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Had a women compliment a shirt I made my husband saying she would totally pay at least $30 for one if she got a chance 🤦🏻♀️. Guess I'm worth $3 an hour after buying materials.
Yes. My materials and labor are expensive. You couldn't afford to pay me fairly, and throwing me $3.99 would be an insult. You get something if I love you.
Yes! I make doll and Barbie clothes…my granddaughter at 7 is done with barbies….but I’m still sewing them, because it’s creative….the purpose of creating is the process, figuring something out, that’s a huge purpose, i had some fun!
I hate when people tell me I should sell what I make. It's like they're telling me that my hobby has no value unless I'm trying to make money from it. I crochet, I get that a lot. I enjoy making things for myself and sometimes gifting them to others. My art has value in that it makes me happy, and I don't need to make money from it for it to be valuable.
Yes hobbies are for our mental relaxation and stress relief not for monetizing. Most everyone I've seen that turns their hobby into a business they lose the hobby to the job it's become.
Exactly!!!!!!! If my hobby becomes my job than, what will I do for fun/as a hobby???? I usually say that 1)I have a job and 2) nobody is willing to pay the actual cost of making *insert object*. The pair of socks I made are pretty? Thanks! That's a 30$ skein of yarn + about 48 hours of my time.
I'm an artist and all my friends tell me this and I think you're taking it the wrong way. For someone who doesn't create anything in their spare time, the only way they can convey the value of your gift is through gain. They are sure you'd make a fortune because it's so good in their opinion.
@DadoPanda I get what they're saying, but I've had a few people really push at me every time I show them something I've made. I know it's just their way of complimenting my work, but I've also said that I'm not interested in doing that. So when they say "Yknow, you could be making money from this" it frustrates me. I'm just proud of my work, and I want to share it, but saying things like that just makes me not want to show anyone.
At my wedding I got so many compliments for my wedding dress, which I made myself. "Wow, you could do this for a living!" Bitch, this took me A YEAR (I didn't actually say this but boy was I thinking it).
Hahahaaaa I feel you! In South Africa we have a lot more asian-born tailors offering their services - I remember visiting India as a kid, we'd visit a shop the night and pick up an entire 2-3 piece outfit the next day - professional trades-people are amazing. I've also visited a local clothing manufacturer and the CMT's, also amazing! Point = why ask a hobby sewist, there's ample services out there in most big cities, very likely more affordable and within your expected time frame that more likely measured in weeks and not months/years 😂
I made my own wedding dress & I was so paranoid about damaging the lace that I hand sewed it. No way could I go through that stress on anyone else's behalf.
The TIME component/ commitment is so real. I made one of my closest friends of 20+ years a baby blanket and crochet octopus. She’s been there for me through all my health issues and appreciates/ values handmade gifts I’ve made for her in the past. My dad’s first comment when he saw the finished blanket before I wrapped it up for her? “This is actually good, you could sell these!” Umm it took me over 80 hours to make and 10+ skeins of yarn. All in with the octopus and finished boarder it was close to 100 hours of work that I spaced out over months. Even if I just covered material costs and paid myself $15/hr we’re talking $1600. Very few people would ever consider paying something like that for a baby blanket. Also, my wrists are just not cut out for that. I respect people deeply who choose to turn their art or craft into a career, but have no personal interest.
@@dilshaad-23sakg When you're buying from a shop, you have a TEAM of people working on one thing. Everyone's sitting at an edge embroidering or beading, or hemming a portion of length, or doing one specific task in an assembly line. The labour hours are there, but they're spread over a few people, so 100 hours of work happens in only 2 days.
People ask me all the time if I sell the quilts I make. My answer is always, " No, I give them away." In my mind, I'm thinking, " and you're not quilt worthy!" 😂
And they won't want to pay you what they are worth. Can't tell you how many times someone have said "what do you mean you want $250; $600; $1500 !!??? I can get a blanket at Walmart for $20! I tell these people to get a blanket at Walmart then and/or ask if they get paid to work? Does their time have value? Should I work for free? Absolutely crazy making!
I’m sooooooo with you. I quilt for love, not money. You wouldn’t ASK someone to love you, right? So if I love you, you will eventually receive a quilt! Considering my JOB pays me $56/hr, and it takes me HUNDREDS of hours to make a quilt, that quilt would cost you, at a minimum of 100 hours, $5,600. So no, you can’t afford one of my quilts. But you might get one for free!
"Oh, you sew?? Can you hem my pants? I'll pay you $10!" No, I hate hemming my own pants, much less someone else's 😅. Ditto curtains. I have a friend who was complaining that she had to pay $600 for 60 hours of work to sew outdoor cushions. $10 per hour. She thought it would be no more than $200. She was a little startled when I told her I thought that was too low.
Yep, I'm the one with the sewing machine, so I get to do the little sewing jobs people want 🙃 (I am happy to hem my grandma's pants though. And my sister and I have an agreement where I do her sewing stuff and she does my prop-making stuff lol)
Hey, at least they offered to pay you something. I was a professional seamstress, professionally and extensively trained, and a paid tutor/instructor for two local colleges. Later ,when I worked as an office temp, my co-workers and neighbors found out I sewed and they wanted me to sew for them for free. Some even wanted me to provide the fabic/materials for the projects without paying me for them. If I pointed out I was a professional and wanted to be paid for my work, these same people would try to talk me out of my prices. One time a co-worker of my husband's found out I used to have an alterations business and sent him home with two large bags of unwashed clothes for me to mend without ever having contacted ME , let alone asking me my price to do the unnamed/unlabled/unlisted repairs to their dirty clothes. Shameless! Now when people find out I sew, I tell them upfront I no longer sew professionally. If they press me, I tell them I am still willing to teach and tutor them for a minimum of $50 an hour. If they boggle at that, I start telling them the education and experience I bring to my tutorials and their eyes usually glaze over before I have finished listing my qualifications to be a sewing teacher (I have a lot of experience and training!). Come to think of it, with inflation and all, it is time to raise my rates again. I'm over 50 and I need to be thinking about my retirement years!
The way I get around that is I hand them a seam ripper and I said okay rip the seam out and then I'll show you how to do it on my machine or I can show you by hand. And I've never had to hem anyone else's pants since except my boyfriend because he pays a lot of my bills lol
I monetized my hobby. I made 6 figures monetizing my hobby at one point. I did that for 5 years. I finally hit a breaking point and quit and took a job making less than 1/5 of what I was making before because I was working myself to DEATH monetizing my craft. I might work a "boring" job now, but quite frankly, I don't care. It took years before I could start creating for fun again (and I still haven't fully gotten back to doing certain parts of my craft for pure enjoyment again). I don't think I could ever go back to that. It drained the life out of me.
Even now, I recently started sharing my personal clothing that I've sewn for myself. I don't use commercial patterns; I've always just decided to wing it as I go, so I never have patterns to share with people when they ask. The amount of comments I've been inundated with asking for me to make patterns, instructions, or FULL TH-cam TUTORIALS when I just wanted to share a cute swim dress or unique skirt I made for myself..... they're exhausting. I know that people truly do mean well, but it's draining and it makes me not want to share the joy of the things I create, even though I LOVE doing that.
It's sad to hear that, and exactly what used to scare me the most when I was being told the magical "you should sell it". Thank you for sharing it. I hope you get your joy back eventually 😊
@@Bigsistermeg "--I just wanted to share a cute swim dress or unique skirt--" Social media is a big culprit in this, especially in the past few years with influencers. Everyone is now trained on those platforms to expect a link to buy or a link to instructions to make it. It sucks that we can't just interact on a personal level with people anymore. :(
I know the feeling. While I didn't make 6 figures, it was a part time thing that was accidental. I was still doing a full-time job as well as running the business in my "spare" time. I did make enough to put my kids through university. The equipment I used now lays idle, and has done for 6 years because I can't face making anything creative with it anymore.
It's a shame you weren't able to employ staff to help you at that rate. Sounds like you were very skillful and seems a shame to lose love of it. I burned myself out running a salon alone as I couldn't trust people
Exactly right, I have a day job that pays $100 per hour, a bag that takes 3 hours to make would cost $500. You can pay for your gift if you want. That shuts everyone up.
They think ‘Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.’ That’s wrong! You will work, even if you have your dream job. A hobby is a hobby because if you are having a Day (ex: you knit but all the yarn is tangled? And you have none of the supplies you need? And everything broke? And your hand cramps?) you can put it down. You can’t if it’s a job and you have a deadline
I think it depends on how you do it and it's definitely a mindset and choice. I've had much more success doing what I love and selling it instead of "making things to sell" as I did decades ago. Too. much stress making something that I thought people would buy (they did, but it became production work as you say), but when I stopped doing it that way, took a deep breath and started putting MY style stuff out there, I was shocked it sold, too and for much better money.
I had to set aside my current quilt project when I got sick, then my grandpa died, and I got my service dog puppy (which is like having a newborn and a toddler all rolled into one adorable, furry creature).
Exactly. My hobby is my hobby, because I can decompress. Take 1 month or 3 years to finish a knitted jumper. DOESN'T MATTER, because there is no deadline!!! I have enough deadlines in my day job. The reason the hobbies help me decompress is: I can do as much or a little as I please in a certain time frame. And it's completely fine if I 'doodle create' i.e. make random granny squares that serve no purpose except their entertainment for ME.
My favorite selling experience is when my aunt put up a display of my jewelry in her hair salon. If anything sold, she would mail me a check. I would occasionally swap stuff out for new things. No stress, no fuss.
I think this mentality partly comes from "do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life". Which of course is absolutely fine! But a lot of people, myself included, want to keep hobbies separate from my more lucrative skills so that I actually have HOBBIES and can continue to love them and use them to decompress, while also enjoying building a skillset that is very much NOT a hobby. You articulated this all so well!
I've known men who were happy to sit in a suffocatingly warm, oil-stinking basements with machines. My boyfriend watches TH-cam channels with people who bought old switchboards from a telephone company and are running a museum full of communication history or the "look mum no computer" guy turning an old organ into crazy art that still plays. There's a guy who lives in Wisconsin who rescues junk from the industrial park he works at and brings it to some rural property where they're literally just digging out the mountain side because it sandstone. But a lot of them still have actual jobs that pay but it would be amazing if there was universal basic income so that they didn't have to rely just on work just think of all the technology that could be created if people weren't struggling to just survive.
YES! My family were always shocked when I said I never ever wanted to be a chef or anything to do with cooking or baking. They couldn't understand when I said that cooking was my relaxing time. I never wanted it to be work. This was before I became a crafter, same applies, this is a hobby for me to help me realx and stay sane, I don't want to do it as my job as I'd no longer enjoy it!
2024 has been the year of giving myself permission to have hobbies that don't make money. I'm an Artist full time (animation) so this is a big deal for me. The worst experience I ever had with this was with my Therapist. I told her how proud I was of a friend who was making a living off her paintings and how rare, awesome, and fulfilling that opportunity is. I am genuinely proud of her. But my Therapist kept saying I was jealous and the solution was to also pick up my paintings and cater them to the masses and sell them. I said no. I can be proud of a friend and not want to live their life. She gave me a week to come up with an outline for my painting business. I never booked another appointment. Let people have their art. Let people enjoy creating. You don't know what it does to artists' brains when you hear everyone screaming at you to monetize all the time. Thank you for putting this message out on the internet.
The best salesperson i met was at a mattress store. He told us about other stores we can check out, encouraged us to go and come back if we don't find something better elsewhere. We ended up buying from him because we felt the opposite of pressured
went to a furniture store that was going out of business. i have always gotten our stuff second hand because America. our couch was around 50$. the salesman was pushy and we said yes to a 600$ chair. i had a panic attack in the car on the way home. we turned around and returned the dang thing. the guy at customer service already knew the it was because the guy was too pushy. = TRAUMA!!
I work at JoAnns. I tell people all the time that Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Home Depot, Menards, and our smaller more specialized stores would be better for what they need. I also tell them to youtube and google stuff because we aren't trained/paid enough to know about every craft. Each employee knows what they know about our own hobbies and tools. I don't really care when people get mad over whatever and say they'll never come back because they're probably not that great of a person even on a better day and we have lovely regulars that put a smile on my face.
@@tianamarie989If it is they def will not let their managers hear it.. I used to work at a big chain and that most def is frowned upon but is something I’d say because honestly ppl should be allowed to shop around
This sounds like my partner - he also is a sleeping expert and sells sleeping articles (mattresses, cushions etc). He sometimes tells people that maybe another store would be better for what they look for. He ALWAYS tries to find the perfect solution for every indivdual customer in their money limits. And if he realizes the best option for them is not in their store he sends them elsewhere. He always says, that he don't want to sell expensive stuff (like the management would want it) but he wants to help people SLEEP WELL and that they know they have bought the best possible option inside their budget. That's why he always gets good feedback and former customers send their friends only to him to buy something. I am really proud of him and his way of working. :)
One more thing people tend to underestimate about selling crafts is just how expensive they should be. I knit, and last time I did the maths, if I wanted to make at least a minimum wage from selling my sweaters, they would all go into the thousands. It just takes that long. My friends sometimes ask me if I would sell my crafts or do comissions, and the answer is that unless someone wants to pay me a monthly wage for that, I most certainly won't
@@leahh-g3358 True. But even if you charge by a time neutral unit, like a cent a stitch for basic stitch patterns plus material, or a dollar per gram of yarn, a pair of socks is already at least something like 80$. Do you know someone who would buy a pair of basic ankle socks from cheap yarn for 80$? I certainly don't... And if you wanted to make your work yield even just 10$/hour, you couldn't take more than 8 hours to knit them - a very quick knitter might manage to make them in 20 hours... (I usually need about 30, more for complex stitch patterns.)
@katze69 which is why I started with the word "and" rather than "but." All of that is true, and contributes to why making a real living in any fiber art is.. unlikely for most.
You know, it’s similar to when you help watch a kid and people tell you “you’re so good with kids! You should have one of your own!” And you’re just like “how did we jump from me babysitting to a huge personal decision I might not at all be prepared for in any way?” People just simplify things in their minds, they don’t think about all the complications or how being good at one aspect of something doesn’t make you qualified to do everything related to that thing.
I am a dressmaker and designer. A few years ago I gave up my (paying) job to pursue selling my work. People loved what I made. I sold a lot of dresses. I made some money. I got great feedback. But I didn't make enough and it wasn't realistic to put up prices. My website ended up being expensive and sold three dresses in three years. Last year I had a Eureka moment and decided I was done. I got another job (yay for a regular income) and quietly walked away. It has taken me a year to get my head around this and be okay with it. A year of feeling lost, guilty, sad telling people it wasn't a failure whilst secretly believing it was. Things are starting to improve starting with selling some of my tools. I love sewing and fortunately this hasn't crushed that. But the desire to sell again has been squashed. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this. It really helped
I'm so sorry to hear that. It is devastating to lose a dream or a goal we pursued. The shame, guilt, loss, and worthlessness can feel crushing. Mine wasn't an business but it was work in an industry that was very hard to get into. It didn't pan out for me for a lot of reasons and I blamed myself for it for a long time. A way to look at it is that it turns out running that business just wasn't compatible with how you wanted to run your life and perhaps even who you wanted to be. That was the case for me. But you had a red hot go and I hope you are damn proud that you tried what you wanted to try, and kept it going for so long. The business or the career stalling or failing doesn't mean you have failed as a worthy human being. It just means it wasn't compatible with who you were. You now know more about yourself as a result. Self-development is a win, even if right now it is a small one in comparison! My best wishes to you.
