The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and On-Line
The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and On-Line book cover

The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and On-Line

Paperback – February 27, 2010

by
Price
$11.16
Format
Paperback
Pages
224
Publisher
Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1603424776
Dimensions
6.5 x 0.56 x 7.5 inches
Weight
12 ounces

Description

"For folks who create unique things with a view to getting paid, this book should prove quite useful...for makers at any stage, from just-thinking-about-it to ready-to-quit-my-day-job." ( BookPage ) The Handmade Market Place is a fantastic resource full of useful tips and guidelines from top D.I.Y. insiders. Their testimonials along with Kari Chapin's easy to follow outline and the fabulous design work of Emily Martin (aka the black apple) makes this book a must have for any makers library. ( Faythe Levin, Director and author of Handmade Nation )D.I.Y? Why not?! The Handmade Marketplace gives you all the answers to the D-I-Whys, Whats and Hows of being a crafty-preneur in one handy, great and very informative guide! ( Betz White, designer and author of Sewing Green )It's remarkable to read so much of the information I spent years divining from trial and error between two covers! The Handmade Marketplace isn't just a guide for navigating a very unique and burgeoning market, it's a fascinating record of how so many people in the DIY movement have collectively contributed ideas about running independent businesses with cornerstones of honesty, ethics and above all: personal creativity. ( Jenny Hart, founder of Sublime Stitching and author Embroidered Effects )Kari has thoughtfully created the very best guide book for navigating the craft marketplace. Her personal voice, guided by personal experience is evident throughout the book. You'll feel encouraged, inspired and informed..... totally confident to jump start your own craft business! ( Amy Butler, Amy Butler Design )The Handmade Marketplace is the first small business book I have seen that is written to, for and by the Indie Crafter. It is perfect for any crafter thinking of taking that next step and selling their wares. The Handmade Marketplace is also a real page turner and enlightening read for someone who has been in the crafty biz for years. ( Jennifer Perkins, designer ) Since the publication of The Handmade Marketplace in 2010 and Grow Your Handmade Business in 2012, Kari Chapin has gained national visibility as a sought-after speaker at craft business conferences and events. She also offers one-on-one creative coaching and courses online. She isxa0known for her effective coaching style and distinctive, supportive voice, along with her strong ability to market and network.

Features & Highlights

  • Turn your craft into a successful business! Even the most expert crafters may find it challenging to market and sell their wares, but with Kari Chapin you have an experienced guide at your side. Learn to determine your cost of goods, set prices, identify the competition, and understand the ins and outs of wholesale and retail sales. Explore the various sales venues available, including independent craft fairs, Web sites such as Etsy, and traditional stores, and learn to maximize your visibility and sales in each one. Want to start your own website? Chapin shows you how to style and prop your crafts for photography and explains how the most popular Web marketplaces operate. You’ll find everything you need to turn your talent into profits.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(154)
★★★★
25%
(64)
★★★
15%
(39)
★★
7%
(18)
★
-7%
(-18)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Helpful if you are starting out or a long time professional artist

Making a living as an artist is hot topic these days. Tricky at best, it is an elusive career choice but very desirable none the less. Kari Chapin's down to earth, savvy advice strips away much of the mystery, whether you are knitting hats for babies or painting images to reproduce and sell on Etsy. She has brilliant insight into a variety of ways of approaching marketing, especially helpful insights into online avenues. Some longish passages (thank you!!) by Grace Bonney (Design Sponge*) and Holly Becker (Decor8), 2 of the most popular art and design blogs online, clarify how to pitch a product. Building any sort of business is difficult. Making things and selling them may be the hardest, particularly if you are in love with what you do. Kari makes it a step by step process that might just help you succeed.
111 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

The craft/indie bible for the next 10 years

Beyond being a super cute and attractive book, Kari's Handmade Marketplace will no doubt be the craft/indie business bible for at least the next 10 years. Questions about business cards? Social marketing? Selling wholesale or consignment? Using Etsy, Artfire or other online venues? It's all there, plus cute illustrations, stories told in the first person by today's most promising artists and crafters, and bits of information crammed into every nook and cranny. I get bored easily and rarely read a reference book cover to cover, but this one I did and have gone back and read parts twice. Highly recommended for those starting out in the business and to those with experience (I've been selling for over 5 years and found loads of good tips in Kari's book). This book should be on every crafters bookshelf.
92 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

This book is awesome!

