TO MAKE CRAFTWORK REALLY PAY
INTRODUCTION
It isn't to such as embroidery thread and knitting
needles wemight turn in order to make a really handsome living, or else just a
few extra pound a week from craftwork. Opportunitiesexist by the hundred, not
only for those blessed with actual creative skills; there is much on offer too
for those who canprovide a service to this growing band of craftwork
enthusiasts, as well as those whose business enterprises depend entirely upon
such skilled professionals to provide the stocks they require.
KNITTING
The knitting enthusiast might for instance forsake
thetraditional means of earning, whereby for a set sum per ball of wool or per
finished item, he or she will work entirely tothe customers' pattern or other
specification. In turning one's back on albeit an often ongoing source of
income, the individual might instead choose to produce only intricate, perhaps
one-off designs, for sale at local craft fairs, by party plan , or else by mail
order, to those of us keen to adopt the air of individuality for which the
likes of NoelEdmunds, Giles Brandreth and Russell Grant - or rather their
jumpers - are so well known.
In this respect the person actually knitting the
jumper or whatever is required, might choose to personally design the required
garment, or else have it professionally designed by some outside expert.
Consider the fact that a great many intricate designs can easily be produced
with little more than the assistance of graph paper or unused football pools
coupon, with each small square taken to represent one stitch in the pattern,
and it becomes clear that almost all of us can, if we set out minds to it,
produce highly original pictures and motifs for ourselves. One method of doing
this is to section an actual picture or photograph into squares of equal size
to the grid of the graph paper or pools coupon used, thereafter transferring
the colour of the square on the original design to the corresponding square of
the pattern one is designing. From then on it's a simple matter of knitting
these colours into the body of the garment itself.
Other openings for the experienced knitter might
come in the form of outwork from knitwear suppliers, or else from providing
other services on a self-employed basis. Consider for instance the following:
* Producing dolls' clothes
* Creating seasonal Christmas motif-festooned
garments
* Informing parents that they may obtain school
woollies at a lower cost than local shops are currently asking. Note too that
they will more than likely receive superior quality from you, with perhaps a
little personalisation of design included. Maybe you could incorporate, if
permitted, a subtle pattern; perhaps you might include all children's names
labels free of charge.
* What about a highly original service, producing
Victorian-type wedding dresses, with the bride's choice of design incorporated,
and perhaps offering also to include panels in which are included designs of
sentimental value?
* Producing heirloom christening gowns
* Designing and producing a range of clothing for
premature and smaller than average newborn babies
SEWING
Those experienced at sewing similarly have much to
offer customers seeking something just a little bit different to what is
available in high street stores. How about a range of frilly, frothy,
ribbon-bedecked and generally very fussy creations in which to show off our
children? Such dresses often come with a high street price tag of 50 and over;
if you can produce something slightly lower in price, then surely an
advertisement in local papers, freesheets, and shop windows will bring an
endless supply of orders your way? Local craft shops and children's outfitters
are particularly keen to take such items on a sale or return basis.
Again, alternative openings are available to the
experienced needleperson, many of them basically similar to those for the
knitting enthusiast. Take for instance: a range of christening outfits,
premature and smaller baby clothes, fancydress outfits, wedding and bridesmaid
outfits, and what of that perennial favourite as December approaches - dolls'
clothes?
Hand and machine sewing professionals would no doubt
benefit from a little lateral thinking, taking their minds away from the usual
opportunities that spring to mind in the creation of everyday garments and
once-off celebratory designs. Have you thought for instance of commencing a
design service, one in which you will measure up clients' windows, take their
individual design and colour scheme requirements into account, and produce
curtains entirely personal to them? Those with a flair for design, whether
inherent or acquired by appropriate training, will find themselves occupying
status much akin to that of interior designer than curtain-maker, with fees and
profits suitably inflated as a result.
Amongst the many other areas desperate for your work
are local ballet and dance schools, nearby amateur dramatics and pantomime
companies, local jazz bands, and many other organisations heavily reliant on
costume for their promotions. Securing a contract with any of these establishments,
or else offering your services to parents and participants alike, might well
find a steady stream of work coming your way.