As a life long crafter, I've made and sold embroidery, quilts, crochet, ornaments, etc. My biggest peeve (and reason I stopped) is that people want to "buy" your items, but they don't want to "pay" what they are worth. I've had people say that a hand stitched, hand quilted king size quilt is only worth 100 dollars. I would not be able to buy the materials to make the quilt for that, never mind the hours/days/weeks it would take me to do it. I had another want a crocheted baby blanket and scoffed at the price. When I showed her how much one skein of her preferred yarn cost, she said she would buy something at Walmart. So if I do sell, it is never commissioned. Slap a price on the item and if it sells, it sells. I've been re-selling for the past few years and there is not so much investment and once you get the shipping procedure down, it's pretty easy. Great video!
Unfortunately Temu, AliExpress, SHEIN, etc have just made this so much worse. I see plenty of people complain along the lines that $20 is too much for a new shirt and it’s just really really not. We know that these companies are selling items for next to nothing because they exploit workers, but there’s still such a disconnect with the general public who don’t see or care about the true cost of labor and materials.
YES I was thinking this too! Lots of people have no idea how much time it takes to make things by hand. A lot of people also don’t know the difference between something not being worth the price and something that just costs more than they can afford. Am I sad I can’t afford real stained glass made by an artisan? Yes, obviously. But it looks like it’s a really labor intensive, slow process that takes a lot of skill to do well, so it isn’t that it isn’t worth what they charge.
I tend to ask people how much they’re willing to pay for it then tell them the price of materials plus what it would cost me on labor then they like no
A friend often gets around this by telling people to pick a design of a quilt and then she tells them to go to Joanne and buy the fabric and she tells them how much she needs and she's only ever had two people do it. She says she's terrible at picking out colors but she's great at putting all the pieces together. But usually no one wants to actually pay the price for even just the fabric. My boyfriend built me two smokers and I have someone who said they're willing to come use it in the winter but I have told people I'm not going to smoke meat unless you buy the meat and bring it to me and help me collect wood from the yard if needed lol. But twice now I have made two 12 lb turkeys for our friendsgiving celebration. And I had someone come up to me at Easter and tell me they were still thinking about my turkey lol
@Creativelicense459 Even worse, I know temu(or their sellers) straight up steal free crafting patterns and sell them. I have had at least one maker fall victim to this cruel behavior.
My friend wanted a quilt, so I said yes, but she would have to pay for the materials and long arm quilting services. I gave her an itemized list of materials and their costs, which came to about $160, and the longarmer would be another $120. She said no way--I can get one at Cracker Barrel for $75. I said, go right ahead. Just the yarn for an afghan starts at $80.
Oh GOD! Thank you so much for voicing this! I sew because I am shaped weird, and I have an odd asthetic, but most of all because I LOVE IT! I don't want anyone else to look like me. I want my own designs. NO, NOONE ELSE CAN HAVE THEM. Ok, byee.
That's why I started sewing. But menopause is making it hard for me to wrap my brain around even basic things that I've already done. Not that I go anywhere l meed to dress for anyway lol. But I'm short wasted and I have big tits and big ass but not in the places where fast fashion thinks my lumps and bumps should go. Now if only I could wrap my head around making a pair of shoes for my boat shaped feet ....
Perfectly said, I make stuff for just my immediate family. I make clothes for just my daughter and me because we both have fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and I have multiple back problems, a lot of clothes I buy from the shop aren't soft enough for me or leave me feeling exhausted so that's why I make my own stuff and my daughter loves stuff that no one else has
@@helenkemp6468try the carnivore diet if you want to improve your health. There are lots of TH-cam videos of people healing these health conditions with eating just meat.
I am always stuck on the idea of “hobbies”. I feel that calling the many things I do such as sewing, embroidery, knitting, pottery making etc. a “hobby” demeans the skills I painstakingly learned just because I don’t exchange it for money. I do what I do for my household so I don’t have to work as hard outside the home for the items I can make myself without fear of unsustainable creation methods or slave labor. And Lordy people get cranky when I won’t knit a sweater for them or sew them an outfit. I’ll teach you how to do it all day long but I’m not piece-working for anybody outside my household.
I feel like you need to google the word "hobby". Quite literally any kind of labour you do without the expectation of financial gain is, by definition, a hobby. Especially so if it's something you're doing for fun or leisure. I don't understand why you'd be insulted by that.
@@GeneralNickles I think I understand. Doing unpaid labour for the home/household is something women have been doing throughout time, and those activities are generally undervalued. Calling them a hobby is not recognising those activities as valuable labour but trivialises them as "just for funzies". While household crafts can be fun, they are sometimes also necessary and valuable beyond just decoration, enjoyment, what have you.(Assuming Michagoose2003's gender here, sorry if I'm wrong but I'm a woman myself so this resonates!)
One thing that's been really hitting me this past year or so is how we define work. Whenever people say we work less now than before industrialization, they include the time it took to cook, clean, spin, weave, sew, make housewares, etc. But when people do those same things now, we lump it in with leisure. Industrialization has made a whole lot of those tasks easier, but they're still valuable and often necessary work.
@@SarcasticShrubberyToday. They used to be both less gendered and more valued in the past. I recently watched a whole piece on how to produce enough thread for everything from cloth to rope, pretty much everyone needed to be spinning whenever they had a spare moment. It began with talking about how spindle whorls have been found in multiple archeological gravesites (so obviously considered significant by the culture at the time), and a particular British scholar decided they were insignificant women's artifacts and had them _thrown away_ without being recorded or catalogged when found.
Well, when I was gardening because I liked growing food, that was a hobby. When I started to depend on that garden for all of my fresh food (because I had no money and was getting shelf stable stuff from a food bank), then it stopped being a hobby and started being Work, a Task, a Chore that I needed to do as regularly and with as much pleasure as laundry. Now I have the financial means to buy food, and growing food became a hobby again. I’m doing it for funnies. It is no longer Labor. Maybe you find calling those things “hobbies” demeaning because you are not doing them for leisure, you’re doing them as labor.
I'm a maker and whenever people say "you should sell that" I just say, "no, I'm good, thanks though!" I absolutely hate capitalism and I've tried to sell before and it ruined it for me. I would much rather just make things for me and give things away as gifts to friends and family
This is how I feel - I’m a creative! If I wanted to be in sales, business management, or marketing, I would be doing that for money already. But those things don’t match my personality and I hate capitalism
On the one hand: totally, yes! On the other: when I read this I kinda thought it would be sad if it turned into an expectation for these kinds of things to have to be gifted like. I mean cheap products ruin everything but it would be so nice if ppl actually understood the worth
Right there with you. When I did sell my stuff I never felt comfortable putting prices on things and that was when I was doing stuff where paying myself minimum wage made me feel like my prices were too high. No, I'm not going to make you a pair of pants, I don't even know how to make them for myself. Sell the crocheted blanket? Umm, let me add up the hours that took me and ... oh, not interested? Yeah I get why, I wouldn't pay that either, that's why I made it myself.... I give stufff I make to people I value who will appreciate the time I put in to making a thing for them. Also, I know I'm crap at running a business, I can barely keep organized enough to manage yearly taxes and paying my bills, you want me to pay suppliers and collect sales tax and track every single thing I buy and sell? Nope. Not doing it...
@@jac_and_the_making_of A couple years ago, I was lamenting how I want to be a "send christmas cards person", but can never manage to actually get it done... my mom helpfully suggested "why don't you just hand make some nice cards for everyone?" 😭
Your response: "Did you enjoy raising kids? ... Well, then you should run a daycare and raise everyone's kids! Doing what you enjoy can't be stressful, right?"
This. And the "generous" offer of buying the yarn... Anyone asking me to knit socks for them gets a "1 cent per stitch" which mostly gets an ok - and then I let them do the math of stitches per row and number of rows. Which makes them retreat quite fast ;)
Exactly! I make blankets for my family members on occasion, and they all love them and say I should sell them. Then when I say I won’t and that it’s a terrible idea, they get all huffy. I literally sat the worst of them down with a pad of paper and walked them through the math of a gauge swatch of the yarn they all love the most, then had them watch as I made that gauge swatch. They looked like they’d seen a ghost. I told them it took me over a month to make the blanket I gave them for their 50th birthday and that the yarn cost over $80. The blanket was a small throw with some basic tapestry-style color work using 6 colors in a hygge yarn.
A few years ago, I was convinced by a friend to sell my knitted toys at a local market. I thought the affirmation was just what I needed, but let's be honest, if you tell me my stuff is soooo cute and walk away without buying one, that kind of affirmation is a kick to the guts. My last sale was to a guy who told me (after the sale) that his dog was gonna love it.
I’ve learned that when people comment on my clothes I just reply, “thank you” and do not tell them I made it. After SO MANY PEOPLE saying, “do you sew for other people?” I learned just to thank them and move on…. After reading all the comments I realize I’m not in that boat alone. ❤❤Judy❤❤
I wore my birthday dress to the salon while I was getting hair and nails done, and a salon client said to me: “That’s a beautiful dress! Do you sew for other people?” My answer (without skipping a beat) (in no uncertain terms) (laughing): “No. No, I do not.” 😅 Don’t be afraid to say the word “no”. You won’t be struck down by lightning, you will not explode, implode, or have any other sort of horrible thing happen to you. And the person who asked you should not be insulted, as long as you are gracious in your response. You don’t need to explain yourself, either.
Dear Charlie: I knit. I knit socks for myself. People say I ought to sell the socks. (Some of them are very nice.) Wool socks: $15 - $20 for the wool and 8 hours work per sock. People expect to Pay for that? Yeah, NO.
I used to knit commissions. I charged 25 cents per yard of yarn for plain knitting. That’s $100 per pair of socks. I never sold socks 😂 I sold $400-500 sweaters, not including the $200-300 of high end yarn. One per month. Yeah, I was desperate for money and was allowed to knit at my day job. Still not sustainable.
@@beglitchery When I did chain mail I charged per pound, extra per hour of design and assembly, and more per hour if it were thicker wire or stainless. Now and then someone was interested in paying me but I'm glad it wasn't often, it's really hard on my body.
People say that, but they don’t want to pay for custom crafts! I did that with jewelry, it became a job real quick. I did bead weaving very complicated patterns, no one wanted to pay, I still have them packed away, stopped completely. Lost the joy. Thank you for the truth.
Heh, I have a whole box full of beadwork and wirework that never sold. Now and then I go through it and find something that a friend would appreciate...
This is all so true. So many people don't understand it's not all about the money, that adding money and deadlines makes everything more stressful and that they are not going to afford a knitted sweater I spent 50 hours on...
I used to hand sewn miniature bears. I made over 300. I did sell some at bear fairs, and i took on a couple of commissions. I stopped all of it because both my mental and physical health was suffering. Now I make quilts with a sewing machine. I don't sell them, or anything i make, because I can't deal with that pressure. Thanks for putting this out there. I feel so much less alone ❤
A hobby is something you do for pleasure. It's supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable. The minute you turn it into a business, it stops being relaxing and enjoyable. 🤷♀️ But i don't mind selling things I make occasionally as a sort of favor. I just don't do it as a business.
When the pandemic had us all in lockdown, I wasn't able to do local theater for a number of years, and one of the things I did for local theater was set dressing, especially painting. If you need a faux brick wall, I'm your guy. So I started painting on canvases, mostly just to do something while I was home alone, and I'd show my stuff to people I knew on my various social media accounts. Eventually, I started giving away my paintings, and also hiding them wherever I traveled, with a note on them asking to be tagged on Instagram. That was fun, and then people asked to buy my work. Now that I'm sometimes selling my work, it's SO STRESSFUL. I have done a few art shows/fairs, which take a long time and a lot of work to set up and break down, while selling during the events themselves, and also selling quite a bit to friends and family. I've recently had a few friends to whom I've sold works who....haven 't ever paid me? And I just don't have the gumption to chase after a friend for money. I'd rather write it off in my head as a gift than lose a friend because they weren't able to or didn't remember to or just didn't want to pay me.
And the STRESS of wondering if what we've made is good enough. When I sew for myself, a stray thread is fine. But if I'm selling something, I feel like I have to pick over it with a fine tooth comb to make sure I haven't missed the tiniest of flaws. It stressed me TF out
There’s a free store where I live and I’ve been boxing up all of the stuff I thought I was going to try to sell and it brings me so much joy to think about people getting this stuff for free. I was only stressed when I was trying to figure out how to sell it. ALSO, now when I look at crafting supplies, I don’t have the excuse that I can always resell whatever I don’t use and I’ve basically stopped buying craft supplies. I’m also determined to use or give away all of the supplies that I still have and it’s such a relief to imagine it giving me so much more space and other people so much joy. I deal with depression and anxiety so the idea of just having fun making stuff all day and not having to worry about a 9-5 is really enticing but entrepreneurship brings me only anxiety, no joy, so I’m trying to figure out how to make a 9-5 work. I hate capitalism.
My husband’s hobby is home improvement projects - tiling and putting things together around the house generally. He was laid off 20 years ago and decided to make a living out of that hobby. Seriously the worst thing ever! He lost money because he didn’t charge enough (after all he gets a hobbyist enjoyment out of his projects!) He took a loan. Because he charged little, soon many friends were asking to do projects. Meanwhile I was left to pay most of the bills while he was enjoying his hobby. After 6 years, he quit it, in debt. Lost money, lost a bunch of friends (because of resentment for their taking advantage of him), lost productivity years from not earning a regular income, and almost lost a marriage too! Some people may be able to make a living from hobbies, but for most people, in my opinion, it doesn’t work out. Maybe as a side hustle, but that too could kill your enjoyment for your hobby.
As someone with the pathological demand avoidance profile of autism, who literally can’t hold down a job because all jobs are demands and demands are disabling for my brain, I honestly hate when people tell me I should sell my art. I know that I am too disabled to cope with everything involved and that trying to push through would burn me out so badly I’d end up hospitalised again, but try explaining that when outwardly you “don’t look autistic” 🙄
Exactly, even deciding that one might want to sell something would be way too much pressure. Good way to BOTH ruin the fun and also make it so not a lot gets done.
