Approximately 3 years ago, Grace Dobush, the author of Crafty Superstar, contacted me to talk about Got Craft and our experiences with both craft vendors and running a craft show. Fast forward to late last year when I started seeing tweets pop up about Crafty Superstar, I knew I had to track down my very own copy. I happened to be at a Borders in San Francisco when I came across a copy and when I saw Got Craft listed in the appendix as a major North American indie craft show along with only two other Canadian craft shows, I was almost squealing down the aisles.
Crafty Superstar is a fun read and great resource for any craft looking to take their crafts to the next level. It includes lots of handy notes including how to approaching media, participating in craft shows, maintaining a personal life, setting up shop and a slew of helpful worksheet templates at the back. Grace also includes her interviews with Faythe Levine from Handmade Nation, Cinnamon Cooper of Poise CC and Vancouver’s own, Lauren Bacon of The Boss of You, who share their advice and experiences.
As a crafter myself, one of the hardest things that I do is pricing my items. Crafty Superstar covers many points on this topic that you need to consider including:
• Customer perspectives
• Expenses
• Time
• Wholesale price (usually 50% of your retail price, so you need to consider this when pricing or you will be in the red)
As a craft show producer, I found myself agreeing along with statements made in this book by Kristen Rask, PR and Marketing Coordinator for Urban Craft Uprising, and her experiences with running their show. The chapter titled “Get Noticed”, gave some insight as to how other shows in the crafting community market themselves as well as tips on ways to successfully contact media outlets and bloggers.
For those new in the crafting community and for those that have a few sales under their belt, I suggest you pick up a copy of Crafty Superstar and share your experiences with others from around the world.
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So you want to be a craft superstar? (sung to the tune of Rock Superstar by Cypress Hill)
Enter to win your own copy of Crafty Superstar by Grace Dobush by leaving a comment below telling us what you make and a crafty business tip! A winner will be chosen by random on April 15th. Please make sure to leave an email address that we can contact you at.
