Customer Reviews

Making a Living in Crafts: Everything You Need to Know to Build Your Business

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Clark's stance is clear, "The sale of the work of art completes the creative process." He is reassuring; you will not be a "starving artist." He teaches you how to make your business legal, how to price your work, how to get your work in shops, galleries, and on the show circuit. He shares insight on how to participate in the online marketplace, how to write a business plan, how to develop positive relationships with customers and collectors, how to make a lasting impression with excellent photography, and how to write the dreaded artist statement. He provides you practical templates that help you pencil out your marketing costs inventory, overhead costs inventory, pricing sheet, and simple cost worksheet. He inserts essays and interviews with top gallery owners, shopkeepers, collectors, artists, and crafts persons, so you can gain valuable insights on where your work is suited. This book is a welcomed addition as a textbook in any college course where students want to eventually sell their crafts, arts, and designs. For those of you who are self-taught, working on weekends and vacations, making one-of-a-kind objects or production work, this book will guide you through a clear curriculum on how to complete the creative cycle by selling your work. For those of you who are "old hands" in the making of art and craft, this book will fill in gaps you were unaware existed in your knowledge. For those of you who doubt Donald Clark's stance, the final chapters on nurturing your creativity will provide practical ways to remain creative.

Joan Takayama-Ogawa
Associate Professor, Otis College of Art and Design
Los Angeles, California

I've read a number of art/craft business books over the years and this is the book I've been missing. The most specifically helpful section is the chapter on pricing. This book provides a step by step formula for setting your prices based on your materials, labor, and overhead and marketing costs. I have not read another book that gave such information, and as a result, setting my prices has always been a bit of a guessing game. If you want to earn money from your fine crafts, read this book!

It's about time this book was written. I found it insightful and thoughtfully written. Donald Clark has presented the world of marketing and selling your craft to the novice in a way that makes sense of it all. From the wonderfully asthetically pleasing layout to the expert perspectives this book was a joy to read. The advice given is advice that I will take to heart as I enter the business of making art. Hopefully, I will be as successful as the artists that are fortunate enough to be represented by Donald Clark. This book is a must for anyone who has thoughts of entering this world and looking for truth of how to make that happen.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in making a living selling their creations. Mr. Clark provides a complete guide with the information neccessary to help artists reach their potential. From the basics of consignment to desirable ways to sell and market your crafts, he has thoughtfully included it all. By implementing what I've learned in this book, we are well on our way to making a living doing what we love to do, in less than a year! Thank you, Donald Clark!

This is the best of the artist books on how they and others have made it in the art world - successfully! It is inspirational and yet honest. Testimonies by other artists add interest, especially since they work in varied media. Tips on how to make it and yet develop a thick-skin for particular situations added to the usefulness in motivating any artist. The quality of the book is impressive, from the type of paper, images, and resources, making it a reference that I can use for many years to come.

This book is excellent for tips and ideas on how to get started on a home crafting business. My favorite part about the book is that it tells you what you need to do to get licensed, what steps to take to get there, and how to submit the information. I would highly recommend this book to anyone just thinking of selling thier homemade treasures.

Excellent, very helpful and an easy read. It answered a lot of questions I had and taught me thinks I hadn't thought of.

I really belive that the tips inside this book will help me creating my carer! Very good!