How to help teen daughter sell her crafts?
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Anonymous
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So, 17 yr old DD is a pretty talented fiber artist. She's been knitting/crocheting for a few years and makes exceptional stuff.
She'd like to find commissions, and asked me for advice. I'm stumped! Etsy wasn't a success (flooded with dirt cheap knit items from overseas), listserv doesn't allow advertising, and instagram hasn't worked either. I'm not someone with a huge group of friends so I can't market to my friends (and honestly, I want her to arrange her own stuff...) Any ideas? Anyone with crafty kids? How do your kids sell their stuff? |
Anonymous
| Craft fairs have always worked for me, especially around the holidays. Look foe ones at churches or schools. They’re generally a cheap buy in for a table and people love them for good gifts. |
Anonymous
| Facebook Marketplace perhaps? |
Anonymous
| OP: tried FB marketplace, no dice. Will look into craft fairs, although from what she's explained she'd rather have a commission than build up a stock (due to the cost of doing so and no guarantee of sale...) |
Anonymous
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She should teach knitting and crocheting for money.
I'd sell them at yard sale if you ever have one. |
Anonymous
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Sell items on Nextdoor.com. Better yet, offer lessons on Nextdoor.com. When my DD still lived at home, I would have loved for her to have lessons in knitting and crocheting.
What does she make? My daughter and her friend sold homemade dog accessories by setting up setting up a table outside a busy dog park on a Saturday. I'm sure it wasn't allowed - but for a few hours, nobody said anything. They made some sales. |
Anonymous
| OP: she makes mostly shawls. lace with beads is the current favorite, but she also does cabled stuff. She's made a few sweaters. Haven't heard of next-door, I'll check it out!!! |
Anonymous
Unfortunately this is your answer. I wanted a commissioned specific thing from a talented friend. By the time we crunched all the cost numbers for her time and materials, it didn’t make sense. She wasn’t just somewhat more expensive than my online alternatives, she was several multiples more expensive. Selling more than a couple things a year is pretty unlikely. That said there is no reason for her to have a stock. She can post her projects and say everything is made to order. But if no one on Etsy is biting that’s probably her answer for the market for her stuff. |
Anonymous
| Are there any charities she could donate to for, say a silent auction? I get requests from my donations. |
Anonymous
| she could try knitting stores. if she started off "finishing" people's projects (which is definitely a thing), then her name gets out there as someone who can make beautiful things. I know that at my local yarn store I could go in there and get something commissioned by a local knitter. Same with our now defunct quilt store. The yarn store might also have advice on it. Good luck to her! |
Anonymous
| Etsy is a bit of a scam. Yes some people do make money but the high sellers are suppliers to crafters. |
Anonymous
| There are so many people trying to sell homemade things, and, likewise, so many people who just don’t want to buy stuff. I’m sorry, not helpful, but maybe a window into why her work isn’t selling. |
Anonymous
| OP: We will try next-door. its totally possible nothing will ever sell, figured its worth one last shot! Thanks for all the leads, everyone!! |
Anonymous
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Look for a local craft show and pay for a vendor table.
Ask your most outgoing friend to go with you guys and try to sell it. It might flop but hey... then you know it’s s hobby vs a career. |
Anonymous
She needs to think about this. How many people are looking for shawls? Who is her target audience? Old ladies? How does she find old ladies? Nursing homes? Maybe the daughters of old ladies would buy shawls for their old lady mothers. Where to find the daughters? She should see if she can make baby sweaters. People love hand-knitted stuff for babies. |