Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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 ~ [...]

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.

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.

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.

I've sold crafted items off and on for many years and can't help but wonder how much better I would have done had I known the information in this book. Chapin does a great job informing the reader about things such as determining the cost of goods, pricing items, identifying the competition, navigating through the business side of selling crafts, and selling in various venues available to crafters today including Internet stores like Etsy.

I like that the author keeps the tone of the book upbeat and conversational as she sticks to the facts about the craft business. Chapter topics include basic business practices, branding your business, marketing, making connections in the crafting community, using blogs to promote your craft, advertising and publicity, and using marketing networks and social media. Also covered are the pros and cons of venues for selling such as craft fairs, online stores, brick and mortar stores, and other selling opportunities.

The tips on how to create a good craft blog and taking photos for using online were helpful. The author includes the advice of successful crafters as well as that of experts in specific fields such as an accountant's general advice on what can be deducted as an expense when filing taxes, etc.

Although this isn't a detailed business book and won't address every issue one might encounter in running a business, it is one that will answer basic questions specific to the craft business and minimize having to learn from mistakes. I've learned a lot and look forward to implementing the ideas for more success in selling my own creations.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review but the opinion of it is my own and wasn't solicited. If I didn't like the book, I would say so.

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.

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.

Wow. I bought this book for a good friend who is trying to break into the crafts world after reading a review of it on [...], but after I skimmed through it, I loathed to part with it! I bought another copy for myself as soon as I could. I knit, but I wouldn't say I am interested in selling my work. Even so, this book is a great read for its wisdom, info, tips, practical knowledge, etc. etc, everything all the reviewers have written. The contents are so accessible and fun to read. It's a great little book. I love the feel and look of it, too. High rec.