How I Started Selling Crafts

Being in ceramics, there are so many ways to approach the idea of selling and marketing, and many diversities within that same subject.

I happened to start with molds. I designed and created my own molds then went out to visit the ceramic supply shops. I chose that avenue because it was the most direct and I didn't have to wait for someone else's schedule.

I simply loaded up the car with all the molds, I could manage to have finished - took along a finished ceramic piece from that design and began dropping in at the shops.

At those shops where I had never been, I introduced myself and simply told the owner I was a new mold maker in the neighborhood, while showing off the finished pieces. The rest was history, as they say. I sold almost every mold, in that one day. In addition, I already had orders for a select design.

Next, I decided that the quickest way to making a living was to supply others, who were finishing and selling ceramic products. It helped that I was in New Mexico, and Indian Pottery abounds, right along with the small dollar tourist items.

I visited with a couple of the local manufacturers who hired Native Americans to paint, and showed them the miniature designs that would fit nicely in their existing lines.

One manufacturer, in particular, selected 2 or 3 designs, and I began to produce them by the hundreds, at a price we could both live with. Over the course of the next 3 years, I was able to introduce a total of 10 different designs, all of which were selling at a rate of 100 to 300 per week.

Once I found an outlet, I farmed it out, continuously designing new items and introducing them. Some sold, some did not.

It was a couple years before I met a man from California, who agreed to represent my products. I was locked into the wholesale market and this turned out to be my only outlet for finished wares.

My reasoning, in the beginning was this: "What is the quickest way into the market, from a stand still?" I wound up riding on the coat tails of those who had already established markets all over the world.

Second, I decided it was better to supply the tool that others used for their own production, than it was to do the production myself. Molds, being the basic tool, was the perfect avenue. The overhead was lower and the materials costs cheaper, percentage wise.

During the next 10 years, I went from running after the market already established, to leading the market with new designs each year.

You just have to use your head and think outside the box.

by Judy Sims

Judy is an artist, ceramist and product designer. http://judysbookshop.com