Have you ever had a visitor in your studio who picked up your toys and made them talk? A little goofy dialogue and a little puppet show unfolds and all of the sudden you’re both laughing hysterically? Softies certianly lend themselves to this type of funny play and maybe you’ve asked yourself whether it might…
Search Results for: "softies for sale"
Softies for Sale Series: Custom Work
In this installment in my series about turning sewing softies into a business I am going to explore the ins and outs of taking on custom work. Making a custom item means creating something one-of-a-kind especially for a particular customer according to design choices the customer makes. It might involve drafting a brand new pattern…
Softies For Sale Series: Pursuing New Avenues as Your Business Evolves
In this installment of my series I want to think about how our businesses change overtime as we learn what we’re good at and what is profitable. Allowing a business to head in a new direction can be scary because the path ahead is not yet trodden, but it can also save you from…
Softies For Sale Series: Plush You! Introduces New Audiences to Handmade Softies and Builds a Community of Collectors
Do you have particular customers that purchase your work regularly? A person who seems to buy something every time you list a new set of items in your Etsy shop or someone who comes by your booth at the craft fair and buys something every year? They think of you whenever they need to buy…
Softies For Sale Series: Showing Your Work in Galleries
For this installment in my series about sewing softies for pleasure and profit I am focusing on gallery shows. Scattered all over the country, and all over the world really, are a select few very special galleries that show indie art. These are places that are run by people who are savvy to the online…
Softies For Sale Series: Selling on Consignment
It is many crafters dream to get their handmade goods in boutique stores. The thrill of seeing your wares on the shelves of a beautiful boutique, of knowing that the buyer or owner of the store thinks that what you make is worthy of being in their store, and that all kinds of shoppers will…
Softies For Sale Series: Selling Art Toys
A few weeks ago I put the following question on Twitter: “What is your biggest source of income?”. Almost everyone in my Twitter community are designers or crafters of some kind and I got all sorts of replies and a terrific discussion ensued (I love Twitter for that). Selling handmade items at craft fairs and selling…
Softies For Sale Series: Teaching a Class (in-person)
For today's post in my series focusing on turning sewing into a viable career I want to talk about teaching. Before I had children and started sewing softies all the time I was a teacher. I worked in education for six years all together: two as a Teach For America corps member teaching middle school…
Softies For Sale Series: Contributing to Sewing Books
For this installment of my series about turning your love of sewing softies into a career I want to talk about contributing projects to sewing books. Over the last few years I have been asked by editors at many different publishing houses to contribute to collective books that feature projects by many different sewists. Just…
Softies For Sale Series: Craft Fairs
In this installment of my series on ways to monetize your softie making habit I want to talk about craft fairs. I have discovered over these last seven years of sewing softies that there are many paths one can take when it comes to selling work. I think it is beneficial to consider all of…