I am feeling a little melancholic. For many years I had a dream of having my own business by making and selling handmade items. The problem here was not knowing what to make and how much time to invest in trying out suitable crafts. The advent of the Shopping Telly Craft Channels back in the early 1990's made it all seem so simple. Whenever they had guests on the show the presenter would ask 'What is your Angel policy? Can the viewers buy the product to make and sell?' 'Yes, tell 'em to fill their boots' was a response I heard frequently. Card making was one of the first lot of crafts touted and then they went across the board showcasing all different types of craft and machines to help your work be of a professional standard. They even sold the cellophane bags to present your cards in to sell.
Card stock, paper, glues, cutting machines, die cutting machines, card making kits, punchcraft, pergamano, felt kits, jewellery making supplies, rubber stamps, heat guns, embossing powders, stamping platforms, inks, bookbinding, etc, etc. I bought them all (almost) and did it all.
Storage was the next big thing on the shopping telly. Now we had all these supplies we needed storage boxes, tote bags and places to store all these items. I even bought a shopping trolley to store items 'on the go.' I took over the spare room and filled it with 'Really Useful Boxes' to keep my 'stock'. They piled up to the ceiling.
An unrealistic dreamer I convinced myself that by buying all this stock I was sitting on a future investment. I stupidly failed to realise that these people want to sell a product. That is all. One of the champions of selling craft products to the public via the Shopping Channel is Sara Davies of Crafter's Companion. She is an extremely ambitious and intelligent woman who saw the profit to be made in convincing middle aged women like me that they could turn their hobbies into profit by using her tools and kits and selling the end product. She is now on the panel of Dragon's Den.
The reality of making to sell is that if something is easy to make then it is accessible to most peoples skill set. If I can make a decent end product from having the right equipment so can thousands of others. There is no profit to be made from making and selling unless what you sell is original and there is a market for it. Many years ago I read that if you want to go into business make sure you are offering a service and not a product. I think they mean 'end' product because there is lots to be made in kits and raw supplies.
It has taken over 3 decades to accumulate so many craft materials. I never really enjoyed making craft products because the joy was thwarted through guilt in how much I had spent. I am tearful as I dismantle the 'craft room'. A dream being dismantled before my eyes. I feel crushed as I sell off that which I had built. There is no point in hanging onto a pipe dream.
