Starting a Craft Business from Scratch

How did you handle it? What did you learn? The Crafts Report is seeking short commentaries (400-500 words) from crafts- people describing experiences and decisions that significantly impacted their craft businesses. Share what you learned with others in the industry. All commentary received will be considered for publication. E-mail: publicopinion@craftsreport.com; or answer online here. Send responses to: “Voices of Experience,” The Crafts Report, Box 1992, Wilmington, DE 19899; fax: (302) 656-4894. Anonymous responses will not be published.

Athough this is my fifth year as a full-time jewelry artist, my crafts business is still fairly new and it was a total career change for me. I had to start at the absolute bottom and learn every aspect of it. I still feel like I have a lot to learn especially about marketing. Working totally alone, I also feel as if I’m always going in different directions: production, marketing, and selling.

Some galleries that already sell my work are: the Corning Glass Museum in New York; American Craft Gallery in Morristown, N.J.; Gift Shops at the Chicago Botanical Gardens and The Milwaukee Repertory Theater; Off the Wall Gallery in Allentown, N.J.; Popovers Plums in New York City; Kravis Performing Arts Center in West Palm Beach, Fla.; Vitreosity in Savage, Md.; Made by Hand in Pittsurgh, Pa.; and Lindsay Art Glass in Benicia, Calif. I also signed up with Wholesalecrafts.com in 2004.

Jewelry by Dale Pilling.

I don’t have a Web site but may get one up and running within a year. I do a total of 15 to 18 shows, retail and wholesale, a year. Among the wholesale shows I’m doing this year are the winter and summer Buyers Market of American Craft shows in Philadelphia, Pa. I did well at the winter BMAC, but I feel I could have done better. I’m still getting the wrinkles out of my booth setup and I’m not sure if I’m in the right location. This is something I am going to look at while I’m at the BMAC this summer.

Last year I did the Beckman’s Handcraft at the Chicago Gift Show and this year I did the Baltimore Alternative Show that runs at the same time as the American Craft Council Show. I was not impressed with either show.

Despite some success, I’ve learned that my jewelry has a very specific look and I have a specific type of buyer. I don’t have mass-market appeal that might do better at retail shows. Everyone I talk to who has been in the craft business for at least 10 years says that the market is really changing. Between the war and the economy, it’s down. It’s also an over-saturated market, and most retail show attendees that I’ve seen have a Wal-Mart mentality.

My retail price range is $24-$250 and several artist friends have been urging me to make a lower-end product that is more for the average person. I feel like I’m selling my soul but I just made a few pieces. I don’t like the idea of it at all but I may bring them to the summer BMAC and see what happens.

Dale Pilling
I Did It Metal Art
Marlboro, N.J.
ididitart@aol.com