I have a sister that is an exceptional paper crafter. She is an instructor as well. The projects she shows me are astoundingly creative. I often tell her she could sell them if she developed a workflow that wasnt so time consuming. But she says there is no market for it or people dont buy etc etc.
My question is, basically, is she right? Does anyone here have succes stories or the like about etsy etc.? Do boutique shops actually sell these things? I have seen hand made things at shops down town and in Grapevine main st shops… But do the sell???
Well, she is telling you the truth. At the amount of input and marketing your sister sounds like she is willing to do there probably isn’t a market. However, if you feel like her work would have a market I would suggest you purchase work from her and try and sell it yourself. Not all artists are marketers and salesmen, so they may never find the market for their work. Thus the success of the gallery system for selling work. So, the issue is where do you want to spend your time, making art or marketing and selling art?
I have a couple of friends that routinely tell me I can sell some of the things I make. My point to them is that if I put 10 hours of work into something I better be able to get 10 hours of pay for it. If I can sell it for $100 or $200 I can feel that I paid myself $10/hr or $20/hr. If it sells for $50 then I only made $5/hr. and I would have been better off working at McDonalds.
I think your sis is probably right. Browse some Etsy listings. I think you’ll find tons of astonishingly well-made and original handmade items selling for very little–often for less than similar mass-produced items. There are simply too many sellers and not enough buyers. Or put another way, there are too many people who love making things so much that they’re willing to pay themselves poverty wages.
I have a niche-y, craftsy business, and make a (modest) full-time income running it. I sell on various online platforms, as well as local shows and fairs and occasional consignment. But the vast majority of my sales are of items that I import and/or resell. Only about 5-10 percent is from items that I personally create and make from raw materials.
I’d love that number to be higher, because I love making stuff too! But it’s hard to sell handmade goods at a price that covers materials, time, and marketing. (The exception might be fine arts, but fine art buyers are harder to come by than trinket buyers–hence the gallery system.)