Very similar here. Though my brain specifically will not wake up and get me to work at a regularly scheduled time, which has obviously caused major issues at every job I've ever had. I last about 2 years then it goes downhill and I end up just calling in "sick" or being late all the time. I found a different way to monetize my hobby, by sewing - but not stuff I enjoy for myself. There are still demands but mostly self imposed. Sadly I can't just make stuff and sell it whenever I feel like it, but it does help to have the flexibility of my own schedule. Now when people tell me I should sell xyz product I've never made before, even if I logically see it's a great idea for my shop, I'm like NO 😂
Oh man, your opening line reached in and gripped my SOUL. I am a crafter of many kinds (jewelry, costumes, my own clothing, doll clothing, bookbinding, leatherworking, etc.) and so I got those comments a lot, until one day I posted a picture of the skirt I just finished making and an acquaintance I hadn't spoken to in over a decade DM'd me and asked if I would make her a skirt just like it. And without even waiting for my response, she started detailing what color she wanted it to be, if we would need to do a fitting or if she could just send me her measurements, etc etc. When I finally got a word in edgewise, I told her no, I don't take commissions, and while telling someone you want to commission their art seems like it's a compliment, unless they are actively advertising their hobby is for sale, what you're actually doing is creating an unfair pressure and discomfort, that some people can't say no and so they take on the commission and either have to suffer through making something they don't want to make, or they inevitably fail, making everything so much worse. I never even talked to her about how taking commissions means being a business owner. And GOD, the part that upset me worst about the whole conversation is that she, who had been no contact for 10 whole years, had the actual audacity to ask me if everything was okay, because I seemed so much more upset and angry than she knew me to be. Like, lady, you don't talk to me for 10 years and then you swoop in and start making demands on my time and energy without any lead up at all. Yeah, I'm going to be pissed. You clearly don't actually know me. *sigh Anyway, all that to say I stopped feeling so bad about telling people I don't take commissions. I'm more polite about it than that particular instance, but I'm definitely immediate and direct.
I was encouraged to sell cakes and I did it for a few years until major burn out. My father's cancer and the pandemic made me take a break and i realised that i couldnt go on. Being good at decorating a cake and being good at business and marketing are very different skill sets. I hate cake now. I loathe even the thought of baking a cake for my family now. Plus I like people in general less. Customers are the worst lol. Most don't want to accept that maybe they don't really have the budget for a bespoke cake but that I still deserve to be paid. But I'll never forget the people who told me I don't charge enough and gave me extra money for a tip.
Back when I was a teenager, I made beaded bracelets and necklaces as a hobby. I can relate to the "selling it to get rid of it" motivation. I rented a table at a yearly craft fair a few times, and always sold enough to cover the cost of renting said table, plus usually a bit extra. But as an adult - no, I don't want to handle the market research, advertising, customer service, customer retention, tech support, record keeping, financial management, schedule management, and legalities of running a business. Ever notice how Project Managers rarely actually *work on projects*? Because they're busy making sure everyone else is working on the right steps in the right order and being connected to the right resources, and making plans for the next project.
I make seed bead necklaces. They are quite intricate and take ages to make. I got told so much that I should sell them that I did try it with some of my simpler earrings and bracelets. I made 1 sale on Etsy in three years and a couple IRL at a craft table I rented at a Christmas craft show. It drives me nuts now to hear people say anyone should sell a hobby craft.
I understand you perfectly. I am a 63 y/o, multihobby woman who has been called ‘very talented’ by many and told I should sell what I make. No, not me. I am not a business person and don’t enjoy convincing people to part from their money. My hobbies fulfill me, make me happy, are relaxing and therapeutic in the most stressful times. They keep my mind occupied and help me to never feel lonely. I would never want to turn the hobbies I love so much into a job, that would kill my relationship with them. Not everything in life is about money, people…
I also have been told I should sell what you make. I learned early on in 1972 when my boy friend and I opened up a craft store, hooked rugs, candles,woodcarvings ,tie dye you know crafts of the 70’s. The pressure to produce a product took all the fun out of my crafting not to mention people weren’t willing to pay the price for the item. The pleasure I get is the expression on the recipient’s face when I give them something I’ve made for them. Great if you can make a profit and still enjoy your craft. 🙃
ALL of this 100%. I do solar wood burning using the sun and a magnifying lens. I've been doing it since the 90's. Everyone has told me to sell my stuff. So I put up an Etsy shop. I got one or two orders from friends, but that was it. Then, like you said, came the stress and anxiety in having to ship them. No thanks. Then I tried 3 different street fairs in non-consecutive years. All 3 were fails. The first one, my cover broke in the middle of the night and I couldn't use it the next day. The last one, the sun didn't come out, so I couldn't show how the artwork was created which is the experience of the art. Any way...all this to say I get it. After thought: not to mention how to price things. I have a 15x20 wood panel with the Golden Gate Bridge burned into it. Took me 10- 8 hour days, plus design time (another 4 hours), plus supplies, etc. If I was going to pay myself a good wage, I'd have to sell it for nearly $1000!! No one wants to buy it for $250 who's going to buy it for 4 times that amount!?
THANK YOU! I have often told people very frankly that I will only make items for myself or gifts because if I charged for material costs & time, the things I'd be selling would be priced beyond what anyone should pay for the quality of my product. Plus I completely understand all the feelings you describe. Way too much pressure for me to feel ok!
I'm really lucky that I love my job (I'm a librarian) but it isn't because I love reading (which I do), but it's because I love helping people find and use information. It is about helping people become the best they can be. But I wouldn't dream of monitizing my hobbies. Occasionally I will make a gift out of my hobby but that is my choice and done in my own timeframe. I think the pressure of doing them as a business would be immense. I don't need that. I totally respect and appreciate TH-camrs who are sharing their hobbies with us.
This! I’ve recently restarted garment sewing after a many years break and immediately people were like “could you make something for me?”… uh no! I’ve made two small gifts (not clothes but tea cozies) but those were my choice. I want my sewing (and other hobbies) to remain hobbies for me. Selling… not my thing 😂
I took a midlife art degree and thought I should try to sell what I had produced because I was now qualified. A hateful move, exhibiting, saying all the same things at different exhibitions. Now I have gone back to playing again and the world is good. Selling is reductive and people feel they own you.
This reminds me of my senior art class. A few of my projects were chosen for a show and one of them got an offer to sell. My immediate visceral gut reaction was to grab it and scream "MINE" and run away to hide. I guess my panic showed on my face because my teacher laughed, gave me a side hug and told me I didn't have to sell. Most of my art is just up on my walls now. If I start a piece as a gift it feels good to give it though. I did end up selling one commission a couple of years ago because a friend on Facebook saw a picture and asked if I could do a version of her profile picture. Even though I knew it was to sell, it felt like sending a child off to college.
THANK YOU!!!! I make beautiful cards and I love giving them to people. I just finished a challenge of making 100 cards in 100 days and gifting them to 100 different people. I have been pressured soooo hard to sell them. And I Do NOT Want To Sell Them!!! Thank you for putting into words all the thoughts and feelings I have been unable to express on this subject!
This is such an accurate representation of what it's like to live with the equal parts blessing and curse of 1000 ADHD hobbies. There have been times I've been told I should sell something and it felt kind of ignorant (like you I've also been told I should sell my sewing skills in the form of tailoring other people's already made clothes, or been offered money to recreate embroidery pieces that took me weeks and temporary nerve damage to complete 😭) but when a friend of a friend saw my cruddy point n shoot photos on Instagram and offered to pay me a few hundred dollars to shoot their desperate friend's (aka stranger's) wedding it was the best and most terrifying compliment I'd ever received. I was so excited I ended up insisting on doing the wedding for free because I truly was in no way qualified to be capturing a freaking WEDDING and I didn't want that pressure. I found some well-paid weekend work a month beforehand and used that money to buy a secondhand T3i (already old at this point) and actually did a decent job and went on to get actual paid work doing that. Would I want to turn it into my main income? Omg no, never!! ...but I love shooting small budget weddings, it feels like such a huge privilege to be part of such an intimate moment in someone's life and I never would have discovered that passion if someone hadn't essentially told me I could sell my skill. Still won't be tailoring anyone's clothes, though!! 😬
My cubicle neighbor says that all the time whenever she asks a question that ends up with some unexpected life story explanation. I love writing but a book is not for everyone.
I sing. I love singing. I take lessons, I do choir on the side, I work hard on my voice, If I turned it in any type of job that would suck the enjoyment out of it because then it wouldn't be a choice anymore.
Lucky you. I loved singing, too, and playing piano. Then I spent 7 years studying music and am now a qualified singing and piano teacher. Since graduating, I've had 0 motivation to sing or play. 😢
This video is so true. I am a self reliant crafter, maker of things. I knit, sew, crochet, bake cakes and bread. Make bar soap, beautiful hand crafted chocolates and sweets. I enjoy wood work and a while ago started making wooden bowls on a lathe. All things I could sell. But no I do not wish to be hassled by the demands of the non crafting general public. I enjoy and love the proses of crafting. I treasure the things I create. Definitely no desire to run a business.
Same here, I was told about a lovely place to visit that is local to me where they sell cute cakes and make a great cup of tea. While I was there I noticed all of the handmade items and she told me that she display and sell other artists work and only takes a 10% cut to cover the cost of keeping them dust free and for the space they take up. They also rent out a room for workshops and have lots of workshops run during the summer months. The local craft shop in my town on the other hand takes %30 but if you work in the shop it drops to 15%. Either way they are exploiting the crafter, I worked out I had to increase the prices of my products just to afford their hefty fees which in turn increased the sales tax on the item which I had to keep 10% aside on the off chance I by a miracle actually did sell $10,000 worth of goods in a year. Before I got sick I worked in the shop and while I was there I noticed that there was a small click that would take all the window display area for their craft and would move anyone else’s work out of the window and onto the back shelf. It took me over a year of arguing with the members which I was part off to get things changed so that these 3 women could no-longer take control of the window space and that it was to be changed weekly to display all the membership works not just their work and that they were banned from using the window display for 12 months as they had been hogging the window for over 8 years. So yep I took up the offer that the owners of the tea shop and will be taking in a few piece of mine, if they sell great if they don’t then fine either way I’m not pressured into selling or setting up a market stall 😹😹
My bestie always got compliments on her baking growing up, so she decided to open a bakery immediately out of culinary school. It did well but it drained her, so she closed it down & aside for special family occasions, stopped baking altogether. Fast forward a decade & she started baking again. She’s now a rural carrier for the post office & brings goodies to work often. Her treats are so amazing that everyone at work is usually telling her she should sell her goods or they want her to make them something. So she’s stopped making stuff for work because it always ends with someone’s hand out in some way. I just hate that the thing that used to relieve her stress is now one of the causes of it. I’m sorry you experienced something similar.
There's a song called "it costs that much" that I love referring to. I don't sell my craft because people won't pay what it's worth and I refuse to undervalue my work. If I like you enough it's free, but I agree that selling isn't for everyone.
The part about sales stressing you out because then you have to ship...this!! Heck, I have casual mail TO FRIENDS, sitting in an enveloped, that I've kept putting off sending for nearly a year now! I can't decide how to pack it cutely, I'm worried it'll get destroyed in the mail, the letter I wrote to put with it is egregiously out of date now, etc. This entire thing was just painfully relatable, especially the part about being pushed by family members and then selling things to acquaintances and hating it -_-;
I am so with you! I hate being talked to in shops and I feel pressured to leave the shop as quickly as possible if the do. Here in Germany it is a quite normal thing to just got to a shop, not being talked to and if you have a question you go and ask the staff. I love that. When I was on vacation in the U.S. it was kinda cruel for me being welcomed at the door "hi! how are you!" I never even knew if I should answer that or not (?!) and inside the shop everybody asked if they could help me. I felt like I needed a magical energy field around me that makes me invisible and keeps distance to them. If you wanna sell something to me let me have a look around all by myself....
American here. When employees greet you at the door, it would be normal to just say "hi" back to them and keep walking into the store. And if employees ask if they can help you, it's perfectly acceptable to just say "no, thank you" or "no, I'm just browsing." Then they will leave you alone.
@@maureenp2248 FYI -- Greeting the customer is advised by experts as an anti-shoplifting technique. It's not necessarily because they feel like being nice or friendly. Quote: "Ensure that your staff members are approachable, friendly, and attentive to customers' needs. Train them to greet customers warmly, offer assistance, and engage in meaningful interactions. A positive and friendly atmosphere makes customers feel valued and watched, discouraging potential shoplifting attempts."
I don't mind when people say I should sell something I make and don't think that it is some insinuation that without selling my hobby has no value, I take it as - quality of your work is on high enough level that others also would like it not just those who love you and it isn't on a level how parents just say to their kids they like what they made while it's actually objectively quite horrible
This is so me, hate it when I had to sew anything for anyone it just sucks the joy out of it for me , I get so stressed that they won't like it . We are definitely on the same wavelength here. It's called a hobby for a reason 😊
I just read another version of this - Stephen King wanted to write but taught high school english for the pay check because he had a wife and 3 kids to feed. His wife pulled his trashed copy of "Carrie" out of the can and pushed him to finish it. He did not enjoy that process but kept plugging away. Luckily for all of his fans (Me TOO) he did not learn to hate the work. What you make is personal, it's got large chunks of you in it and perhaps that's just too much. What you do on YT though, inspires others to try new things, even if not the same thing but you get to keep the thing. This video is terrific. I hope lots of people listen and get what each needs from it.
"Craft faire". In the US, it's what the label says - people selling things they've made (mostly). In the UK, a craft faire is a place you go to buy pre-made and pre-bought "stuff" that 85-95% of the time has nothing to do with home crafting. It's more a table-top (indoor commercial garage sale, really) sale than a craft sale. You'll find magnetic bracelets, brushes of various types, baby clothes (you can tell they''ve been pre-used and cleaned), pre-made garden decorations (the tin foil spinner types you really can't make at home), cheap incense (the sort sold in foil wrapping so the scent doesn't evaporate), candles, wooden toys (nothing says home-made like a small "made in china" label on it), birthday/wedding/holiday cards (pre-printed, not made), jewellry, food items (dapends on the fair), pre-wrapped and weighed sweets/candy. It's sad - I avoid them like the plague.
That's not been my experience here in the UK 🤔 outside of Christmas markets (the big ones with wooden huts) which say they are craft fairs but sell weird semi mass produced tat. I've hosted craft fairs and been to many. The main problem we have is older ladies massively underpricing their knitting!
A lot of that is really the fault of the event organisers. They should be screening the sellers but a lot of the time they just let anyone in because the event gets the table money either way. I've definitely been to the kinds of events you've described (worst example that comes to mind is the local anime convention letting local 'crafters' (the type with premade stuff you described) fill all the tables, none of them even bringing anything fitting the theme - most people took one look and walked out of the dealers hall! And those sellers had something to say about it, too...), but also I've been to a lot of great craft faires where they screen sellers, make sure there isn't too much of one type of craft, even cycle people out to give others a chance.
I wore a (pretty cool if i do say so myself) dress to ren fair and had a lady tell me that she loved it (yay) and that her friene would love to buy one. I said thank you but no, and she kept insisting that her friend would pay upwards of $100 for one. I just about laughed in her face at the thought of all the hours and hours of effort i had put into my dress. I think we both left that interaction thinking the other was being unreasonable
Absolutely with you on the whole issues and anxiety around selling physical products. One thing I'd add, if you do have a successful product and end up getting stuck making basically the same thing again and again, never having time and energy to explore new ideas and methods... That is soul crushing. Like, I'm in recovery after unwittingly getting myself into that situation. It is so hard to give up on a financially successful business because you feel like you should be so thankful. But being a one person manufacturer is NOT why I got into the business of creativity. I'm an explorer at heart.
