIt.co.uk

The idea is you list the books you no longer want, and people will offer their books if they fancy one of yours. So all you pay is the cost of p+p, and you get to reuse envelopes too! I've had some great books sent and got rid of loads too.

RosaThorne

Hey - Not wanting to drag you away from your crafting tables, but just wondering how everyone's getting on?
I started with good intentions, but couldn't really do much as the house is cluttered, so sold a load on eBay for the MAD challenge - But it's making money for craft supplies!
Anyways, I'm getting some fabric on Monday to make a skirt, and some wool for a vintage sweater... And some books on resin jewellery making

All dreaming, no working!!!

So, anyone actually made anything?

Frugaldom

Oh, you dragged me away kicking and screaming and err.... umm.......
OK, I lied, I haven't made a thing. I haven't used any of my inspiration to make anything, but I did have a bit of a declutter and I did sell some stuff at a carboot/market.

As for making to sell, well, that went out the window again as soon as the sun started to shine and the garden beckoned. I do know that I MUST make an effort, but I keep seeing clutter and telling myself that I'll start the homemade items as soon as I clear enough space to work. Trouble is... other things get in the way, like charity auction weekend, free bingo, eBid, MSE forums, cooking, baking, work, gardening, Wednesday night TV and Dirty, Sexy Money on a Friday night and visitors and babysitting DGD and.... how many more excuses can I come up with when needed? :rotfl:
I'm lucky I even got around to making all the sealed pots in time for that challenge!