Are you thinking about running craft or design workshops? Either in person, or online? To make more money? To share your passion, skills and knowledge? Do you want to run workshops but aren’t sure where to start? Are you currently running workshops but do you think that the organisation or marketing can be improved? Do [...] Read more »
Book review: ‘Contemporary Tableware’ by Linda Bloomfield
I have to confess that I just adore contemporary tableware, and that I am a bit of a collector. My mother used to run a small gallery shop in The Netherlands, and she loved all things clay, so I grew up with that. And I used to work for a couple of years for ceramic [...] Read more »
Exclusive Business Club webinar: ‘How small designers can sell to big retailers’ with The Retail Champion Clare Rayner
Do you want to know how to: sell to retailers such as John Lewis, Habitat or Heals successfully (and bypass the buyer’s PA)? make your (very small!) business look professional and credible so that buyers will take an interest in your products or services? position yourself correctly in a very crowded market? create a brand [...] Read more »
Book review for fashion & accessories startups: ‘Design Create Sell’ by Alison Lewy of Fashion Angel
Design Create Sell is a really practical business book for graduates and non-graduates who want to start a professional fashion or fashion accessories business. What I really like about this book is that it is aimed at both fashion graduates and non-graduates. Throughout the book you will see how important it is to have a [...] Read more »
5 steps to name your creative business successfully
Many creative sole traders and soletraders use their own name as their business name. It is the easiest, and often a default option. Sometimes they are already ‘known’ under their own name prior to leaving art school. Using your own name gives your business a more arty and personal touch. (It can get a little [...] Read more »
Book review: Batch by Andrew Tanner: get the story behind some of the most successful designers’ businesses
Batch is a great book for lovers of design and craft – from designers and makers, to collectors and retailers. Batch; Craft, Design and Product: The Work of the Designer Maker is introduced as a ‘glamorous coffee table book’. It is indeed a beautifully produced book with its hard cover, and great large and colourful [...] Read more »
The Design Trust Guide to Start & Run a Successful Craft Business
I wrote this guide to help creative people get clarity and direction in how to start and run their own small craft business. It gives lots of practical advice and information, but also looks at the big picture. Setting up as a freelancer or sole trader can be really daunting. There are so many things [...] Read more »
How to boost your creative thinking for your business
For most creative people coming up with new ideas, being innovative or ‘think outside the box’ is pretty easy, it’s part of their DNA! Often they struggle with too many ideas, rather than too few! Often I am rather surprised how conventional many creative businesses are when it comes to doing their business planning or [...] Read more »
Are you charging enough? 7 easy steps to calculate how much your product will cost
As a crafts person it is most likely that you sell products and not a service. If you want to know how to cost your design service check out How to calculate my freelance design rate? which are based on billable hours. There are some financial disadvantages of being a maker and selling products (and [...] Read more »
The Design Doctor: How to write a design brief and design quote?
Dear Design Doctor I am a recent furniture design graduate and a client has approached me to work on a small design project designing and making an outdoor bench. I am really excited, but don’t really know how to go about this. Where do I start? The Design Doctor for this challenge is Patricia van [...] Read more »