I have a variety of creative skills and a degree to go along with them. I get the "you should sell that" prompt a lot. I usually reply by breaking down how much I would have to charge. Shuts people up real fast.
Have you considered making your old embroidery pieces into a garment? Like a patchwork skirt of some kind? It would look like you made something new out of what your old self left behind.
For a long time I thought I'd be a painter/full time artist. My family fully supported me and I had done plenty of commissions for my aunt's coworkers, and did a mural the other summer ago for someone in town. But ever since covid, I've been stuck in a limbo of lacking motivation to make anything, and the main reason why is because of that nagging voice at the back of my head whispering 'Gotta make sure we can sell it. Just keep making more and more.'. The looming fear of having to put myself out there online was paralyzing. My art room is officially a cemetery for unfinished canvases now. It's been a long time coming, but I've finally come to realize that I don't want the responsibility of being a small business owner and managing my way through social media, and digital commerce. I'm hoping to get a healthy relationship back with painting and I hope to find a career path that I'll find rewarding, but one where I can do my part but not be fully responsible for the whole operation.
I'm so glad to hear this. I start to hate my hobby when it begins a job. It's supposed to be relaxing, not a second job, full of stress. Thank you for putting my thoughts into words.
Someone once offered me $30 for a bag that I made that was hand sewn, took 10 hours to make, and cost more than $30 in materials. I had an etsy store briefly, too.. and yeah, it didn't last long. Selling your art just takes the fun out of it. And people seem to not want to pay what the item is actually worth. I'm not a salesperson either. I feel you. I love self checkout, too, but they're going away where I'm at because people keep stealing.😢
I am also a shy introverted human being that hates selling stuff. Guess what my side job is? Selling items on eBay. 😂 Like I don’t get why it works for me, but it does. I guess the items I’m selling aren’t my hand made items, but they are stuff that people like. And I do love hunting for cool books so it works out. I love the hunting aspect of finding items for my customers, and love chit chatting about my love of books and plush and video games. I think the main difference is selling face to face would just irk my entire soul. Selling online to people who never see my face is just fine for me. Never in a million years did I think my side job would be selling items, but hey it works.
I love your honesty. When I was very young, I learned to sew pretty much at school or by watching someone. We didn't have utube back then. We didn't get a tv until I was 6. Yup, I'm a baby boomer. Um, seems like every thing pretty much I learned on my own, from cooking to sewing, crochet and knitting. I'd either watch someone doing it and then try, but the thing that always bothered me was when I had something I really enjoyed doing for me, then my mom or aunts would tell I was going to make things for them. I was never asked if I wanted to do it. I made countless potholders crocheting for my mom and she would take them to the beauty shop to sell. I never was paid for them. I have made my own clothes which like you, pleased me, but my mom had me make a wedding dress for my niece. I hated the pattern, and the dress had 5 layers to the skirt part which made it very heavy. My niece wanted pearls on the edges of the veil, and I had to hand sew them on. I really hated it when I enjoyed doing something on my own and then family demanded I make it for them for free. Oh, they bought the supplies, but my time and effort were not compensated. So, when someone tells or told me I should sell what I make, it makes me cringe. I won't do it. It's a sore spot for me. Almost like a joy stealer. Oh, oh, my aunt would always have me do her mending. I hate mending to this day. I remember patching a pair of jeans for my cousin (boy) and then I embroidered a riddle near the patch. "What's green and flies over Poland? Peter Panski" He wore them anyway.
Somewhere out there is someone who loves to sell STUFF. That person could go troweling around craft centers, JOANN's, Michel's, and such, offering to sell stuff for people. That way those of us that love to craft stuff, faster than we can give it away, would have an outlet that could pay for our supplies. With out us having to try to run a business. And the person who loves to talk to and be around lots of people can make pocket money. Everybody wins. 🤣What a lovely fantasy. 🤣
People tell me all the time that I should sell various things I make. But others here are right, people don't want to pay for handmade. People want things cheap. And you're right, in order to sell things and break even, and keep customers happy, you have to batch-manufacture or assembly-line things and get them done fast -- that takes all the fun out of most hobbies. I'd rather make something, experience the joy of really liking how it turned out, and then gift it to someone and experience the joy of seeing them smile and appreciate it.
Into baking, huh? Well, then i should absolutely drop the recipe for an italian liquor used when making cakes and pastries. It's called Alchermes, it's not easy to find outside Italy and it smells like H E A V E N. For this recipe you will need: 600 gr alcohol 95° 600 gr sugar 100 gr rose water 10 gr dried cochineal (alternatively food coloring E120) 10 gr cinnamon stick 10 gr crushed coriander seeds 3 gr powdered mace 10 crushed cardamom grains 4 crushed cloves 10 gr orange peel 5 gr star anise 1/2 vanilla pod Crush all the spices and the cochineal in a mortar, except the vanilla which will be cut into pieces, put everything in infusion in a glass jar with all the alcohol and 300 gr of water, leave to macerate for 2 weeks in the dark shaking twice a day. After 2 weeks dissolve the sugar in 1/2 liter of cold water, add it to the macerate, mix well and leave to rest for another day. The next day filter with a paper filter and flavor with rose water and color with the food coloring, if you had dried cochineal it doesn't matter, it will already be red by itself. Mix and bottle.
Best think I ever did was learn the word NO. I had a dressmaking / mending business when my kids were little. I learned then there will always be a customer that gets on your last nerve. I have made money from sewing since but its my choice of fabric , color etc. Dog clothes and I made masks . Can't do it now because of nerve damage I miss sewing a LOT but I would completely agree with Charlie. Don't monetize something that is your stress reliever.
When asked if I can make a quilt like that, or a wedding dress like that or to replicate just about anything I've made before for myself or for a beloved family member, I always reply....."No, because you couldn't afford me".
everytime I have someone tell me I should sell my knitting, I ask them two questions: "how much would you pay for a pair of socks?" and "how long do you think a pair of socks takes me?" when I then explain to them, that material cost alone is between 5 and 15€ and depending on how fancy the design is, I might finish it within like 12h but might also need 40h so basically a weeks pay. as a computer scientist I am looking at getting around 25€/h after taxes, which would make this pair of socks cost 300€ to 1000€ not including taxes, not including business costs, etc. etc. just my wage... so yeah would you pay 1000€ for a pair of socks?
Great video! I am a maker, enjoying my deadline free retirement. No, i dont want to sell at craft fairs. I did that. Still had my full time job, and did it for a couple of years. Thought time would gradually make it worthwhile. It didn't. The stress did me in. I began to dread the upcoming show and began to creatively shrival up. I couldn't sell anything for an actual profit. All these other comments have helped me feel less guilty about giving up trying to sell what i make. My niece asked me to sew something for her, and i made the mistake of agreeing. Now i am almost unable to go into my "making room!" Another well meaning friend is still gently suggesting that i sell my art. I have a few cleaning jobs for extra money. Im just beginning to experiment with art/craft/sewing projects again. Oh, and the never ending paperwork. 😢 My best friend, on the other hand, has an Etsy shop, sells in galleries, has annual one man shows. And works in a gallery full time. But he has had help all along the way. And hes sooo grateful! He will retire soon and is excited about having all day to paint. But he has NO interest in a TH-cam channel! He says he couldn't do what you do!
My first husband had to shop specialty stores for shirts that would properly fit him at $30-40 a piece in 1990's money. I commented that I was sure I could make the same thing a lot cheaper. Big mistake! Not only did I draft a pattern and create an almost identical shirt (except it had snaps as button holes scared me), but my husband liked it so much that he wanted another... and another... and another... It got to the point that every time we went shopping, he headed to the fabric section to pick out fabric for his next shirt. That ultimately killed my love of sewing for years! Made a one-of-a-kind denim rag quilt for my daughter and so many have told me I should sell them. That quilt took me months making the custom appliques, seveal seams ripped out because I sewed one square upside down, and three hours of clearing the pump on my washing machine of the denim strings. Have made two plain quilts for family members as gifts and spend $8-10 at the laundromat for the first two washes now. Had a friend say that she would provide me with old jeans and $50 if Id make one for her and I just laughed and said no thanks, but I'll show YOU how to make one if you'd like to supply all the materials and pay me $50 per hour of instruction.
While weaving at the guild shop yesterday (on one of the guild looms, making stock for the shop), and being SO glad no one was breathing down my neck to get project done in any set amount of time, I came up with "Weaving is my HOBBY not my JOBBY!" Yeah, I'm probably not the first person to say it, but it made me grin, and if a coworker tries to tell me to sell on FB Marketplace again, I'll have that in my mental pocket to toss out. Because she already argued my "no one would pay $20 for a single mug rug." She's hyper & a people person. I am not. If I ever decide to sell, I'll take things to the guild shop or to my local yarn store. But I have NO current plans to do any of that.
I totally get it! I've been asked a few times whether I make clothes for other people, but I've always said no. I might make an exception for family members (dresses and tee shirts for my grandchildren, mending and minor alterations for my daughters) but I resolutely refuse to take dressmaking commissions. Who needs that kind of stress? I ran a small business (professional services) for a number of years and whereas I was happy to provide the service, I hated the process of finding and converting new clients. Now I've retired I don't miss any of it! Years ago when I used to do pencil art I was asked by a friend to draw portraits of her mother's dogs as a surprise birthday present. She paid me a decent amount, but it was SO stressful! Never again. Hobbies are for enjoyment, they should not be a cause of pressure and anxiety.
I am studying at university rn and someone in my painting class said very specifically that art isn’t her hobby; it’s her way of making money. I thought that was a cool distinction at the time and it really makes sense with what you’ve said here. I love to make stuffies (dragons, sushi, squid, generally whatever it is, I love it) and have been told many times that I should sell them and that I’d make bank at my local farmers’ markets. But I am terrified of the business side of things. I have a (mostly sort of) irrational fear of the government and people wearing sharp suits showing up at my house to drag me to prison because I filled a federal form incorrectly by mistake. (I’m in the US so it’s not probable… but my brain still says it’s possible) We can’t turn the things we use to decompress from capitalism into things we do for capitalism. What is our reprieve then?
Your point about how the skills for selling things are super different than the skills for making things is something i have never been able to articulate well. Thank you!
Yes, it takes the joy out of it. I agree with every point you made. I had friends tell me: to make a jacket only takes a few seams here and there, it should hardly cost anything! I said no, they actually called me mean and selfish. WTF? To this day, that friend only contacts me, when she wants something sewn.
Loved your video. Yes, I am quilter and someone encouraged me to open an Etsy shop. I had maybe 4 quilts posted. Sold one in the first week and then never again, even after I kept lowering my prices, which for quilts is crazy. All the fabric, etc plus time, well, I might as well give them away. And sooooooo, I got rid of the Etsy shop, and decided to do what I'd always done.....think of a person who'd enjoy the quilt and gift it. That's how I had started quliting. Making quilts-to-order took all the joy out of it. Making a quilt to enter it in a fair took more joy out of it. So no more of all that. Thanks for all your remarks in the video!!
if you're looking to get rid of some of your embroidery, have you considered doing giveaways? I think most of your subscribers would love that. I know it wouldn't get rid of the shipping and handling concerns, but at least you don't have to worry about payments, returns, and/or unhappy customers
I was also going to suggest giving them away, except I was thinking of donating them to someplace that sells stuff in order to fund a charity, like a hospital or library gift shop or animal shelter or to someplace that has silent auctions or does raffles as fundraisers.
I love the outtakes at the end! I feel you about not selling creations. I crochet, and most things I make will not sell for a price worthy of the effort that goes into them. I give them as gifts to save myself money. My daughter, however, thoroughly enjoys crocheting custom plushies and selling them. Kids love them!
I made jewelry for years because I loved it, and my mom pressured me into starting a business. I did it, and I actually didn't mind the selling part, but all the paperwork involved in running a business? Hated it. And my mom, whose idea all this was? Super excited to (badly) make jewelry with me, no interest in helping with the business crap. And as a result, I haven't made jewelry for twenty years. ...and guess what happened as soon as I started knitting? Luckily I'm better at saying no now.
Selling items associated with “women’s” hobbies is a losing proposition. People want to buy quilts/sweaters/cakes/etc. at Walmart prices.
Very much agree with this. People have been taught to disconnect a product with the labour that went into making that product.
Thissssss.
Had a women compliment a shirt I made my husband saying she would totally pay at least $30 for one if she got a chance 🤦🏻♀️. Guess I'm worth $3 an hour after buying materials.
Yes. My materials and labor are expensive. You couldn't afford to pay me fairly, and throwing me $3.99 would be an insult. You get something if I love you.
Agreed. They don't know or understand the time, cost or energy it took to make the item by hand.
People who don’t do arts and crafts assume that money is the ultimate goal and reason for creating.
Yes! I make doll and Barbie clothes…my granddaughter at 7 is done with barbies….but I’m still sewing them, because it’s creative….the purpose of creating is the process, figuring something out, that’s a huge purpose, i had some fun!
That is such an eye-opening thought, totally makes sense. Thank you for that!
I love you
Even some people who do, assume this.
My sister in law cross stitches a ton of projects, and 95% of them get tossed in the closet. Every once in a while, she gives one away.
I hate when people tell me I should sell what I make. It's like they're telling me that my hobby has no value unless I'm trying to make money from it. I crochet, I get that a lot. I enjoy making things for myself and sometimes gifting them to others. My art has value in that it makes me happy, and I don't need to make money from it for it to be valuable.
Yes hobbies are for our mental relaxation and stress relief not for monetizing. Most everyone I've seen that turns their hobby into a business they lose the hobby to the job it's become.
Exactly!!!!!!! If my hobby becomes my job than, what will I do for fun/as a hobby???? I usually say that 1)I have a job and 2) nobody is willing to pay the actual cost of making *insert object*. The pair of socks I made are pretty? Thanks! That's a 30$ skein of yarn + about 48 hours of my time.
I'm an artist and all my friends tell me this and I think you're taking it the wrong way. For someone who doesn't create anything in their spare time, the only way they can convey the value of your gift is through gain. They are sure you'd make a fortune because it's so good in their opinion.
@DadoPanda I get what they're saying, but I've had a few people really push at me every time I show them something I've made. I know it's just their way of complimenting my work, but I've also said that I'm not interested in doing that. So when they say "Yknow, you could be making money from this" it frustrates me. I'm just proud of my work, and I want to share it, but saying things like that just makes me not want to show anyone.
@bethknapp4935 You should reply, "Great you can be my first sale! They cost x dollars each. How many do you want to buy?" 😸😉
At my wedding I got so many compliments for my wedding dress, which I made myself.
"Wow, you could do this for a living!" Bitch, this took me A YEAR (I didn't actually say this but boy was I thinking it).
