When you are thinking up things to make and sell, you can go in a variety of directions. You could do custom projects, use recycled materials, create one-off originals, do seasonal designs, or go for evergreen type items. While all designs take time to initially develop, opting for an evergreen approach can end up paying you back for years to come.

What is an evergreen product? – I am referring to a type of handmade item or artwork that sells year round (is not seasonal), and can be remade and sold again and again (not limited by material availability).

Benefits of evergreen designs:

They can sell year round – It is totally up to you if you decide to create seasonal items. You may create special items for certain holidays to mix in with your regular offerings or your plan could be to make all your sales a couple times a year, but you do not have to.

In the time it takes to design a seasonal item, you could create a piece that could be sold throughout the year, and for years to come.

They are made with attainable materials – If you had a request to remake one of your handmade items, could you, and would you want to? If you love the idea of being able to sell something over and over, you will have to make sure that you can get the materials again, at any time.

This can be a challenge or may be impossible if you use vintage or recycled materials in your designs. Even if you could find the materials again, you would still be unsure of the total supply and could not get them on a moment’s notice. When your materials are in a limited supply, the number of future sales you can make is greatly reduced.

You can continue selling them indefinitely – As long as you want to keep making a certain design and people are still buying, you can continue to offer it on your site. All you will need to do is pick up more materials and start building. There may never be a need to remove it from your site. It doesn’t cost anything to keep the listing up on your personal site and you could continue to sell your items years after you came up with the original.

About the only thing that would prevent you from continuing to sell a design would be if it went out of style or if there is no application for it anymore. Some styles and colors stand the test of time and others are fads.

If you make accessories, like handmade cases for the latest electronic device, your items will have about the same lifespan as the gadget you are designing them for.  Obviously you could continue to try and sell these items, but there may not be any buyers when new devices are introduced.

Some designs are home runs – Have you ever made something that was one of a kind, but you ended up getting a lot of requests for it? Maybe you even got a mention in a popular blog or magazine. While it is great to be popular, it can be very frustrating if you cannot capitalize on it by making more of the design.

Consider the long term – As you are coming up with your designs. The amount of time and effort that goes into making a one-off piece, seasonal item, or an evergreen type item, is very similar. The key difference is that with an evergreen item you can create the listing once and stand the chance of making consistent sales of the design, nearly indefinitely.

Good luck with your selling

Richard Walker

Handmade craft businesses are built off of creativity. Here are some tips to boost your creative juices.

Consider that you may be more creative at certain times of the day. Take advantage of these times by keeping a notepad handy to jot down ideas.

You cannot schedule creativity. Setting aside time each day to relax and come up with new ideas is a great concept but does not work for everyone. I often find that creativity is on its own schedule and comes around when it chooses. If I want to take advantage I need to stop what I am doing and pay attention to the ideas as they pop up.

Think less. As you clear your head, ideas start to emerge. Often times inspiration comes when you least expect it. How many times have you sat at your desk trying to come up with something creative only to have the idea pop into your head later on in the day? More focus does not always lead to more creativity. If you cannot come up with something right now, take a step back and see if it comes to you later on. While you are doing something else your mind will be mulling over the ideas in the background. Sooner or later the idea will come to you.

It may take two. The act of bouncing ideas off of someone else can be very effective in helping with creativity. You may come up with ideas you had never considered while thinking alone. Be sure to choose the right person to do this with though. Ideas have to flow freely and cannot be shot down. The conversation must be very positive and open and each person must be able to express their thoughts without concern over what the other will think.

Remove doubt. When you are in your creative mode push away any negative thoughts. Stopping to think why something will not or cannot work will stop the creative thoughts in their tracks. Brainstorm and jot down any and all ideas and critique them later.

The act of creating can help you come up with more creative ideas. Use your current project to come up with ideas for new projects or products. Many times ideas will come while creating something. Handmade items are visual products. You will be making something and while viewing all the pieces on the table you may visualize another way of putting them all together. Sometimes these ideas will be for something totally new and unrelated. Make sure you write these ideas down.

Change your surroundings. If you are having trouble coming up with ideas, go somewhere else. It doesn’t have to be a beach or any place too special, just somewhere different. It could be a different room of the house. A simple change of scenery can make a big difference.

Good luck with your creating

Richard

There is a lot of talk about passion, especially when it comes to people creating their own handmade items, but there is very little talk about target markets.  People make things that they are passionate about. They are doing what they love and really enjoying what they do.  

What is wrong with that?

First off let me say that passion is very important. Passion is what drives you to get up every morning and to continue creating. Passion allows you to endure tough times and setbacks. Having passion for what you do allows you to devote the time necessary to come up with the great ideas and make your great handmade items.

Passion is only part of the equation

Once you have your handmade items for sale, it is not about YOUR passion anymore. From your customer’s point of view, it is about what can your item do for THEM. A customer is never going to buy your items because you were passionate about creating them. They will purchase something they like, need, or something that will give them value.  Your should make items that you are passionate about that also appeal to your target market or customer.

When making your handmade items, consider your customer. Think about their wants, needs, and desires. Ultimately you are making items that need to appeal to them. It is all about them.  

Your passion drives you but your product must be appealing to your customer. Be passionate about creating something they will enjoy and want to purchase.

Happy Selling,

Richard