Customer Reviews

The Savvy Crafters Guide To Success: Turn Your Crafts Into A Career

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I have been a professional artist, craftsperson and writer since 1981. In the intervening years I have read dozens of books about crafts business and general business practices. Some have been very good, some useless. I am happy to report that The Savvy Crafter's Guide to Success falls into the first category: a very useful book for those just starting in the craft business and those that have been in business for many years.

At first glance, what sets this book apart from most business books is that it is in full color; a very nice thing for artists and craftspeople.

This wonderful book is about more than just about selling your crafts, but also is about successful career building-- it covers aspects of teaching and finding arenas in which to promote yourself and your work.

Also included are chapters about photographing your work, organizing your workspace, handling business paperwork, writing about your work, and how to judge your success.

In addition, the book features profiles and interviews with a diverse range of crafters who have found their own way to building a successful crafting business.

Beautifully laid out and photographed, this is one of the best crafts business books around. If you are at all serious about your business, it is a must read!

With general chapters covering everything from organizing your work space to finding outlets, and detailed specific sections on photographing your work, keeping records, and submitting proposals to publishers, Sandra McCall's book is a full-service sourcebook for anyone looking to approach their art as a business. A savvy crafter herself, Sandra also relies on the expertise of highly successful artist/business people like Claudine Hellmuth, Traci Bautista, Catherine Moore, and nearly 2 dozen other artists engaged in the business of art. A diverse array of art and craft is shown, there are extensive tips, quotes, record/financial pages that can be copied straight from the book, and a there is also compendium of useful resources including federal agencies and trade associations. The Savvy Crafter's Guide to Success is a beautifully designed and well-organized reference tool to which I find myself turning time and again.

I bought this at our local bookstore. It was the most current book they had. It has lots of helpful information. Some areas, like photographing your work could be more detailed, but that isn't the main focus here. It includes forms you can copy and customize for your own use. All in all. I really like this book. In fact, I'm re-reading it. Well worth the price.The Savvy Crafters Guide To Success: Turn Your Crafts Into A Career

I have been crafting for a little while now and am itching to take the next step to try to make a real profit from my craft. This book was awesome for guidance and inspiration! McCall writes in a very clear and approachable way that makes it easy to want to learn more about what she has to say. She writes what she knows and asks peers to step in when they have more experience (such as the chapter on photographing your work written by her husband). Whereas there were definitely parts of this text that did not apply to me (I really have no plans to ever really try to write about crafting), it was really interesting to be presented with various options other than just straight up selling product. For example, I had never thought before about teaching, but now that that idea has been planted, I want to get even better at my craft so that I can share it with others.

McCall was detailed in many of the various things needed for starting a true small business with your craft, although as with all books of this nature, there are certain areas that can not be too specific because requirements and licenses can vary from state to state or even county to county, not to mention the differences in types of crafts and requirements there (such as if you are making bath and body products). There are also many side bars from other artists that give their different perspectives and insights about the different steps in becoming profitable(as well as photos of their amazing art!).

Really, the only downside that I found in this book is that at times, I felt as though she was being too specific to her field and not general crafting. I realize this is only because she is writing what she knows, but as someone that does something very different than where her experience lies, at times, I felt a little left out. But, this one con is far outweighed by the many pros: great references listed, great ideas, great writing, and she even shares some of her own paperwork that she uses herself (inventory lists and the like). As simple as that sounds, if you have truly never stepped into the arena or small business, these are things you have to think of.

I would not say that this is the only reference to read when trying to step into your own small business as a crafts person, but it is definitely one you should have in your arsenal!

I bought this in a bookstore and was captivated by how visually appealing it was, and the writer's style is like you were talking to her in person. This book is not wordy and boring, nor is it flashy with no substance. This book really delivered. I couldn't put it down, it is both inspirational and practical. Most of all I appreciate the honesty and positive outlook. Example: other books will tell you to hire a lawyer in looking over a book contract, this author acknowledges that you should - but explains why and how she does review her own contracts. Humerously written from a crafty, practical, competent, but not overly technical point of view.

Much of her information is based on her rubber stamp business, but it is easily transferrable to other crafts. She also includes the point of view of numerous other artists and their work which helps alot.

Excellent guide to developing the kind of art/crafts business suited to the individual artist. The author, Sandra McCall, is knowledgeable and passionate about sharing what she knows. In addition, the book is filled with terrific information (stories, advice, artwork) from more than 20 artists. It's a great combination of useful and inspiring. I highly recommend it!

This book can easily be applied to a great variety of different arts (I'm a knifemaker yet much of it even can be applied to me) and has several sections or info that I found especially useful: photography, managing paperwork,(has example forms in the book that the author lets you photocopy) presenting yourself at shows, pricing, and dealing with burnout just to name a few.

It even offers a section on creating books for those of you who likes writing.

This is such a great book. Full of so much information, I have to keep rereading it. Great guide for anyone in the craft business, or that person who loves to make crafts and now needs an outlet for the room full of crafts.

I was so excited to finally see a business book for those of us who do artisan and OOAK crafts, not mass produced or resold items masquerading as handmade that seem to be populating Etsy these days. I also appreciated her refreshing realism and honesty that cuts through the usual Horatio Alger or Ayn Randian false dreams pushed onto crafters. For example, she makes it very clear that very few people will make a ton of money at this- most barely break even and an even larger majority sell occasionally to supplement another job. She also emphasizes that establishing a fair price for your labor is critical and that many crafters undervalue their work, contributing to a spiraling down price cycle that we see on online venues.
If you make labor-intensive one of a kind items or have an artisan approach to your work, you will love the writing style and layout of the book which combines solid how-to's with creative writing.

Well thought out, methodically goes through the various ways to approach turning your hobby into a for profit business. Good tips about costs, starting practically, developing your plan/approach while getting started. Gives an overview of most profitable experiences, and survey of other craft-pruneur's. I found lots of practical how-to info to help me implement my dreams.