Hahahaaaa I feel you! In South Africa we have a lot more asian-born tailors offering their services - I remember visiting India as a kid, we'd visit a shop the night and pick up an entire 2-3 piece outfit the next day - professional trades-people are amazing. I've also visited a local clothing manufacturer and the CMT's, also amazing! Point = why ask a hobby sewist, there's ample services out there in most big cities, very likely more affordable and within your expected time frame that more likely measured in weeks and not months/years 😂
I made my own wedding dress & I was so paranoid about damaging the lace that I hand sewed it. No way could I go through that stress on anyone else's behalf.
The TIME component/ commitment is so real. I made one of my closest friends of 20+ years a baby blanket and crochet octopus.
She’s been there for me through all my health issues and appreciates/ values handmade gifts I’ve made for her in the past.
My dad’s first comment when he saw the finished blanket before I wrapped it up for her? “This is actually good, you could sell these!” Umm it took me over 80 hours to make and 10+ skeins of yarn. All in with the octopus and finished boarder it was close to 100 hours of work that I spaced out over months. Even if I just covered material costs and paid myself $15/hr we’re talking $1600. Very few people would ever consider paying something like that for a baby blanket. Also, my wrists are just not cut out for that.
I respect people deeply who choose to turn their art or craft into a career, but have no personal interest.
@@dilshaad-23sakg LOL! Hilarious!🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@dilshaad-23sakg When you're buying from a shop, you have a TEAM of people working on one thing. Everyone's sitting at an edge embroidering or beading, or hemming a portion of length, or doing one specific task in an assembly line. The labour hours are there, but they're spread over a few people, so 100 hours of work happens in only 2 days.
People ask me all the time if I sell the quilts I make. My answer is always, " No, I give them away." In my mind, I'm thinking, " and you're not quilt worthy!" 😂
And they won't want to pay you what they are worth. Can't tell you how many times someone have said "what do you mean you want $250; $600; $1500 !!??? I can get a blanket at Walmart for $20! I tell these people to get a blanket at Walmart then and/or ask if they get paid to work? Does their time have value? Should I work for free? Absolutely crazy making!
Sponge worthy lol
I’m sooooooo with you. I quilt for love, not money. You wouldn’t ASK someone to love you, right? So if I love you, you will eventually receive a quilt! Considering my JOB pays me $56/hr, and it takes me HUNDREDS of hours to make a quilt, that quilt would cost you, at a minimum of 100 hours, $5,600. So no, you can’t afford one of my quilts. But you might get one for free!
Oh that's me too! ❤
I am right there with you! No one wants to pay you for your time!!
"Oh, you sew?? Can you hem my pants? I'll pay you $10!" No, I hate hemming my own pants, much less someone else's 😅. Ditto curtains. I have a friend who was complaining that she had to pay $600 for 60 hours of work to sew outdoor cushions. $10 per hour. She thought it would be no more than $200. She was a little startled when I told her I thought that was too low.
Yep, I'm the one with the sewing machine, so I get to do the little sewing jobs people want 🙃
(I am happy to hem my grandma's pants though. And my sister and I have an agreement where I do her sewing stuff and she does my prop-making stuff lol)
Hey, at least they offered to pay you something. I was a professional seamstress, professionally and extensively trained, and a paid tutor/instructor for two local colleges. Later ,when I worked as an office temp, my co-workers and neighbors found out I sewed and they wanted me to sew for them for free. Some even wanted me to provide the fabic/materials for the projects without paying me for them. If I pointed out I was a professional and wanted to be paid for my work, these same people would try to talk me out of my prices. One time a co-worker of my husband's found out I used to have an alterations business and sent him home with two large bags of unwashed clothes for me to mend without ever having contacted ME , let alone asking me my price to do the unnamed/unlabled/unlisted repairs to their dirty clothes. Shameless!
Now when people find out I sew, I tell them upfront I no longer sew professionally. If they press me, I tell them I am still willing to teach and tutor them for a minimum of $50 an hour. If they boggle at that, I start telling them the education and experience I bring to my tutorials and their eyes usually glaze over before I have finished listing my qualifications to be a sewing teacher (I have a lot of experience and training!). Come to think of it, with inflation and all, it is time to raise my rates again. I'm over 50 and I need to be thinking about my retirement years!
The way I get around that is I hand them a seam ripper and I said okay rip the seam out and then I'll show you how to do it on my machine or I can show you by hand. And I've never had to hem anyone else's pants since except my boyfriend because he pays a lot of my bills lol
The Hemming question: how long does it take you to hem pants? 3 years and 15 minutes, oh and it’s $99 for you
@@greyhaircrafter 😂 I love that!
I monetized my hobby. I made 6 figures monetizing my hobby at one point. I did that for 5 years. I finally hit a breaking point and quit and took a job making less than 1/5 of what I was making before because I was working myself to DEATH monetizing my craft. I might work a "boring" job now, but quite frankly, I don't care. It took years before I could start creating for fun again (and I still haven't fully gotten back to doing certain parts of my craft for pure enjoyment again). I don't think I could ever go back to that. It drained the life out of me.
Even now, I recently started sharing my personal clothing that I've sewn for myself. I don't use commercial patterns; I've always just decided to wing it as I go, so I never have patterns to share with people when they ask. The amount of comments I've been inundated with asking for me to make patterns, instructions, or FULL TH-cam TUTORIALS when I just wanted to share a cute swim dress or unique skirt I made for myself..... they're exhausting. I know that people truly do mean well, but it's draining and it makes me not want to share the joy of the things I create, even though I LOVE doing that.
It's sad to hear that, and exactly what used to scare me the most when I was being told the magical "you should sell it". Thank you for sharing it. I hope you get your joy back eventually 😊
@@Bigsistermeg "--I just wanted to share a cute swim dress or unique skirt--"
Social media is a big culprit in this, especially in the past few years with influencers. Everyone is now trained on those platforms to expect a link to buy or a link to instructions to make it. It sucks that we can't just interact on a personal level with people anymore. :(
I know the feeling. While I didn't make 6 figures, it was a part time thing that was accidental. I was still doing a full-time job as well as running the business in my "spare" time. I did make enough to put my kids through university. The equipment I used now lays idle, and has done for 6 years because I can't face making anything creative with it anymore.
It's a shame you weren't able to employ staff to help you at that rate. Sounds like you were very skillful and seems a shame to lose love of it. I burned myself out running a salon alone as I couldn't trust people
When someone tells me "Oh you should sell that." my response is always "Cool, you wanna buy it?" It usually gets them to shut up really quick.
"Cool, how much would you pay for it? Cause it took me X hours and $ materials."
Exactly right, I have a day job that pays $100 per hour, a bag that takes 3 hours to make would cost $500. You can pay for your gift if you want. That shuts everyone up.
I agree with this so much
They think ‘Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.’ That’s wrong! You will work, even if you have your dream job. A hobby is a hobby because if you are having a Day (ex: you knit but all the yarn is tangled? And you have none of the supplies you need? And everything broke? And your hand cramps?) you can put it down. You can’t if it’s a job and you have a deadline
I think it depends on how you do it and it's definitely a mindset and choice. I've had much more success doing what I love and selling it instead of "making things to sell" as I did decades ago. Too. much stress making something that I thought people would buy (they did, but it became production work as you say), but when I stopped doing it that way, took a deep breath and started putting MY style stuff out there, I was shocked it sold, too and for much better money.
well said
@janebrown3587 woww just what I needed to hear at this time when I am struggling with asking myself what to make that people will like
I had to set aside my current quilt project when I got sick, then my grandpa died, and I got my service dog puppy (which is like having a newborn and a toddler all rolled into one adorable, furry creature).
Exactly. My hobby is my hobby, because I can decompress. Take 1 month or 3 years to finish a knitted jumper. DOESN'T MATTER, because there is no deadline!!!
I have enough deadlines in my day job. The reason the hobbies help me decompress is: I can do as much or a little as I please in a certain time frame. And it's completely fine if I 'doodle create' i.e. make random granny squares that serve no purpose except their entertainment for ME.
My favorite selling experience is when my aunt put up a display of my jewelry in her hair salon. If anything sold, she would mail me a check. I would occasionally swap stuff out for new things. No stress, no fuss.
And it's in a shop so people automatically are primed to pay more 😀
@@snokful yes!
I think this mentality partly comes from "do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life". Which of course is absolutely fine! But a lot of people, myself included, want to keep hobbies separate from my more lucrative skills so that I actually have HOBBIES and can continue to love them and use them to decompress, while also enjoying building a skillset that is very much NOT a hobby. You articulated this all so well!
Same here! Honestly, I agree more with whoever said "Do what you love, and you'll love anything again" 😅
Yeah… I feel like the flip side of that is “monetize your hobby and you’ll never relax with that hobby ever again…”
I've known men who were happy to sit in a suffocatingly warm, oil-stinking basements with machines. My boyfriend watches TH-cam channels with people who bought old switchboards from a telephone company and are running a museum full of communication history or the "look mum no computer" guy turning an old organ into crazy art that still plays. There's a guy who lives in Wisconsin who rescues junk from the industrial park he works at and brings it to some rural property where they're literally just digging out the mountain side because it sandstone.
But a lot of them still have actual jobs that pay but it would be amazing if there was universal basic income so that they didn't have to rely just on work just think of all the technology that could be created if people weren't struggling to just survive.
YES! My family were always shocked when I said I never ever wanted to be a chef or anything to do with cooking or baking. They couldn't understand when I said that cooking was my relaxing time. I never wanted it to be work. This was before I became a crafter, same applies, this is a hobby for me to help me realx and stay sane, I don't want to do it as my job as I'd no longer enjoy it!
YES. It's not decompression if you have to turn something out by Tuesday.
2024 has been the year of giving myself permission to have hobbies that don't make money. I'm an Artist full time (animation) so this is a big deal for me.
The worst experience I ever had with this was with my Therapist. I told her how proud I was of a friend who was making a living off her paintings and how rare, awesome, and fulfilling that opportunity is. I am genuinely proud of her. But my Therapist kept saying I was jealous and the solution was to also pick up my paintings and cater them to the masses and sell them. I said no. I can be proud of a friend and not want to live their life. She gave me a week to come up with an outline for my painting business. I never booked another appointment.
Let people have their art. Let people enjoy creating. You don't know what it does to artists' brains when you hear everyone screaming at you to monetize all the time. Thank you for putting this message out on the internet.
My experience with therapists is that they fixate on one idea and harp on it. You were right to quit her.
That is wild! Sounds like your ex-therapist could use some therapy 😅
That's a coach not a psychologist / actual therapist.
@@jumpingbee4717 Doesn't even sound like a good coach at that.
I agree. The joy I put into making something doesn't have a price tag and to put a price tag on my art would take away my joy of creating.
The best salesperson i met was at a mattress store. He told us about other stores we can check out, encouraged us to go and come back if we don't find something better elsewhere. We ended up buying from him because we felt the opposite of pressured
I wonder if that's their sales tactic now.
went to a furniture store that was going out of business. i have always gotten our stuff second hand because America. our couch was around 50$. the salesman was pushy and we said yes to a 600$ chair. i had a panic attack in the car on the way home. we turned around and returned the dang thing. the guy at customer service already knew the it was because the guy was too pushy. = TRAUMA!!
I work at JoAnns. I tell people all the time that Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Home Depot, Menards, and our smaller more specialized stores would be better for what they need. I also tell them to youtube and google stuff because we aren't trained/paid enough to know about every craft. Each employee knows what they know about our own hobbies and tools.
I don't really care when people get mad over whatever and say they'll never come back because they're probably not that great of a person even on a better day and we have lovely regulars that put a smile on my face.
@@tianamarie989If it is they def will not let their managers hear it.. I used to work at a big chain and that most def is frowned upon but is something I’d say because honestly ppl should be allowed to shop around
This sounds like my partner - he also is a sleeping expert and sells sleeping articles (mattresses, cushions etc). He sometimes tells people that maybe another store would be better for what they look for.
He ALWAYS tries to find the perfect solution for every indivdual customer in their money limits. And if he realizes the best option for them is not in their store he sends them elsewhere.
He always says, that he don't want to sell expensive stuff (like the management would want it) but he wants to help people SLEEP WELL and that they know they have bought the best possible option inside their budget.
That's why he always gets good feedback and former customers send their friends only to him to buy something. I am really proud of him and his way of working. :)
One more thing people tend to underestimate about selling crafts is just how expensive they should be. I knit, and last time I did the maths, if I wanted to make at least a minimum wage from selling my sweaters, they would all go into the thousands. It just takes that long. My friends sometimes ask me if I would sell my crafts or do comissions, and the answer is that unless someone wants to pay me a monthly wage for that, I most certainly won't
I can sew and embroider. I cannot knit to save my life. So I would pay thousands for a sweater.
And it doesn't make sense to price crafts by the time it takes to make them, because beginners are slow and experts are fast (comparatively).
@@leahh-g3358 True. But even if you charge by a time neutral unit, like a cent a stitch for basic stitch patterns plus material, or a dollar per gram of yarn, a pair of socks is already at least something like 80$. Do you know someone who would buy a pair of basic ankle socks from cheap yarn for 80$? I certainly don't... And if you wanted to make your work yield even just 10$/hour, you couldn't take more than 8 hours to knit them - a very quick knitter might manage to make them in 20 hours... (I usually need about 30, more for complex stitch patterns.)
@katze69 which is why I started with the word "and" rather than "but." All of that is true, and contributes to why making a real living in any fiber art is.. unlikely for most.
When people say "you should sell that!" I say "no, my hobby is X, not running a small business." It takes most folks back a step.
You know, it’s similar to when you help watch a kid and people tell you “you’re so good with kids! You should have one of your own!” And you’re just like “how did we jump from me babysitting to a huge personal decision I might not at all be prepared for in any way?” People just simplify things in their minds, they don’t think about all the complications or how being good at one aspect of something doesn’t make you qualified to do everything related to that thing.
Yes!
I am a dressmaker and designer. A few years ago I gave up my (paying) job to pursue selling my work. People loved what I made. I sold a lot of dresses. I made some money. I got great feedback. But I didn't make enough and it wasn't realistic to put up prices. My website ended up being expensive and sold three dresses in three years. Last year I had a Eureka moment and decided I was done. I got another job (yay for a regular income) and quietly walked away. It has taken me a year to get my head around this and be okay with it. A year of feeling lost, guilty, sad telling people it wasn't a failure whilst secretly believing it was. Things are starting to improve starting with selling some of my tools. I love sewing and fortunately this hasn't crushed that. But the desire to sell again has been squashed.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this. It really helped
I'm so sorry to hear that. It is devastating to lose a dream or a goal we pursued. The shame, guilt, loss, and worthlessness can feel crushing. Mine wasn't an business but it was work in an industry that was very hard to get into. It didn't pan out for me for a lot of reasons and I blamed myself for it for a long time.
A way to look at it is that it turns out running that business just wasn't compatible with how you wanted to run your life and perhaps even who you wanted to be. That was the case for me. But you had a red hot go and I hope you are damn proud that you tried what you wanted to try, and kept it going for so long. The business or the career stalling or failing doesn't mean you have failed as a worthy human being. It just means it wasn't compatible with who you were. You now know more about yourself as a result. Self-development is a win, even if right now it is a small one in comparison!