WOODWORKING
Knitting, sewing, crochet and embroidery, though
they might be those crafts with which many of us are familiar, are most
certainly not the only areas in which outwork or opportunities for
self-employment lie. Think for instance of the skilled woodworker who is able
to turn out toys, ranging perhaps from simple building blocks to those
intricate rocking horses we would all love to acquire for our children, but
often can't afford the hefty prices for. Someone who can undercut those prices
asked by larger and specialist toy firms will almost certainly find a great
deal of business coming his way. That person may also find his niche in the
making of dolls' houses, garden furniture, perhaps even bird boxes, rabbit
hutches and so on.
ENGRAVING
Another prospective kitchen table enterprise, here
one can offer various options to those seeking engraved items whether for
decorative, celebratory, or commemorative reasons, or else simply seeking to
have their personal possessions engraved and consequently made less likely
prospects for the opportunist thief.
Consult such as 'Exchange and Mart' and craft
magazines for essential equipment.
Engraving can take many varied forms from etching
onto glass, to simply printing names and addresses onto key rings, making
commemorative plaques and so on.
Your customers will come from all sections of the
community, from private individuals, jewellers shops, clubs and societies,
sports centres and so on.
MAKING JEWELLERY
Jewellery making is another craft product that can
take on many varied forms, from inexpensive and sometimes gimmick
ornamentation, to expensive and just as elaborate and highly personalised
creations.
It's another craft for which a wealth of appropriate
'how to' publications, craftwork periodicals, local authority and
correspondence courses exist. In the pages of such as the many craftworkers'
publications on the newsagents shelves, as well as in the perennial advertising
favourite 'Exchange and Mart', there are hoards of complete business packages
awaiting those interested in making money from jewellery.
Selling can take place by means of personal sales,
from sales on commission to local craft and jewellery shops, car boot and craft
fairs, to party plan, fleamarkets, trade fairs, and so on.
For many, the answer to any potential reluctance to
sell on a personal level, is one of selling wholesale packages of finished
items to traders selling the end product at any of the venues mentioned here.
PICTURE FRAMING
Here the demand is for high quality craftwork, which
if it can also come at a realistic price will command a ready stream of eager
customers.
As for so many other craft and art services, a
wealth of 'How to' books are available to guide even the novice through to
professional status as a picture framer. Equipment need not eat too heavily
into your capital, and can be located in most of the major craftwork and model
making magazines on the newsagents shelves, as well as in advertising
publications including 'Exchange and Mart'.
Customers might come from the general public via
advertisements placed in the press or in shop windows. You might instead
provide a service to local artists and art shops, photographers, antique shops
selling early prints, print and poster shops and so on.
You might instead find yourself able to start in a
really lucrative field of selling antique prints, posters and early advertising
material at local antiques and collectors fairs. The services of someone to
colour your material before you frame it will again find a great many customers
flocking to your stall. Many individuals known personally to the author operate
such services via mail order, from their homes, or from traditional retail
premises.
TOY MAKING
Toy making can range from very basic soft toys
intended for heavy and frequent handling, to a range of specialised items
intended more for decoration or celebratory reasons than for purposes of play.
Into the latter case comes such as the now highly successful Teddy Bear gift
service which, operating on a national scale produces customised teddy bears,
sometimes with the name of the recipient hand embroidered on their clothing,
and sometimes dressed in a manner which would indicate the profession or
employment of the recipient. And so we have teacher teddies, traffic warden
teddies, building site teddies and so on. And the same firm will also do a
range of 'teddies to hate' and use for dubious purposes as effigies, again the
poor old traffic warden featuring prominently in this section. But perhaps the
greatest part of this particular business is not only the highly personalised
service involved, as much as the fact that each teddy comes complete with its
own name, adoption certificate and usually is delivered by carrier instead of
less personal postal
services.
Have you noticed when cult figures creep onto our
screens, that a similar variety finds its way almost instantly into the craft
shops, this time in soft toy version? Here we find Mickey Mouse and Minnie,
Turtles, Marios, Care Bears and so on. At local fetes, rallies, seaside resorts
and anywhere potentially thousands of people will congregate, the soft toy
makers or their representatives are there to provide for seemingly insatiable
visitors' needs.
Soft toys can be sold privately, by mail order, by
party plan, or on commission to agents selling on the creator's behalf. Car
boot fairs, fleamarkets, craft fairs and trade fairs also lend themselves more
than adequately to the selling of such items. Additionally most craft and toy
shops are more than happy to carry your goods on a sale or return basis, with
commission earned for every sale made on your behalf.
