Comments on: CraftSanity Episode 113: Getting Down to Handmade Business With Author Kari Chapin

By: Emilie Rebekah Designs » Blog Archive » Loving: Craft Sanity Podcasts

Emilie Rebekah Designs » Blog Archive » Loving: Craft Sanity Podcasts — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:19:30 +0000

[...] Today it’s all about inspiration. Get inspired by listening to any (and I mean any) of the podcasts from Jennifer Ackerman Haywood’s Craft Sanity Blog. A favorite: Kari Chapin’s interview about running a craft business. [...]

By: Angie

Angie — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 08:17:37 +0000

This was the first time I have listened to your podcast, and I loved it! Subscribe.

I am in the process of getting my crafty business off the ground, and I have found the hardest part is figuring out all the little steps. It would be great to have someone tell me what I need to do, and in what order.

By: Kendra

Kendra — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:36:20 +0000

Fantastic interview! Thank you for this wonderful podcast! I haven’t listened to any craft podcasts before today and now I wonder how I was surviving without this valuable resource.
Kari talked about the importance of community in creating a successful craft business and I feel just as strongly on this topic. Being inclusive is the only way to be! Other Etsy sellers and my customers have provided me with so many ideas, insight and support. I am always grateful and always ready to reciprocate.
I was impressed by Kari’s life story. So much experience and passion! I also admire her impulsive, yet confident and bold decisions to, for example, put her interviewer on the spot and demand to know if she got the job! Knowing what you want is the lesson that I learned from her story. She knows what she wants and from there organizes herself with vision boards and lists, one step at a time until she gets there. Thank you for showing me how this can be done and offering me this vision of how to accomplish my goals without overwhelming myself. Everyone I know on Etsy is always talking about needing to re-balance their lives. I feel very hopeful that some answers can be found inside this inspired book! Great work, Kari! Great podcast, Jennifer! Thank you both :)

By: Laura Bethmann

Laura Bethmann — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 03:14:00 +0000

Couldn’t tear myself away from this interview. I just got back from a working visit to Storey Publishing – outlining my new book, etc, – and got a copy of Handmade Marketplace there. It’s a unique and valuable book for Everyone in this field of making and selling crafts. As for advice, it seems all the questions above are covered in Kari’s book. So, please, get her book! It will serve you well.

By: Margie Di Croce

Margie Di Croce — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:49:00 +0000

This was a great podcast, I need to get that book for myself and a few friends. I discovered craft sanity recently, and I am really enjoy it. You do such a great job. Thanks for all the inspiration.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 15:59:48 +0000

Hate to repeat, but my question is about pricing as well. I have sold a few items, but cringe if I ever do the math about how many hours it took. Technically I’m working at the wage rate of most third world countries. Where is the balance between putting value on your work and pricing yourself out of a given market?

Thanks so much!

By: Emily Lindberg

Emily Lindberg — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 15:22:07 +0000

Hi Jennifer! I love your podcast and all the wonderful, interesting people you interview. It’s been such an amazing inspiration for me.

For the last 16 months or so, I’ve been living and working as a Small Business Development Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco. Though I have a strong background in craft and a little background in retail art making (in my past life I was a retail caricature artist), I find myself in the unique position of having to teach other women how to run a successful craft business, even though I have never done so myself. Really I’m learning right along with them and it isn’t always easy. Podcasts like yours help me to think about important aspects of craft businesses, such as standing out from the crowd and branding yourself.

I still have about 8 months left and before I go home and I want the cooperative ladies to see that it IS possible to support themselves through their crafting. And after I return to the States, it’s my dream to start a craft business of my own, and it’s resources like blogs, podcasts, and books like Kari’s that will help make that happen.

By: Karen K

Karen K — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:48:55 +0000

As an owner of a bricks and mortar shop, I can tell you that customer service is the most important thing. Whether its online or in person, if people like you, they will buy from you. Occasionally throwing in a little freebie goes a very long way. it definitely increases sales!

By: Jennifer Maroney

Jennifer Maroney — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 01:45:25 +0000

Hi! Great conversation Jennifer and Kari! I guess what I would like to know is how to get more traffic to my Etsy store and to keep building up my exposure to new audiences? Happy Spring!

By: Pamela

Pamela — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:36:00 +0000

Thanks Kari! Loved hearing about Muddys and Claire both of which I know. What is a good way to present flat collages, as prints or as originals. What is a cheap way to frame art?

Thanks, Pamela