Handmakers: You will not be discovered!
No matter how good you are. No matter how good your product. Sit back and wait - or keep beavering away in your studio - and you will not be discovered. You have as much chance of winning the lottery.
You have to do stuff to improve your odds. But, guess what? Being the most qualified craftsperson in the world will not help. Time and again people contact me stating their handmaking credentials; I have studied here, done this and worked under so and so. They have obviously invested hugely in this side of themselves and their business. Unfortunately, if you want to be a successful handmaker then this is only the half of it.
I'll let you into another secret: the best artists, designers, architects, musicians, singers and songwriters in the world, are probably not anyone we know. Anyone famous or critically acclaimed. Odds are they are the opposite; an unknown, unheard of, unrecognised, annoymous and, sadly also, unsuccessful someone.
You see the cream does not float to the top. Something that resembles it often does. Other times, complete rubbish does by virtue of some random set of circumstances. There's no natural justice in the world, only business. And, if you're not prepared to get to grips with business, then you'll never be a successful handmaker. At least, I wouldn't bet your house on it.
You may love the creative process and dextrous art of realising your designs. You may even have embarked upon a handmaking career to avoid this grubby business called 'business'! If so, think again - the success of your handmaking career is going to be as much down to your business acumen as your design and making abilities.
If you're not dedicating at least 50% of your time to promoting yourself and your work and selling your wares, you're counting on a lottery win. And, that time needs to be used well. Trudging off to a few craft fairs is unlikely to make a difference. You need to be skilled and adept.
My advice to all handmakers would be to invest in their business skills. Most likely, these are holding you back more than anything else. My dealings with handmakers working with my employer gift retailer pressies4princesses (or wanting to work with us) convince me of this. Running the Handmaking Heroes Handmade Gift Competition has only confirmed my suspicions; most entries fail at the most basic level, retail vs. trade pricing.
The successes prove my point too. Take Jimmy Choo - the world-famous upmarket footwear to fashion brand. This guy was plodding along quite nicely, getting good coverage in Vogue, etc for 10 years. There's no disputing, he'd been comparatively effective at promoting himself. Princess Diana was wearing his shoes. But, what really teleported him into the glitterati of international iconic fashion brands, was setting up a new company with Tamara Mellon, former Vogue Accessories Editor. She bought just the business skills needed to turn Jimmy Choo into a household name and a highly successful business.
You can't afford to wait for a Tamara. If you want more success, you need to start thinking not about design, but about business; about the business of niching. And, consequently, it's a subject I will be returning to regularly over the coming year.
You have to do stuff to improve your odds. But, guess what? Being the most qualified craftsperson in the world will not help. Time and again people contact me stating their handmaking credentials; I have studied here, done this and worked under so and so. They have obviously invested hugely in this side of themselves and their business. Unfortunately, if you want to be a successful handmaker then this is only the half of it.
I'll let you into another secret: the best artists, designers, architects, musicians, singers and songwriters in the world, are probably not anyone we know. Anyone famous or critically acclaimed. Odds are they are the opposite; an unknown, unheard of, unrecognised, annoymous and, sadly also, unsuccessful someone.
You see the cream does not float to the top. Something that resembles it often does. Other times, complete rubbish does by virtue of some random set of circumstances. There's no natural justice in the world, only business. And, if you're not prepared to get to grips with business, then you'll never be a successful handmaker. At least, I wouldn't bet your house on it.
You may love the creative process and dextrous art of realising your designs. You may even have embarked upon a handmaking career to avoid this grubby business called 'business'! If so, think again - the success of your handmaking career is going to be as much down to your business acumen as your design and making abilities.
If you're not dedicating at least 50% of your time to promoting yourself and your work and selling your wares, you're counting on a lottery win. And, that time needs to be used well. Trudging off to a few craft fairs is unlikely to make a difference. You need to be skilled and adept.
My advice to all handmakers would be to invest in their business skills. Most likely, these are holding you back more than anything else. My dealings with handmakers working with my employer gift retailer pressies4princesses (or wanting to work with us) convince me of this. Running the Handmaking Heroes Handmade Gift Competition has only confirmed my suspicions; most entries fail at the most basic level, retail vs. trade pricing.
The successes prove my point too. Take Jimmy Choo - the world-famous upmarket footwear to fashion brand. This guy was plodding along quite nicely, getting good coverage in Vogue, etc for 10 years. There's no disputing, he'd been comparatively effective at promoting himself. Princess Diana was wearing his shoes. But, what really teleported him into the glitterati of international iconic fashion brands, was setting up a new company with Tamara Mellon, former Vogue Accessories Editor. She bought just the business skills needed to turn Jimmy Choo into a household name and a highly successful business.
You can't afford to wait for a Tamara. If you want more success, you need to start thinking not about design, but about business; about the business of niching. And, consequently, it's a subject I will be returning to regularly over the coming year.
Labels: handmakers
posted by Suggy at
23:37
Technorati
del.icio.us
stumbleupon
Subscribe to RSS Feed
4 Comments:
You seem to have great knowledge about this kind of thing, its a very interesting read, I shall be keeping an eye on your blogs!
Many thanks xxx
I am slightly confused. On the one hand you say that designers should spend their time designing and forget about business development (just sell wholesale and let the retailers do the work) but on the other hand you say that designer must know about business development etc if they are to be successful!
Hi
Thanks for your comment.
I guess you're referring to my "Handmaking is not all DIY" post.
The point I am trying to make with these two posts is:
1) You do not have to be a retailer to be a handmaker. Don't fuss over trying to sell direct to end-customers - that's a whole extra business. And, there's some fairly serious competition in retail too!
2) Instead of putting time and effort and money into developing your own retail business, use the existing channel to your benefit. The best handmakers don't get stocked, it's the ones who get noticed and give retailers what they want who do.
3) Don't wait to be discovered. Don't expect to be able to fully indulge your passion for design. You are going to have to spend doing this 'business thing' to get noticed and give retailers what they want.
Hope this clears things up. I am going to do a post on this to clarify things.
Cheers,
Steve
thank you for clearing this up for me. I think it is beneficial to do both, especially as a "one man band" where it is difficult to make the volume to make enough profit to sell only to retailers. I guess you would recommend expanding in that case and taking on other people to make the jewellery? I love selling direct to customers through my website and having that personal contact, but I also understand the necessity of selling to retailers in order to raise awareness of my fledgling brand.
best wishes
Karina
Post a Comment
<< Home