My best wishes to you.
As a life long crafter, I've made and sold embroidery, quilts, crochet, ornaments, etc. My biggest peeve (and reason I stopped) is that people want to "buy" your items, but they don't want to "pay" what they are worth. I've had people say that a hand stitched, hand quilted king size quilt is only worth 100 dollars. I would not be able to buy the materials to make the quilt for that, never mind the hours/days/weeks it would take me to do it. I had another want a crocheted baby blanket and scoffed at the price. When I showed her how much one skein of her preferred yarn cost, she said she would buy something at Walmart. So if I do sell, it is never commissioned. Slap a price on the item and if it sells, it sells. I've been re-selling for the past few years and there is not so much investment and once you get the shipping procedure down, it's pretty easy. Great video!
Unfortunately Temu, AliExpress, SHEIN, etc have just made this so much worse. I see plenty of people complain along the lines that $20 is too much for a new shirt and it’s just really really not.
We know that these companies are selling items for next to nothing because they exploit workers, but there’s still such a disconnect with the general public who don’t see or care about the true cost of labor and materials.
YES I was thinking this too! Lots of people have no idea how much time it takes to make things by hand. A lot of people also don’t know the difference between something not being worth the price and something that just costs more than they can afford. Am I sad I can’t afford real stained glass made by an artisan? Yes, obviously. But it looks like it’s a really labor intensive, slow process that takes a lot of skill to do well, so it isn’t that it isn’t worth what they charge.
I tend to ask people how much they’re willing to pay for it then tell them the price of materials plus what it would cost me on labor then they like no
A friend often gets around this by telling people to pick a design of a quilt and then she tells them to go to Joanne and buy the fabric and she tells them how much she needs and she's only ever had two people do it. She says she's terrible at picking out colors but she's great at putting all the pieces together. But usually no one wants to actually pay the price for even just the fabric.
My boyfriend built me two smokers and I have someone who said they're willing to come use it in the winter but I have told people I'm not going to smoke meat unless you buy the meat and bring it to me and help me collect wood from the yard if needed lol. But twice now I have made two 12 lb turkeys for our friendsgiving celebration. And I had someone come up to me at Easter and tell me they were still thinking about my turkey lol
@Creativelicense459 Even worse, I know temu(or their sellers) straight up steal free crafting patterns and sell them. I have had at least one maker fall victim to this cruel behavior.
No is a lovely word and it doesn’t even have to be offensive. I like it a lot.
Ironically also the first word many babies start their vocabulary with 😂 Silly why we have lost the confidence of its use!
@@dilshaad-23sakg ☺
My friend wanted a quilt, so I said yes, but she would have to pay for the materials and long arm quilting services. I gave her an itemized list of materials and their costs, which came to about $160, and the longarmer would be another $120. She said no way--I can get one at Cracker Barrel for $75. I said, go right ahead.
Just the yarn for an afghan starts at $80.
Good for you for being assertive and upfront.
Oh GOD! Thank you so much for voicing this! I sew because I am shaped weird, and I have an odd asthetic, but most of all because I LOVE IT! I don't want anyone else to look like me. I want my own designs. NO, NOONE ELSE CAN HAVE THEM. Ok, byee.
I see because I’m shaped weird. I felt that. Same here
That's why I started sewing. But menopause is making it hard for me to wrap my brain around even basic things that I've already done. Not that I go anywhere l meed to dress for anyway lol. But I'm short wasted and I have big tits and big ass but not in the places where fast fashion thinks my lumps and bumps should go. Now if only I could wrap my head around making a pair of shoes for my boat shaped feet ....
YES QUEEN!! this is what it's all about. same boat!!
Perfectly said, I make stuff for just my immediate family. I make clothes for just my daughter and me because we both have fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and I have multiple back problems, a lot of clothes I buy from the shop aren't soft enough for me or leave me feeling exhausted so that's why I make my own stuff and my daughter loves stuff that no one else has
@@helenkemp6468try the carnivore diet if you want to improve your health. There are lots of TH-cam videos of people healing these health conditions with eating just meat.
I am always stuck on the idea of “hobbies”. I feel that calling the many things I do such as sewing, embroidery, knitting, pottery making etc. a “hobby” demeans the skills I painstakingly learned just because I don’t exchange it for money. I do what I do for my household so I don’t have to work as hard outside the home for the items I can make myself without fear of unsustainable creation methods or slave labor. And Lordy people get cranky when I won’t knit a sweater for them or sew them an outfit. I’ll teach you how to do it all day long but I’m not piece-working for anybody outside my household.
I feel like you need to google the word "hobby".
Quite literally any kind of labour you do without the expectation of financial gain is, by definition, a hobby. Especially so if it's something you're doing for fun or leisure.
I don't understand why you'd be insulted by that.
@@GeneralNickles I think I understand. Doing unpaid labour for the home/household is something women have been doing throughout time, and those activities are generally undervalued. Calling them a hobby is not recognising those activities as valuable labour but trivialises them as "just for funzies". While household crafts can be fun, they are sometimes also necessary and valuable beyond just decoration, enjoyment, what have you.(Assuming Michagoose2003's gender here, sorry if I'm wrong but I'm a woman myself so this resonates!)
One thing that's been really hitting me this past year or so is how we define work. Whenever people say we work less now than before industrialization, they include the time it took to cook, clean, spin, weave, sew, make housewares, etc. But when people do those same things now, we lump it in with leisure. Industrialization has made a whole lot of those tasks easier, but they're still valuable and often necessary work.
@@SarcasticShrubberyToday. They used to be both less gendered and more valued in the past. I recently watched a whole piece on how to produce enough thread for everything from cloth to rope, pretty much everyone needed to be spinning whenever they had a spare moment. It began with talking about how spindle whorls have been found in multiple archeological gravesites (so obviously considered significant by the culture at the time), and a particular British scholar decided they were insignificant women's artifacts and had them _thrown away_ without being recorded or catalogged when found.
Well, when I was gardening because I liked growing food, that was a hobby. When I started to depend on that garden for all of my fresh food (because I had no money and was getting shelf stable stuff from a food bank), then it stopped being a hobby and started being Work, a Task, a Chore that I needed to do as regularly and with as much pleasure as laundry. Now I have the financial means to buy food, and growing food became a hobby again. I’m doing it for funnies. It is no longer Labor.
Maybe you find calling those things “hobbies” demeaning because you are not doing them for leisure, you’re doing them as labor.
I'm a maker and whenever people say "you should sell that" I just say, "no, I'm good, thanks though!"
I absolutely hate capitalism and I've tried to sell before and it ruined it for me. I would much rather just make things for me and give things away as gifts to friends and family
This is how I feel - I’m a creative! If I wanted to be in sales, business management, or marketing, I would be doing that for money already. But those things don’t match my personality and I hate capitalism
On the one hand: totally, yes!
On the other: when I read this I kinda thought it would be sad if it turned into an expectation for these kinds of things to have to be gifted like. I mean cheap products ruin everything but it would be so nice if ppl actually understood the worth
Right there with you. When I did sell my stuff I never felt comfortable putting prices on things and that was when I was doing stuff where paying myself minimum wage made me feel like my prices were too high. No, I'm not going to make you a pair of pants, I don't even know how to make them for myself. Sell the crocheted blanket? Umm, let me add up the hours that took me and ... oh, not interested? Yeah I get why, I wouldn't pay that either, that's why I made it myself.... I give stufff I make to people I value who will appreciate the time I put in to making a thing for them. Also, I know I'm crap at running a business, I can barely keep organized enough to manage yearly taxes and paying my bills, you want me to pay suppliers and collect sales tax and track every single thing I buy and sell? Nope. Not doing it...
"Your job stresses you out too much, you should sew things as a business" - my mom, constantly.
are you a long lost sibling??? My mom is always saying similar things 😂😂🤦♀🤦♀
@@joannamarieart I know they mean well... but lawl 😅
@@jac_and_the_making_of A couple years ago, I was lamenting how I want to be a "send christmas cards person", but can never manage to actually get it done... my mom helpfully suggested "why don't you just hand make some nice cards for everyone?" 😭
Your response: "Did you enjoy raising kids? ... Well, then you should run a daycare and raise everyone's kids! Doing what you enjoy can't be stressful, right?"
@@mailleweaver *stressed laughing in the corner as we all try to "make money by doing what we enjoy" *
Could not agree more! So many people have told me to sell my knitting and I continually tell them that it’s the fastest way to make me stop knitting.
This. And the "generous" offer of buying the yarn... Anyone asking me to knit socks for them gets a "1 cent per stitch" which mostly gets an ok - and then I let them do the math of stitches per row and number of rows. Which makes them retreat quite fast ;)
Exactly! I make blankets for my family members on occasion, and they all love them and say I should sell them.
Then when I say I won’t and that it’s a terrible idea, they get all huffy. I literally sat the worst of them down with a pad of paper and walked them through the math of a gauge swatch of the yarn they all love the most, then had them watch as I made that gauge swatch.
They looked like they’d seen a ghost. I told them it took me over a month to make the blanket I gave them for their 50th birthday and that the yarn cost over $80. The blanket was a small throw with some basic tapestry-style color work using 6 colors in a hygge yarn.
A few years ago, I was convinced by a friend to sell my knitted toys at a local market. I thought the affirmation was just what I needed, but let's be honest, if you tell me my stuff is soooo cute and walk away without buying one, that kind of affirmation is a kick to the guts. My last sale was to a guy who told me (after the sale) that his dog was gonna love it.
that's so messed up...
I’ve learned that when people comment on my clothes I just reply, “thank you” and do not tell them I made it. After SO MANY PEOPLE saying, “do you sew for other people?” I learned just to thank them and move on…. After reading all the comments I realize I’m not in that boat alone. ❤❤Judy❤❤
I wore my birthday dress to the salon while I was getting hair and nails done, and a salon client said to me: “That’s a beautiful dress! Do you sew for other people?”
My answer (without skipping a beat) (in no uncertain terms) (laughing): “No. No, I do not.” 😅
Don’t be afraid to say the word “no”. You won’t be struck down by lightning, you will not explode, implode, or have any other sort of horrible thing happen to you. And the person who asked you should not be insulted, as long as you are gracious in your response. You don’t need to explain yourself, either.
Dear Charlie: I knit. I knit socks for myself. People say I ought to sell the socks. (Some of them are very nice.) Wool socks: $15 - $20 for the wool and 8 hours work per sock. People expect to Pay for that? Yeah, NO.
I used to knit commissions. I charged 25 cents per yard of yarn for plain knitting. That’s $100 per pair of socks. I never sold socks 😂 I sold $400-500 sweaters, not including the $200-300 of high end yarn. One per month. Yeah, I was desperate for money and was allowed to knit at my day job. Still not sustainable.
@@beglitchery 😧
@@beglitchery When I did chain mail I charged per pound, extra per hour of design and assembly, and more per hour if it were thicker wire or stainless. Now and then someone was interested in paying me but I'm glad it wasn't often, it's really hard on my body.
People say that, but they don’t want to pay for custom crafts!
I did that with jewelry, it became a job real quick. I did bead weaving very complicated patterns, no one wanted to pay, I still have them packed away, stopped completely. Lost the joy.
Thank you for the truth.
Heh, I have a whole box full of beadwork and wirework that never sold. Now and then I go through it and find something that a friend would appreciate...
This is all so true. So many people don't understand it's not all about the money, that adding money and deadlines makes everything more stressful and that they are not going to afford a knitted sweater I spent 50 hours on...
I used to hand sewn miniature bears. I made over 300. I did sell some at bear fairs, and i took on a couple of commissions. I stopped all of it because both my mental and physical health was suffering. Now I make quilts with a sewing machine. I don't sell them, or anything i make, because I can't deal with that pressure. Thanks for putting this out there. I feel so much less alone ❤
A hobby is something you do for pleasure. It's supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable. The minute you turn it into a business, it stops being relaxing and enjoyable. 🤷♀️ But i don't mind selling things I make occasionally as a sort of favor. I just don't do it as a business.
I felt this. I don't want to sell my watercolors, my knitting, my jewelry. Having pressure to perform ruins every last drop of joy.
This is true
The minute it’s monetized, it’s NOT fun anymore!
When the pandemic had us all in lockdown, I wasn't able to do local theater for a number of years, and one of the things I did for local theater was set dressing, especially painting. If you need a faux brick wall, I'm your guy. So I started painting on canvases, mostly just to do something while I was home alone, and I'd show my stuff to people I knew on my various social media accounts.
Eventually, I started giving away my paintings, and also hiding them wherever I traveled, with a note on them asking to be tagged on Instagram. That was fun, and then people asked to buy my work.
Now that I'm sometimes selling my work, it's SO STRESSFUL. I have done a few art shows/fairs, which take a long time and a lot of work to set up and break down, while selling during the events themselves, and also selling quite a bit to friends and family. I've recently had a few friends to whom I've sold works who....haven 't ever paid me? And I just don't have the gumption to chase after a friend for money. I'd rather write it off in my head as a gift than lose a friend because they weren't able to or didn't remember to or just didn't want to pay me.
And the STRESS of wondering if what we've made is good enough. When I sew for myself, a stray thread is fine. But if I'm selling something, I feel like I have to pick over it with a fine tooth comb to make sure I haven't missed the tiniest of flaws. It stressed me TF out
With such friends, who needs enemies?
There’s a free store where I live and I’ve been boxing up all of the stuff I thought I was going to try to sell and it brings me so much joy to think about people getting this stuff for free. I was only stressed when I was trying to figure out how to sell it. ALSO, now when I look at crafting supplies, I don’t have the excuse that I can always resell whatever I don’t use and I’ve basically stopped buying craft supplies. I’m also determined to use or give away all of the supplies that I still have and it’s such a relief to imagine it giving me so much more space and other people so much joy.
I deal with depression and anxiety so the idea of just having fun making stuff all day and not having to worry about a 9-5 is really enticing but entrepreneurship brings me only anxiety, no joy, so I’m trying to figure out how to make a 9-5 work. I hate capitalism.
The free store sounds like a great way to relieve the pressure!
My husband’s hobby is home improvement projects - tiling and putting things together around the house generally. He was laid off 20 years ago and decided to make a living out of that hobby. Seriously the worst thing ever! He lost money because he didn’t charge enough (after all he gets a hobbyist enjoyment out of his projects!) He took a loan. Because he charged little, soon many friends were asking to do projects. Meanwhile I was left to pay most of the bills while he was enjoying his hobby. After 6 years, he quit it, in debt. Lost money, lost a bunch of friends (because of resentment for their taking advantage of him), lost productivity years from not earning a regular income, and almost lost a marriage too! Some people may be able to make a living from hobbies, but for most people, in my opinion, it doesn’t work out. Maybe as a side hustle, but that too could kill your enjoyment for your hobby.