I purchased this book initially because Emily Martin [The Black Apple] did some of the illustrations and I simply adore her and her work. But then when the book arrived, I could not put it down. I've been selling my jewelry on the internet for 6 years now and this little 210 page book would have been worth it's weight in gold to me back then. What has taken me years to figure out on my own, is within the charming little pages of this book. A MUST have for anybody making and selling art and crafts these days. I would highly recommend this book. You will not regret purchasing it, I can promise you that. The references and links themselves are worth the cost of the book. You'll love it ~ I promise! Kathy Hardy ~ Dornick Designs ~ [...]
85 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Well Written but Hardly Revolutionary

The Handmade Marketplace is clear and concise with beautiful layout and illustrations. However, for anyone with business acumen or working knowledge of internet resources, there is not much new to be found here. Readers who are unfamiliar with podcasts, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etsy (and the like), etc. will likely find guidance here. I was amused that the only platform that I have no experience with whatsoever because I have no interest in it (Facebook) the author presumes that *everyone* reading the book has so much knowledge about that there's no need to dwell on it too much. From growing your business to incorporation to accounting to craft fairs, this book is comprehensive and well written (and I found it to be a quick read), but bear in mind that if this is not the first thing you've read about crafting your craft business, you're not likely to stumble across much new information.
65 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Handmade Marketplace

I am famous for buying books to help grow my glass jewelry business, reading the introduction and the first few pages, then setting it aside. This book was literally my beach reading. I read it cover to cover and have referred to it several times since. With the help of Handmade Marketplace I was able to set up a Flickr account, add a signature to my emails, I am redesigning my web-site now to get my two web sites and my blog all under one site, and am working on my electronic press kit. As you can tell, I am not very computer savvy. I enjoyed Chapin's interviews and commentary by various successful crafters. They are nicely peppered through her text and underline the advice in the book. If you want a clearly written step-by-step guide to get you moving, I highly recommend it.
32 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Lots of information

I am a beginner in the craft sales field and was looking for a book to give me some step by step guidelines. This book is filled with lots of good advice about what to do when getting started with sales, like branding you item, joining groups of crafters, bookeeping, etc.

However, I felt that even with the little short stories from people who are selling their crafts/handmade items the information was very general. I was looking for something more detail oriented. It does give you some websites for some of the information written about in the book, which was VERY helpful.

As an example, I was interested to find out which was a preferred method to generate more sales, specific websites devoted to a specific artist vs. commercial sites like ETSY. I also wanted to learn more about things like PAYPAL since that is the preferred method of payment for internet sales. I know I could just go to some of the specific sites like PAYPAL and ETSY but I wanted feedback from people who have actually used the systems. I was also hoping to learn more about shipping methods and what is the best for large vs. small items, and any tips for saving money on shipping costs.

Overall, I would recommend this book for beginners, it does give you a lot to think about that one probably wouldn't consider when just starting out. I liked the way the book is structured and it was a very easy read. Good reference material.
25 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

A delightful book that makes selling your work seem easy, natural and fun!

I own many books on getting my wares to market but had yet to get my efforts off the ground. I'd always felt that something was missing in the equation. THIS book is what was missing. Chapin finds a way to make selling your wares feel natural, easy and comfortable. I no longer feel that offering my work to the public is an overwhelming chore.
Chapin integrates social networking, web shops, and blogging information that brings you up-to-the-minute without feeling like it is artificial self-promotion. Her ability to outline the natural progression from my studio to global exposure is amazing! Her guidance brings results that are exciting, community building, supportive, and inspiring.
I would highly recommend this book to everyone who has had a hard time getting their sales efforts off the ground. I would also recommend this book to those who have sold in traditional outlets but have yet to find a way to get more exposure to grow.
22 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Library Read

Thank goodness I got this from the library. Based on the title, I expected it to be more about the different online handmade selling venues currently available. It barely touched on that. It's a great book for a handmade beginner, but I've been doing this since 2008 and have read plenty of books giving beginner advice. I did appreciate the points on marketing and selling locally offline. However, I would love to find a book that really goes in depth with how to expand your handmade business after you've been doing it for some time.
17 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Nothing new...

Nothing new here. If you buy the book, buy it used. I had already seen all the info in the book in the Etsy forums. Pretty disappointing.
17 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Terrible

This is a terrible book. Well, to be fair if you know absolutely nothing about crafting or running a business (and I mean NOTHING) then it might be a good place to start but honestly, save your money and spend a few minutes on google instead. The only redeeming quality of this book is that it's aesthetically beautiful.
9 people found this helpful

Related Books