Some ideas I have are to sell are:
Tomato hats-takes me about two hours and are really cheap as far as materials. Cute, especially for shower gifts.
Don't you love this face?
Nursing covers aka Hooter Hiders-the trendy "must have" for new mothers. Also can make U-pillow covers. Only takes an hour and about $5 worth of materials.
Ballerina tutu/fairy skirts-isn't the market flooded with stuff like this? Still cheap and easy to make and pretty much every little girl wants one.
Princess dresses/dress up/American Girl knock offs-Probably my favourite option, since I usually do formals, and probably the most lucrative but also the biggest risk. Having to make a variety of sizes and colours, I can't guarantee that everything will sell before I have to start making new ones. Also, dresses take more time and care to make. Also could sew cloaks and little boy's trenchcoats.
There is also the question of should I try to advertise myself though a blog or etsy store, or should I rent a booth somewhere like the Quilted Bear where they will take care of advertising, stocking, and check out for you, but have a monthly rental fee and they take a commission? Or should I just forget about it because the market is terrible right now and luxury items are not a hot commodity? Or should I just get a real job [hippy]? Input please!
Cute tomato hats!
ReplyDeleteI think you should go with the etsy store. Then just a blog, facebook page and send a "press release" to other mommy blogs to market your things.
Are there high end baby boutiques you could sell through? With your talent you should not be shy or modest about pricing. There's a really cute baby boutique near me http://www.bellaandmax.com/ that sells high quality hand made stuff. I would look for something like that.
ReplyDeleteI doubt I have any good advice for you, but you should go for it. I think there would be a local market here, as well as online. And I will buy a tomato hat! And probably other things like adorable tutus.
ReplyDeleteGo for it Miranda. Blogs are a popular way to go. I'll even post a link on my blog for you (not that anyone reads my blog... but that's besides the point!). I'd buy stuff from you. Maybe once you get going that way and get a feel for what's popular, then you could set up a booth at "Quilted Bear." There are also the seasonal boutiques around here that come for about a week... that might be a good way to get started too.
ReplyDeleteI think etsy is good, I have known quite a few people that have had success with it. They love it because you don't have to invest a lot of money in making a lot of stuff, they just make stuff on a need to basis. I also think that the tomato hat is adorable, and a pumpkin one for Halloween, might be a great hit! I found a way simple pattern online last year for a crochet pumpkin hat that had a vine and a leaf. A ton of people sell tutus, but for unreasonable prices, so if yours were well priced that would be an advantage. It seems like if you made dresses they would be unique, not a lot of other people are talented enough to go down that route. So it might be advantageous to try something that not everybody is doing. Hope this helps, sorry for the longest comment ever!
ReplyDeleteSounds like doing stuff at home would be a way to help your boredom. I have seen Kid to Kid sell a lot of boutique-ish stuff, so you could look into that maybe. I know my sis LOVES the nursing cover you gave her, and I'm sure there would be a market for those - I know they'd be great shower gifts for any mommies-to-be that I know. Good luck! I also love the pumpkin hat idea :)
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