As someone with the pathological demand avoidance profile of autism, who literally can’t hold down a job because all jobs are demands and demands are disabling for my brain, I honestly hate when people tell me I should sell my art. I know that I am too disabled to cope with everything involved and that trying to push through would burn me out so badly I’d end up hospitalised again, but try explaining that when outwardly you “don’t look autistic” 🙄
Exactly, even deciding that one might want to sell something would be way too much pressure. Good way to BOTH ruin the fun and also make it so not a lot gets done.
Very similar here. Though my brain specifically will not wake up and get me to work at a regularly scheduled time, which has obviously caused major issues at every job I've ever had. I last about 2 years then it goes downhill and I end up just calling in "sick" or being late all the time.
I found a different way to monetize my hobby, by sewing - but not stuff I enjoy for myself. There are still demands but mostly self imposed. Sadly I can't just make stuff and sell it whenever I feel like it, but it does help to have the flexibility of my own schedule.
Now when people tell me I should sell xyz product I've never made before, even if I logically see it's a great idea for my shop, I'm like NO 😂
I really feel that too. You're not alone.
Oh man, your opening line reached in and gripped my SOUL.
I am a crafter of many kinds (jewelry, costumes, my own clothing, doll clothing, bookbinding, leatherworking, etc.) and so I got those comments a lot, until one day I posted a picture of the skirt I just finished making and an acquaintance I hadn't spoken to in over a decade DM'd me and asked if I would make her a skirt just like it. And without even waiting for my response, she started detailing what color she wanted it to be, if we would need to do a fitting or if she could just send me her measurements, etc etc.
When I finally got a word in edgewise, I told her no, I don't take commissions, and while telling someone you want to commission their art seems like it's a compliment, unless they are actively advertising their hobby is for sale, what you're actually doing is creating an unfair pressure and discomfort, that some people can't say no and so they take on the commission and either have to suffer through making something they don't want to make, or they inevitably fail, making everything so much worse. I never even talked to her about how taking commissions means being a business owner.
And GOD, the part that upset me worst about the whole conversation is that she, who had been no contact for 10 whole years, had the actual audacity to ask me if everything was okay, because I seemed so much more upset and angry than she knew me to be. Like, lady, you don't talk to me for 10 years and then you swoop in and start making demands on my time and energy without any lead up at all. Yeah, I'm going to be pissed. You clearly don't actually know me.
*sigh
Anyway, all that to say I stopped feeling so bad about telling people I don't take commissions. I'm more polite about it than that particular instance, but I'm definitely immediate and direct.
Wow, that’s crazy!
sounds like you're extremely bad at communicating.
@@hydrocosmo Wow, what a nasty thing to say to Kimberly.
@@hydrocosmo God your totally the 10 year old acquaintance. Read the room.
I was encouraged to sell cakes and I did it for a few years until major burn out. My father's cancer and the pandemic made me take a break and i realised that i couldnt go on. Being good at decorating a cake and being good at business and marketing are very different skill sets. I hate cake now. I loathe even the thought of baking a cake for my family now. Plus I like people in general less. Customers are the worst lol. Most don't want to accept that maybe they don't really have the budget for a bespoke cake but that I still deserve to be paid. But I'll never forget the people who told me I don't charge enough and gave me extra money for a tip.
Back when I was a teenager, I made beaded bracelets and necklaces as a hobby. I can relate to the "selling it to get rid of it" motivation. I rented a table at a yearly craft fair a few times, and always sold enough to cover the cost of renting said table, plus usually a bit extra. But as an adult - no, I don't want to handle the market research, advertising, customer service, customer retention, tech support, record keeping, financial management, schedule management, and legalities of running a business.
Ever notice how Project Managers rarely actually *work on projects*? Because they're busy making sure everyone else is working on the right steps in the right order and being connected to the right resources, and making plans for the next project.
I make seed bead necklaces. They are quite intricate and take ages to make. I got told so much that I should sell them that I did try it with some of my simpler earrings and bracelets. I made 1 sale on Etsy in three years and a couple IRL at a craft table I rented at a Christmas craft show. It drives me nuts now to hear people say anyone should sell a hobby craft.
“You should sell that” is the reason I no longer say, “Thanks, I made it!”
I understand you perfectly. I am a 63 y/o, multihobby woman who has been called ‘very talented’ by many and told I should sell what I make. No, not me. I am not a business person and don’t enjoy convincing people to part from their money. My hobbies fulfill me, make me happy, are relaxing and therapeutic in the most stressful times. They keep my mind occupied and help me to never feel lonely. I would never want to turn the hobbies I love so much into a job, that would kill my relationship with them. Not everything in life is about money, people…
I also have been told I should sell what you make. I learned early on in 1972 when my boy friend and I opened up a craft store, hooked rugs, candles,woodcarvings ,tie dye you know crafts of the 70’s. The pressure to produce a product took all the fun out of my crafting not to mention people weren’t willing to pay the price for the item. The pleasure I get is the expression on the recipient’s face when I give them something I’ve made for them. Great if you can make a profit and still enjoy your craft. 🙃
ALL of this 100%. I do solar wood burning using the sun and a magnifying lens. I've been doing it since the 90's. Everyone has told me to sell my stuff. So I put up an Etsy shop. I got one or two orders from friends, but that was it. Then, like you said, came the stress and anxiety in having to ship them. No thanks. Then I tried 3 different street fairs in non-consecutive years. All 3 were fails. The first one, my cover broke in the middle of the night and I couldn't use it the next day. The last one, the sun didn't come out, so I couldn't show how the artwork was created which is the experience of the art.
Any way...all this to say I get it.
After thought: not to mention how to price things. I have a 15x20 wood panel with the Golden Gate Bridge burned into it. Took me 10- 8 hour days, plus design time (another 4 hours), plus supplies, etc. If I was going to pay myself a good wage, I'd have to sell it for nearly $1000!! No one wants to buy it for $250 who's going to buy it for 4 times that amount!?
Omg how to price things is the worst!!! 😭
THANK YOU! I have often told people very frankly that I will only make items for myself or gifts because if I charged for material costs & time, the things I'd be selling would be priced beyond what anyone should pay for the quality of my product. Plus I completely understand all the feelings you describe. Way too much pressure for me to feel ok!
I'm really lucky that I love my job (I'm a librarian) but it isn't because I love reading (which I do), but it's because I love helping people find and use information. It is about helping people become the best they can be.
But I wouldn't dream of monitizing my hobbies. Occasionally I will make a gift out of my hobby but that is my choice and done in my own timeframe. I think the pressure of doing them as a business would be immense. I don't need that.
I totally respect and appreciate TH-camrs who are sharing their hobbies with us.
This! I’ve recently restarted garment sewing after a many years break and immediately people were like “could you make something for me?”… uh no! I’ve made two small gifts (not clothes but tea cozies) but those were my choice. I want my sewing (and other hobbies) to remain hobbies for me. Selling… not my thing 😂
I agree! My life changed when I learned to say “no.”
I took a midlife art degree and thought I should try to sell what I had produced because I was now qualified. A hateful move, exhibiting, saying all the same things at different exhibitions. Now I have gone back to playing again and the world is good. Selling is reductive and people feel they own you.
This reminds me of my senior art class. A few of my projects were chosen for a show and one of them got an offer to sell. My immediate visceral gut reaction was to grab it and scream "MINE" and run away to hide. I guess my panic showed on my face because my teacher laughed, gave me a side hug and told me I didn't have to sell. Most of my art is just up on my walls now. If I start a piece as a gift it feels good to give it though. I did end up selling one commission a couple of years ago because a friend on Facebook saw a picture and asked if I could do a version of her profile picture. Even though I knew it was to sell, it felt like sending a child off to college.
😂 I can so relate to this. I think that's part of why I eventually turned into a (relatively) selfish stitcher.
DISNEY villains are Disney princesses who worked in retail too long
THANK YOU!!!! I make beautiful cards and I love giving them to people. I just finished a challenge of making 100 cards in 100 days and gifting them to 100 different people. I have been pressured soooo hard to sell them. And I Do NOT Want To Sell Them!!! Thank you for putting into words all the thoughts and feelings I have been unable to express on this subject!
This is such an accurate representation of what it's like to live with the equal parts blessing and curse of 1000 ADHD hobbies. There have been times I've been told I should sell something and it felt kind of ignorant (like you I've also been told I should sell my sewing skills in the form of tailoring other people's already made clothes, or been offered money to recreate embroidery pieces that took me weeks and temporary nerve damage to complete 😭) but when a friend of a friend saw my cruddy point n shoot photos on Instagram and offered to pay me a few hundred dollars to shoot their desperate friend's (aka stranger's) wedding it was the best and most terrifying compliment I'd ever received. I was so excited I ended up insisting on doing the wedding for free because I truly was in no way qualified to be capturing a freaking WEDDING and I didn't want that pressure. I found some well-paid weekend work a month beforehand and used that money to buy a secondhand T3i (already old at this point) and actually did a decent job and went on to get actual paid work doing that. Would I want to turn it into my main income? Omg no, never!! ...but I love shooting small budget weddings, it feels like such a huge privilege to be part of such an intimate moment in someone's life and I never would have discovered that passion if someone hadn't essentially told me I could sell my skill. Still won't be tailoring anyone's clothes, though!! 😬
"technically a very small media production company" = so accurate!
Mine has been "You should write a book!" That color purple is very nice on you, BTW.
My cubicle neighbor says that all the time whenever she asks a question that ends up with some unexpected life story explanation. I love writing but a book is not for everyone.
If all the horror stories I've heard from DnD players are to be believed, then there are a lot of GMs that really should've just written a book.
I sing. I love singing. I take lessons, I do choir on the side, I work hard on my voice,
If I turned it in any type of job that would suck the enjoyment out of it because then it wouldn't be a choice anymore.
Exactly!
Lucky you. I loved singing, too, and playing piano. Then I spent 7 years studying music and am now a qualified singing and piano teacher. Since graduating, I've had 0 motivation to sing or play. 😢
I tell people I don't want the pressure of making things for other people. Instead I enjoy making things for gifts. I can make what I want that way.
This video is so true. I am a self reliant crafter, maker of things. I knit, sew, crochet, bake cakes and bread. Make bar soap, beautiful hand crafted chocolates and sweets. I enjoy wood work and a while ago started making wooden bowls on a lathe. All things I could sell. But no I do not wish to be hassled by the demands of the non crafting general public. I enjoy and love the proses of crafting. I treasure the things I create. Definitely no desire to run a business.
Same here, I was told about a lovely place to visit that is local to me where they sell cute cakes and make a great cup of tea. While I was there I noticed all of the handmade items and she told me that she display and sell other artists work and only takes a 10% cut to cover the cost of keeping them dust free and for the space they take up. They also rent out a room for workshops and have lots of workshops run during the summer months.
The local craft shop in my town on the other hand takes %30 but if you work in the shop it drops to 15%. Either way they are exploiting the crafter, I worked out I had to increase the prices of my products just to afford their hefty fees which in turn increased the sales tax on the item which I had to keep 10% aside on the off chance I by a miracle actually did sell $10,000 worth of goods in a year. Before I got sick I worked in the shop and while I was there I noticed that there was a small click that would take all the window display area for their craft and would move anyone else’s work out of the window and onto the back shelf. It took me over a year of arguing with the members which I was part off to get things changed so that these 3 women could no-longer take control of the window space and that it was to be changed weekly to display all the membership works not just their work and that they were banned from using the window display for 12 months as they had been hogging the window for over 8 years.
So yep I took up the offer that the owners of the tea shop and will be taking in a few piece of mine, if they sell great if they don’t then fine either way I’m not pressured into selling or setting up a market stall 😹😹
My bestie always got compliments on her baking growing up, so she decided to open a bakery immediately out of culinary school. It did well but it drained her, so she closed it down & aside for special family occasions, stopped baking altogether. Fast forward a decade & she started baking again. She’s now a rural carrier for the post office & brings goodies to work often. Her treats are so amazing that everyone at work is usually telling her she should sell her goods or they want her to make them something. So she’s stopped making stuff for work because it always ends with someone’s hand out in some way. I just hate that the thing that used to relieve her stress is now one of the causes of it. I’m sorry you experienced something similar.
There's a song called "it costs that much" that I love referring to.
I don't sell my craft because people won't pay what it's worth and I refuse to undervalue my work.
If I like you enough it's free, but I agree that selling isn't for everyone.
Thank you, Charlie, for inviting us in to your home to listen to your stories. Love.❤
The part about sales stressing you out because then you have to ship...this!! Heck, I have casual mail TO FRIENDS, sitting in an enveloped, that I've kept putting off sending for nearly a year now! I can't decide how to pack it cutely, I'm worried it'll get destroyed in the mail, the letter I wrote to put with it is egregiously out of date now, etc. This entire thing was just painfully relatable, especially the part about being pushed by family members and then selling things to acquaintances and hating it -_-;
"the pressure would destroy all of the joy" literallllyyyyyyy literally same. Like I am trying to enjoy myself!!!!
I am so with you! I hate being talked to in shops and I feel pressured to leave the shop as quickly as possible if the do. Here in Germany it is a quite normal thing to just got to a shop, not being talked to and if you have a question you go and ask the staff. I love that. When I was on vacation in the U.S. it was kinda cruel for me being welcomed at the door "hi! how are you!" I never even knew if I should answer that or not (?!) and inside the shop everybody asked if they could help me. I felt like I needed a magical energy field around me that makes me invisible and keeps distance to them. If you wanna sell something to me let me have a look around all by myself....
I'm American and feel the same as you. I prefer big chain stores over small shops for that reason. If I want help I'll ask for it.
Thanks for the warning, I'll never visit the US 😅
American here. When employees greet you at the door, it would be normal to just say "hi" back to them and keep walking into the store. And if employees ask if they can help you, it's perfectly acceptable to just say "no, thank you" or "no, I'm just browsing." Then they will leave you alone.
@@maureenp2248 FYI -- Greeting the customer is advised by experts as an anti-shoplifting technique. It's not necessarily because they feel like being nice or friendly. Quote:
"Ensure that your staff members are approachable, friendly, and attentive to customers' needs. Train them to greet customers warmly, offer assistance, and engage in meaningful interactions. A positive and friendly atmosphere makes customers feel valued and watched, discouraging potential shoplifting attempts."
@@maureenp2248 Greeting the customer is considered to be an anti-shoplifting technique. They're not necessarily being friendly.
I don't mind when people say I should sell something I make and don't think that it is some insinuation that without selling my hobby has no value, I take it as - quality of your work is on high enough level that others also would like it not just those who love you and it isn't on a level how parents just say to their kids they like what they made while it's actually objectively quite horrible
This is so me, hate it when I had to sew anything for anyone it just sucks the joy out of it for me , I get so stressed that they won't like it . We are definitely on the same wavelength here. It's called a hobby for a reason 😊
I just read another version of this - Stephen King wanted to write but taught high school english for the pay check because he had a wife and 3 kids to feed. His wife pulled his trashed copy of "Carrie" out of the can and pushed him to finish it. He did not enjoy that process but kept plugging away. Luckily for all of his fans (Me TOO) he did not learn to hate the work. What you make is personal, it's got large chunks of you in it and perhaps that's just too much. What you do on YT though, inspires others to try new things, even if not the same thing but you get to keep the thing. This video is terrific. I hope lots of people listen and get what each needs from it.
