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

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  • JimmyTheWig
    JimmyTheWig Posts: 12,199 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I'm a very good knitter and have managed my Xmas presents for the price of wool. Thinking of knitting a load of babies/children's clothes, jumpers, hats mitts etc and having a stall at a boot fair in the summer.
    I think that anything is worth a try, and I wouldn't want to discourage you, but I know that at NCT nearly new sales they don't allow hand-knitted items as they don't sell very well. Admittedly that is second-hand hand-knitted items, but I wouldn't pin too many hopes on this.

    As with all of these things, the problem is finding the people who want them.
  • grace1990
    grace1990 Posts: 310 Forumite
    Loads more people are starting to buy hand made/knitted things as the credit cruch means people are buying less but want more original things when they do buy.
  • Jo_F
    Jo_F Posts: 1,780 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Bear in mind that as retailers, and by that I don't just mean the big ones, there are a lot of independants going out of business, it could mean that those of us that make things could start picking up customers. We don't have huge outlays for the items, (as had been proved countless times by how inventive people are), so we are not generally over pricing for things, and people are starting to realise that hand made isn;t as naff as they first thought.
  • Frugaldom
    Frugaldom Posts: 7,136 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Does anyone weave baskets? I know that gift baskets are hugely popular and I am a fan of willow for various things - hedging, fencing, carbon neutral fuel if I had enough space for growing that amount. I did start planting mine last year but have, since, moved house and need to start again. I'd like to eventually have assorted types/colours growing so I could try basket weaving. Any helpful advice appreciated, as I'm just in the process of planning out my new garden.
    I reserve the right not to spend.
    The less I spend, the more I can afford.


    Frugal living challenge - living on little in 2025 while frugalling towards retirement.
  • Frugaldom
    Frugaldom Posts: 7,136 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    RosaThorne wrote: »
    I'm a bit reluctant to become self-employed in the current market as I'd need to find premises - The landlord has said no to the idea of my running even the smallest of businesses from home - I know in the long-term I could make a nice living from all my little ideas bunched into one business, but it's the start-up costs that stop it from happening, and the costs for the next year.

    Have you considered approaching a local business where you could rent an address and store/display your finished products? I used to 'rent out' window, counter and shelf space in a shop to several crafters and then we shared the costs of advertising/marketing/website because it was all under the same premises name. If they didn't want to rent their own space, I'd stock their items on a sale or return basis and deduct a commission on any sales I made on their behalf, or else they would come and do a few hours 'on duty' in the shop to let me get other jobs done. It was all great fun, although none of us made our fortunes. :D
    I reserve the right not to spend.
    The less I spend, the more I can afford.


    Frugal living challenge - living on little in 2025 while frugalling towards retirement.
  • grace1990
    grace1990 Posts: 310 Forumite
    I pm'd debtmustgo about this but have yet to get a reply, so maybe somone else can help me, I was wondering how I find a card agent?
  • wigglebeena
    wigglebeena Posts: 1,988 Forumite
    I haven't read all through: has anyone put a list on here of craft-sellers' sites? etsy, dawanda, artfire etc? can't think of all the rest off-hand but there's tons...

    I believe artfire is free to list for the first ten items.
  • grace1990
    grace1990 Posts: 310 Forumite
    Folksy is a fairly new craft sellers site, but seems to be fairly good.
  • Karmacat
    Karmacat Posts: 39,460 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Just a note to the hand-knitted things: I've seen quite a lot on ebay, believe it or not. It doesn't go for a lot, but it does seem to go.
    2023: the year I get to buy a car
  • RosaThorne
    RosaThorne Posts: 136 Forumite
    Karmacat - Some handknitted items can sell for a fortune on eBay, depending on what it is. Baby things tend to be a bit cheaper, knitted in DK etc.

    Is it just me or have etsy ground to a halt? My sales are good everywhere, except for on etsy!

    Happy New Year everyone (I haven't been on much this year, so far!)
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