Valuable Info

Most of you can just skip this post but regardless of what you do for a living, I still think it is a fascinating read. A lady shopkeeper in Portland, OR has written two very smart posts about what to do (and what not to do) as a designer looking to sell your wares to shops. I have been meaning to address this somewhere on my website but Alicia's info is so spot-on that it would be pointless to rewrite it. As both a shopkeeper and a designer myself, I agree with everything. Hopefully this will help aspiring designers be prepared before approaching a store.

Wholesale, Retail, and Beginning to Sell Your Handmades to Shops -

Part One
Part Two

I have read books on "the science of shopping" and such but this is the other perspective, and may help people appreciate handmade objects at stores even more, and understand about the pricing, availability, et cetera. I really do cherish the handmade goods at my store, and quite a bit of it qualifies. As a "design object/accessories/gift shop" it would entirely be possible to not have handmade goods at all, and still have a very interesting shop filled with covetable items. However, that's not what I wanted to do and that's not where this shop is headed...and if it ever starts going that direction, I hope somebody says something to me!

I am a maker. I love to make jewelry. I knit and crochet. I silkscreen. I hand-bind books. I take photographs. And, I am a business owner. It makes life very interesting ;)

(Thanks to Erin for the tipoff.)