"Craft faire". In the US, it's what the label says - people selling things they've made (mostly). In the UK, a craft faire is a place you go to buy pre-made and pre-bought "stuff" that 85-95% of the time has nothing to do with home crafting. It's more a table-top (indoor commercial garage sale, really) sale than a craft sale. You'll find magnetic bracelets, brushes of various types, baby clothes (you can tell they''ve been pre-used and cleaned), pre-made garden decorations (the tin foil spinner types you really can't make at home), cheap incense (the sort sold in foil wrapping so the scent doesn't evaporate), candles, wooden toys (nothing says home-made like a small "made in china" label on it), birthday/wedding/holiday cards (pre-printed, not made), jewellry, food items (dapends on the fair), pre-wrapped and weighed sweets/candy. It's sad - I avoid them like the plague.
That what we in America call a "Flea market".
That's not been my experience here in the UK 🤔 outside of Christmas markets (the big ones with wooden huts) which say they are craft fairs but sell weird semi mass produced tat.
I've hosted craft fairs and been to many. The main problem we have is older ladies massively underpricing their knitting!
A lot of that is really the fault of the event organisers. They should be screening the sellers but a lot of the time they just let anyone in because the event gets the table money either way. I've definitely been to the kinds of events you've described (worst example that comes to mind is the local anime convention letting local 'crafters' (the type with premade stuff you described) fill all the tables, none of them even bringing anything fitting the theme - most people took one look and walked out of the dealers hall! And those sellers had something to say about it, too...), but also I've been to a lot of great craft faires where they screen sellers, make sure there isn't too much of one type of craft, even cycle people out to give others a chance.
I wore a (pretty cool if i do say so myself) dress to ren fair and had a lady tell me that she loved it (yay) and that her friene would love to buy one. I said thank you but no, and she kept insisting that her friend would pay upwards of $100 for one. I just about laughed in her face at the thought of all the hours and hours of effort i had put into my dress. I think we both left that interaction thinking the other was being unreasonable
Absolutely with you on the whole issues and anxiety around selling physical products. One thing I'd add, if you do have a successful product and end up getting stuck making basically the same thing again and again, never having time and energy to explore new ideas and methods... That is soul crushing. Like, I'm in recovery after unwittingly getting myself into that situation. It is so hard to give up on a financially successful business because you feel like you should be so thankful. But being a one person manufacturer is NOT why I got into the business of creativity. I'm an explorer at heart.
I have a variety of creative skills and a degree to go along with them. I get the "you should sell that" prompt a lot. I usually reply by breaking down how much I would have to charge. Shuts people up real fast.
this video is the most relatable thing i've ever seen on youtube...
THANK YOU FOR THIS AND TO ALL OF THE COMMENTS BELOW. Some folks (men) had me thinking I was crazy for being reluctant to monetize my beloved hobby.
Have you considered making your old embroidery pieces into a garment? Like a patchwork skirt of some kind? It would look like you made something new out of what your old self left behind.
For a long time I thought I'd be a painter/full time artist. My family fully supported me and I had done plenty of commissions for my aunt's coworkers, and did a mural the other summer ago for someone in town. But ever since covid, I've been stuck in a limbo of lacking motivation to make anything, and the main reason why is because of that nagging voice at the back of my head whispering 'Gotta make sure we can sell it. Just keep making more and more.'. The looming fear of having to put myself out there online was paralyzing. My art room is officially a cemetery for unfinished canvases now. It's been a long time coming, but I've finally come to realize that I don't want the responsibility of being a small business owner and managing my way through social media, and digital commerce. I'm hoping to get a healthy relationship back with painting and I hope to find a career path that I'll find rewarding, but one where I can do my part but not be fully responsible for the whole operation.
I'm so glad to hear this. I start to hate my hobby when it begins a job. It's supposed to be relaxing, not a second job, full of stress. Thank you for putting my thoughts into words.
Someone once offered me $30 for a bag that I made that was hand sewn, took 10 hours to make, and cost more than $30 in materials. I had an etsy store briefly, too.. and yeah, it didn't last long. Selling your art just takes the fun out of it. And people seem to not want to pay what the item is actually worth. I'm not a salesperson either. I feel you. I love self checkout, too, but they're going away where I'm at because people keep stealing.😢
I am also a shy introverted human being that hates selling stuff. Guess what my side job is? Selling items on eBay. 😂 Like I don’t get why it works for me, but it does. I guess the items I’m selling aren’t my hand made items, but they are stuff that people like. And I do love hunting for cool books so it works out. I love the hunting aspect of finding items for my customers, and love chit chatting about my love of books and plush and video games. I think the main difference is selling face to face would just irk my entire soul. Selling online to people who never see my face is just fine for me. Never in a million years did I think my side job would be selling items, but hey it works.
I love your honesty. When I was very young, I learned to sew pretty much at school or by watching someone. We didn't have utube back then. We didn't get a tv until I was 6. Yup, I'm a baby boomer. Um, seems like every thing pretty much I learned on my own, from cooking to sewing, crochet and knitting. I'd either watch someone doing it and then try, but the thing that always bothered me was when I had something I really enjoyed doing for me, then my mom or aunts would tell I was going to make things for them. I was never asked if I wanted to do it. I made countless potholders crocheting for my mom and she would take them to the beauty shop to sell. I never was paid for them. I have made my own clothes which like you, pleased me, but my mom had me make a wedding dress for my niece. I hated the pattern, and the dress had 5 layers to the skirt part which made it very heavy. My niece wanted pearls on the edges of the veil, and I had to hand sew them on. I really hated it when I enjoyed doing something on my own and then family demanded I make it for them for free. Oh, they bought the supplies, but my time and effort were not compensated. So, when someone tells or told me I should sell what I make, it makes me cringe. I won't do it. It's a sore spot for me. Almost like a joy stealer. Oh, oh, my aunt would always have me do her mending. I hate mending to this day. I remember patching a pair of jeans for my cousin (boy) and then I embroidered a riddle near the patch. "What's green and flies over Poland? Peter Panski" He wore them anyway.
Somewhere out there is someone who loves to sell STUFF. That person could go troweling around craft centers, JOANN's, Michel's, and such, offering to sell stuff for people. That way those of us that love to craft stuff, faster than we can give it away, would have an outlet that could pay for our supplies. With out us having to try to run a business. And the person who loves to talk to and be around lots of people can make pocket money. Everybody wins. 🤣What a lovely fantasy. 🤣
People tell me all the time that I should sell various things I make. But others here are right, people don't want to pay for handmade. People want things cheap. And you're right, in order to sell things and break even, and keep customers happy, you have to batch-manufacture or assembly-line things and get them done fast -- that takes all the fun out of most hobbies. I'd rather make something, experience the joy of really liking how it turned out, and then gift it to someone and experience the joy of seeing them smile and appreciate it.
As someone who is prone to burnout, this is advice I needed to hear.
My favourite way of communicating is sewing a “brand” tag that says “you can’t buy this” onto self made garments.
To clarify, I saw a creator do this and thought it was genius
Into baking, huh? Well, then i should absolutely drop the recipe for an italian liquor used when making cakes and pastries. It's called Alchermes, it's not easy to find outside Italy and it smells like H E A V E N.
For this recipe you will need:
600 gr alcohol 95°
600 gr sugar
100 gr rose water
10 gr dried cochineal (alternatively food coloring E120)
10 gr cinnamon stick
10 gr crushed coriander seeds
3 gr powdered mace
10 crushed cardamom grains
4 crushed cloves
10 gr orange peel
5 gr star anise
1/2 vanilla pod
Crush all the spices and the cochineal in a mortar, except the vanilla which will be cut into pieces, put everything in infusion in a glass jar with all the alcohol and 300 gr of water, leave to macerate for 2 weeks in the dark shaking twice a day.
After 2 weeks dissolve the sugar in 1/2 liter of cold water, add it to the macerate, mix well and leave to rest for another day.
The next day filter with a paper filter and flavor with rose water and color with the food coloring, if you had dried cochineal it doesn't matter, it will already be red by itself. Mix and bottle.
Wow-thank you!
Best think I ever did was learn the word NO. I had a dressmaking / mending business when my kids were little. I learned then there will always be a customer that gets on your last nerve. I have made money from sewing since but its my choice of fabric , color etc. Dog clothes and I made masks . Can't do it now because of nerve damage I miss sewing a LOT but I would completely agree with Charlie. Don't monetize something that is your stress reliever.
When asked if I can make a quilt like that, or a wedding dress like that or to replicate just about anything I've made before for myself or for a beloved family member, I always reply....."No, because you couldn't afford me".
everytime I have someone tell me I should sell my knitting, I ask them two questions:
"how much would you pay for a pair of socks?" and
"how long do you think a pair of socks takes me?"
when I then explain to them, that material cost alone is between 5 and 15€ and depending on how fancy the design is, I might finish it within like 12h but might also need 40h
so basically a weeks pay.
as a computer scientist I am looking at getting around 25€/h after taxes, which would make this pair of socks cost 300€ to 1000€ not including taxes, not including business costs, etc. etc. just my wage... so yeah
would you pay 1000€ for a pair of socks?
Great video! I am a maker, enjoying my deadline free retirement. No, i dont want to sell at craft fairs. I did that. Still had my full time job, and did it for a couple of years. Thought time would gradually make it worthwhile. It didn't. The stress did me in. I began to dread the upcoming show and began to creatively shrival up. I couldn't sell anything for an actual profit. All these other comments have helped me feel less guilty about giving up trying to sell what i make. My niece asked me to sew something for her, and i made the mistake of agreeing. Now i am almost unable to go into my "making room!" Another well meaning friend is still gently suggesting that i sell my art. I have a few cleaning jobs for extra money. Im just beginning to experiment with art/craft/sewing projects again. Oh, and the never ending paperwork. 😢
My best friend, on the other hand, has an Etsy shop, sells in galleries, has annual one man shows. And works in a gallery full time. But he has had help all along the way. And hes sooo grateful! He will retire soon and is excited about having all day to paint. But he has NO interest in a TH-cam channel! He says he couldn't do what you do!
My first husband had to shop specialty stores for shirts that would properly fit him at $30-40 a piece in 1990's money. I commented that I was sure I could make the same thing a lot cheaper. Big mistake! Not only did I draft a pattern and create an almost identical shirt (except it had snaps as button holes scared me), but my husband liked it so much that he wanted another... and another... and another... It got to the point that every time we went shopping, he headed to the fabric section to pick out fabric for his next shirt. That ultimately killed my love of sewing for years!
Made a one-of-a-kind denim rag quilt for my daughter and so many have told me I should sell them. That quilt took me months making the custom appliques, seveal seams ripped out because I sewed one square upside down, and three hours of clearing the pump on my washing machine of the denim strings. Have made two plain quilts for family members as gifts and spend $8-10 at the laundromat for the first two washes now. Had a friend say that she would provide me with old jeans and $50 if Id make one for her and I just laughed and said no thanks, but I'll show YOU how to make one if you'd like to supply all the materials and pay me $50 per hour of instruction.
While weaving at the guild shop yesterday (on one of the guild looms, making stock for the shop), and being SO glad no one was breathing down my neck to get project done in any set amount of time, I came up with "Weaving is my HOBBY not my JOBBY!" Yeah, I'm probably not the first person to say it, but it made me grin, and if a coworker tries to tell me to sell on FB Marketplace again, I'll have that in my mental pocket to toss out. Because she already argued my "no one would pay $20 for a single mug rug." She's hyper & a people person. I am not. If I ever decide to sell, I'll take things to the guild shop or to my local yarn store. But I have NO current plans to do any of that.
I totally get it! I've been asked a few times whether I make clothes for other people, but I've always said no. I might make an exception for family members (dresses and tee shirts for my grandchildren, mending and minor alterations for my daughters) but I resolutely refuse to take dressmaking commissions. Who needs that kind of stress? I ran a small business (professional services) for a number of years and whereas I was happy to provide the service, I hated the process of finding and converting new clients. Now I've retired I don't miss any of it!
Years ago when I used to do pencil art I was asked by a friend to draw portraits of her mother's dogs as a surprise birthday present. She paid me a decent amount, but it was SO stressful! Never again.
Hobbies are for enjoyment, they should not be a cause of pressure and anxiety.
I am studying at university rn and someone in my painting class said very specifically that art isn’t her hobby; it’s her way of making money. I thought that was a cool distinction at the time and it really makes sense with what you’ve said here.
I love to make stuffies (dragons, sushi, squid, generally whatever it is, I love it) and have been told many times that I should sell them and that I’d make bank at my local farmers’ markets. But I am terrified of the business side of things. I have a (mostly sort of) irrational fear of the government and people wearing sharp suits showing up at my house to drag me to prison because I filled a federal form incorrectly by mistake. (I’m in the US so it’s not probable… but my brain still says it’s possible)
We can’t turn the things we use to decompress from capitalism into things we do for capitalism. What is our reprieve then?
Your point about how the skills for selling things are super different than the skills for making things is something i have never been able to articulate well. Thank you!
Yes, it takes the joy out of it. I agree with every point you made. I had friends tell me: to make a jacket only takes a few seams here and there, it should hardly cost anything! I said no, they actually called me mean and selfish. WTF? To this day, that friend only contacts me, when she wants something sewn.
Loved your video. Yes, I am quilter and someone encouraged me to open an Etsy shop. I had maybe 4 quilts posted. Sold one in the first week and then never again, even after I kept lowering my prices, which for quilts is crazy. All the fabric, etc plus time, well, I might as well give them away. And sooooooo, I got rid of the Etsy shop, and decided to do what I'd always done.....think of a person who'd enjoy the quilt and gift it. That's how I had started quliting. Making quilts-to-order took all the joy out of it. Making a quilt to enter it in a fair took more joy out of it. So no more of all that. Thanks for all your remarks in the video!!
if you're looking to get rid of some of your embroidery, have you considered doing giveaways? I think most of your subscribers would love that. I know it wouldn't get rid of the shipping and handling concerns, but at least you don't have to worry about payments, returns, and/or unhappy customers
I was also going to suggest giving them away, except I was thinking of donating them to someplace that sells stuff in order to fund a charity, like a hospital or library gift shop or animal shelter or to someplace that has silent auctions or does raffles as fundraisers.
I love the outtakes at the end!
I feel you about not selling creations. I crochet, and most things I make will not sell for a price worthy of the effort that goes into them. I give them as gifts to save myself money.
My daughter, however, thoroughly enjoys crocheting custom plushies and selling them. Kids love them!
I made jewelry for years because I loved it, and my mom pressured me into starting a business. I did it, and I actually didn't mind the selling part, but all the paperwork involved in running a business? Hated it. And my mom, whose idea all this was? Super excited to (badly) make jewelry with me, no interest in helping with the business crap. And as a result, I haven't made jewelry for twenty years.
...and guess what happened as soon as I started knitting? Luckily I'm better at saying no now.
not even a minute and a half in and i identify so much with this person that i'm subscribing immediately