Crafting as a Business

Posted on 27. Aug, 2007 by Crafty Mom in Make Money Crafting

Enjoying

Enjoy your crafts even more when you make some cashola with them!

So what is a Crafting Service Business you ask? As a doll maker and designer it can be very time consuming to sew a bunch of doll bodies. For me personally, sewing the body is my least favorite part of creating a new doll. Giving the doll character by adding features and dressing her is the fun part! Let’s face it, there are only so many ways to make a doll body. Of course the shape of the head varies, length of legs and arms, etc. But overall, the doll “body” is not what makes the finished doll. It’s the character and touches each designer gives to the doll.

I would imagine many designers would find using such a service an asset to their designing business! You will be saving the designer a lot of time and thus they can create even more fabulous designs! It would be important to get to know the style of each designer your working with. Each designer should make it clear of how they prefer items to be finished. If they have certain ways they like things stitched or if they prefer you use 22 stitches per inch when sewing doll bodies, it’s important that you follow those preferences and be flexible.

Doll bodies are just an example and there are many other crafts you could do as well in your business. You could also offer to do finished items for a designer. Some examples are finished pieces like stitcheries, rug hooking, doll clothing, needle punch, and applique just to name a few. What you would do is use their design to finish a piece and when completed you would provide the designer with clear digital picture or negatives for reprints so the designer can use them for their pattern covers. The designer may agree to let you keep the item or allow you to sell it as part of the payment. Or they may prefer to have the finished item shipped to them so they can take their own pictures. It all depends on what you and the designer agree upon. You will also need to determine if you will use your own materials and add that to the cost or if the designer is to send you materials for the project (s).

Whether you charge by a certain number of projects or do “piece” work, you could make a nice part-time income crafting around 8-10 hours per week once you built up your clientele. A cost example for “piece work” might be $2-$3 per doll body. Which can add up quite quickly.

This type of business is not like outsourcing to another country to mass produce an item. The difference would be you (your business) would create a small number of either doll bodies or one finished item at a time. A seasoned designer will have the experience to know the steps required to write instructions for the item you are creating. Or a designer may ask you to jot down notes as you create the item.

I hope this article has inspired you or perhaps even generated some business idea’s for you. You can’t succeed if you don’t try! If there are any readers who decide to pursue a Crafting Service Business please let me know as I hope to compile a resource guide and would love to include your business!

Written by Kelle Arvay, Designer and owner of Pattern Mart. Kelle has been designing patterns for several years with great success.