Dear Design Doctor ‘I’m an embroidery designer. I’ve been a freelancer working in fashion and interiors for about 15 years I have recently started to create and sell my own designs and work. I sell to a London shop who puts their 250% mark up, which makes my work very expensive. If I sell online [...] Read more »
Exclusive Design Trust webinar: ‘How to price your work right’ with Sidsel Dorph-Jensen
One of the main aspects you need to get right in your business is your pricing. Without a pricing strategy you’ll risk loosing sales, not making enough money to stay in business, let alone build your business. So many creatives struggle with pricing, and it is a difficult and complex thing to get right, because [...] 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 »
3 tips to price your crafts from designer silversmith Sidsel Dorph-Jensen
Sidsel Dorph-Jensen is a Danish award-winning designer-silversmith, who studied at the Royal College of London. She designs & makes unique silver tableware, and was awarded Silversmith of the Year 2011. Using her own experiences as a crafter and her love for marketing & running a business, she now [...] 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 »
The Design Doctor: How to calculate my freelance design rate?
Dear Design Doctor I am a new web designer and need to know how much I can charge for my daily or hourly rate. Do I just charge what others are charging, or is there another way? The Design Doctor is Patricia van den Akker, Director of The Design Trust: “Web design is a [...] Read more »
The Design Doctor: How to make terms & conditions for my graphic design business?
Dear Design Doctor I am a graphic designer and I need to make my terms and conditions. Can I just use somebody else’s or do I need to have this written up by a solicitor? The Design Doctor for this topic is Patricia van den Akker, Director of The Design Trust: “Terms and conditions [...] Read more »
Copy right & design right: an introduction and practicalities for designers & designer makers
Silvia Baumgart, the Own-It Programme Coordinator, presented at a Design Trust webinar in March 2012 about copyright and design rights, tips to protect yourself, and what you should do if somebody copies your design. Here are Silvia’s notes for the webinar. At the bottom of this (epic!) blog post you also will find some great [...] Read more »
How to increase my prices (confidently and without losing clients)?
There are lots of reasons to review and increase your prices on a regular interval. Many creative business owners find it difficult how to approach this topic, but in the business world it is fairly normal that prices or fees increase or change. What is really important is that you tell your clients in advance [...] Read more »
How to increase my profits? Do the profitability quiz!
Do you want to earn more money and improve your profitability? Do you want to pay yourself a bit more? Do you want to work less hours but keep the same annual income? Then it is time to start looking at what you can do to create a more profitable business! Profits is a fairly [...] Read more »