I was at a big craft show a couple of weeks ago. When I attend shows as a customer, in addition to seeing the results of everyone’s creative talent and seeking out new treasures, I also like to think about the booths from a business perspective. Why did they set up a booth in a particular way? Is that setup working for them? Why did they choose to make a particular type of item? How are items priced? etc…etc.

One booth that really stood out to me at this show belonged to a jewelry artist. The organizers at this show do a good job of balancing the categories, so there was an unreasonable number of people selling jewelry, but the ones who were, for the most part, all had sterling silver items (it seems a lot of people who make handmade jewelry – myself included – tend to gravitate toward sterling silver). There was one jewelry artist who had a booth of mostly copper jewelry, and although her designs were quite similar to some items made of sterling silver at other booths, the copper really stood out among all of the people selling silver jewelry.

Her booth was packed any time I walked by it; I spent a few days at the show, so I walked by more than a couple of times. A simple choice about materials used was all it took for this person to distinguish herself from her competition and ensure her booth was crowded throughout the show.

If you create one of a kind pieces, you will rarely repeat the same design twice.  Here are 6 considerations to keep in mind when choosing this business model for your craft business:

1. There will be plenty of room for creative expression, and you will be engaged in less repetitive work in the studio.

2. You’ll need to be comfortable with exploring new ideas and techniques for creating your work.

3. You won’t repeat your designs, so you’ll need to have endless great ideas if you go this route with your craft business.

4. You will most likely need to network and build business relationships with galleries to have success in this venue.

5. You may have a fairly erratic work schedule in which you work long hours to complete a specific project, and then have slower periods.

6. You income may be less predictable and you may need another source of income to supplement your earnings.

Your choice to create production crafts or one of a kind crafts will impact most of your other decisions related to selling crafts. Take some time to determine which approach best fits your needs and work preferences so you will create a craft business that truly meets your expectations.

At some point in the growth and development of your craft business, you’ll need to determine whether you plan to target wholesale contracts. There are pros and cons inherent in selling wholesale, so it will be important to think through your options to decide whether venturing into wholesale craft sales will fit with your resources, your work preferences and your long term goals and vision for your business and yourself.

If you wholesale your crafts, you’ll be selling your work to a buyer who intends to resell your items at a higher price, usually at least double the wholesale price. Before selling crafts wholesale, consider the following:

1. You’ll need to ensure you have a large enough production capacity to manage large orders. Since you’ll be selling crafts for less per unit, you’ll make this up on volume. Therefore, it’s important to ensure you are ready to manage that volume.

2. You’ll sell your items for a lower price than you would if you sold directly to retail customers (usually half of retail), but you’ll sell your items in a higher volume to fewer buyers.

3. When you attend shows, you’ll bring only a range of samples of your line of product, not endless inventory. You’ll take orders for items that you will then produce and deliver at a specified date. Many professional craft artists say that it is nice to know that items they are producing are already purchased.

4. Feedback on work will come from professional buyers; your contact with the end retail customer may be quite limited.

5. You’ll typically attend fewer shows than you would if you were selling on a retail basis, and you’ll spend more time in production in your studio.

6. Your sales will consist of larger but less frequent purchases. That means you’ll have to be good at managing your money because income will not come in a steady flow.

If you decide that pursuing wholesale contracts is not right for your craft business, your focus will be on retail craft sales. When you sell your crafts at retail shows, you will be selling your work directly to the end customer. To determine if this strategy works for your own craft business, consider the following:

1. You’ll sell items at a higher price than you would if you sold on a wholesale basis, but you’ll sell smaller quantities to more customers.

2. You’ll need to bring plenty of inventory to craft shows, so you’ll need to make plenty of items ahead of time to sell at retail craft shows.

3. You’ll get direct feedback from and contact with your customers, which can be very satisfying and important to some craft artists.

4. You will make all of the money from the sale of the product (as opposed to approximately half when you sell wholesale), and since you’ll attend more shows, you’ll have more frequent influxes of cash.

5. Retail craft shows provide opportunities for interaction with customers and with other professional craft artists. This interaction can be important to some people who work alone and can provide important opportunities to network with colleagues and to understand your customer.

6. You will very likely attend more shows that you would if you were selling wholesale, some craft artists enjoy attending art and craft shows and see this in a positive light, while others do not enjoy the time spent away from the studio.

7. Time spent at shows will take you out of your studio. You’ll need to ensure you have enough time in your studio for production and balance this with number of shows you chose to attend.

Selling crafts retail or wholesale is not an either/or proposition. Some craft artists choose to incorporate both strategies into their craft business. If you have a clear understanding of your work preferences and your vision for your business and your lifestyle, you’ll be well prepared to make smart choices about the business strategies that will work best for you.