Also into this section come the masses of wooden
toys that prove so popular with younger and older children alike: building
blocks, dolls houses, forts, rocking horses and so on.
SPECIALIST KITS
Tapestry is one of today's more popular crafts,
perhaps explaining the existence of several highly skilled individuals who will
either transform your photos of pets and family into tapestries, or who might
instead create a pattern from which you might personally create your very own
heirloom. Look into the many publications available for craftworkers today, and
you'll find amongst the many original services available, such as patterns for
dolls' clothing, toy making kits and pattern books, model making kits, quilting
packs and templates, embroidery kits and so on. You'll also find specialist
services such as those which offer the design, perhaps also the completion of a
unique nursery sampler, ready to present to proud new parents.
WRITING
Writing is in itself a very easy task; one simply
lists all of those points which are of relevance and will, when combined, give
the reader a working knowledge of the craft concerned, following which the
writer produces the document in much the same manner as would be concerned when
writing the very same information in a letter to a friend. Then he types up the
document or has it typed up for him. A study of suitable places in which to
advertise your book is now all that is required. Books can be photocopied and
collated quite inexpensively and efficiently in most local print shops.
Place your advertisement, studying and perhaps
emulating the style of other publishers whose advertisements appear alongside
your own, and then telephone or write to place your own advertisement. When the
orders come in, you simply pack your books securely, post them off, and that's
that!
SELF-EMPLOYMENT
Have you instead thought of selling your work
yourself, perhaps offering a range of toys at car boot fairs, craft fairs, or
from small rented stalls in already established craft centres and retail
outlets?
The possibilities are virtually endless for those
seeking self-employment on their own account. Those preferring to work instead
as outworkers for established firms will find a selection of well-established
firms provided within the directory towards the end of this manual.
Amongst other skills by which to make money from
home, whether on a self-employed or outworker basis are such as model making,
for which a variety of options exist ranging from toy soldiers, to chess sets,
model cottages and so on. One highly enterprising individual turned his love of
old buildings into an extremely profitable enterprise of designing and crafting
designs of buildings of local historical interest, which were then transformed
into moulds for the making, painting and selling of miniature copies. Selling
takes place at car boot fairs, local fleamarkets and collectors' fairs, through
the post from press advertisements, and in many shops and crafts stalls
operating in the locality. The business is set to expand into creating models
of famous locals - living or dead - but nevertheless preserved for posterity
via this talented model maker's skills.
Sewing, knitting, dressmaking, quilting and
embroidery - all are skills that lend themselves equally to profitable business
ventures, as a glance through any of the magazines dedicated to craftworking
enthusiasts will testify.
TEACHING
But it needn't all stop there. You might for
instance offer your services as a teacher or instructor of your craft - try the
local papers, freesheets, shop windows, even local colleges and adult training
centres. Troubleshooting, whereby you travel to the craftworker's home to iron
out any problems he or she might be experiencing, is also a possibility for the
competent craftworker.
DIRECTORY OF USEFUL ADDRESSES
CRAFTWORK
KALLIMERA CRAFTS, 10 Chedburgh Close, Lincoln, LN6 OSU
This firm advertises regularly for homeworkers and
prospective business entrepreneurs to make miniature cottages and buildings.
Self-employment and buy-back facility.
SANSYSTEM CRAFTS, Bromans Farm, Bromans Lane, East
Mersea, Essex, CO5 8UE
This firm advertises regularly for homeworkers to
make chess sets and model cottages. S.A.E for details.
CUDDLYCRAFT SUPPLIES, Bridestowe, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 4EN
Homeworkers required for soft toy assembly.
ARTS CRAFTS MOULD MANUFACTURERS, 109 Johnstone
Street, Blackburn, Lancs, BB2 1HY
Supplies catalogue of moulds of use to those
starting in business making chess sets, candles, figurines, etc.
JAMES AND JESSI SEATON, Goetre Farmhouse,
Llanfynydd, Carmarthen, Dyfed, SA32 7TT
Offers various home knitting and sewing projects.
JANE WHEELER, Corner House, Briston Road, Saxthorpe,
Norwich, NR11 7BS
Hand
knitters regularly required.
Proven
techniques
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