New Tabletop products by Kate Harper
On Friday I like to I like to post something I recently designed. Here's a set of tabletop products released by Thirstystone.
Some of these items can be purchased retail, on Amazon.com such as the placemats.
Sign up on my business facebook page to see other releases.
Advantages of a Handmade Card Business Part 3: Take Advantage of Trends
The third advantage of a handmade card business is that you can take advantage of market trends.
Handmade cards can take advantage of popular market trends faster then printed card companies. If you see a trend in the marketplace, you can respond to it in a month or two. In comparison, large companies can take over a year to publish a design. At large companies, writers, artists and editors work to develop cards that may take as long as 18 months to reach the consumer.
During the early days of German reunification, when the Berlin wall was coming down and spirits were high, I designed and marketed a Christmas card with a quote from Gorbachev that read "For all that separates us, we have one planet." It was an immediate hit, largely because of my ability to get it on the market at the right moment.
Since handmade cards can be put on the market quickly, political humor, new trends in the market, changing attitudes in the buyer, elections, musical hits or any subtle societal change are good opportunities for a hand-crafted card maker.
See Other Advantages of a Handmade Card Business:
Handmade Card Business Part 1: Financial Investment
Handmade Card Business Part 2: You Change Designs Quickly
Handmade Card Business Part 3: Take Advantage of Trends
Handmade Card Business Part 4: More Designs & High Quality
Handmade Card Business Part 5: Higher Retail Price
Handmade Card Business Part 6: Homebased
Handmade Card Business Part 7: Easier for Beginners
Handmade Card Business Part 8: Card & Gift in one
Advantages of a Handmade Card Business Part 2: You Change Designs Quickly
Advantage #2 You can change designs quickly.
I know that every card I put on the market is a risk.
Sometimes I feel so confident that a card is going to do well but later on I find out it was a flop. On some occasions the opposite happens. Over the years I have come to narrow down the options of what I think will work, but ultimately, I never know.
At times I have had reps tell me to change the color or materials of the card, because they think it will sell better. It is easy to do this quickly and get the card back into the market, which is an advantage over larger companies who commercially printcards. Their changes are going to incur more time, more risk and more expense.
Having to change your original idea one or more times is a normal part of any business, but especially in the card business which is a fashion industry. The most often asked question by store buyers is "What's new?"
The card industry constantly demands new ideas and designs. It's not like selling tools, where once a hammer sells, the store just reorders the same hammer to restock the shelf. You can expect greeting card store shelves to change every three months, with new items, new designs and new card makers, (and possibly, to your advantage, one of them might be you).
It's hard to go back to the drawing board and redo the design, but as a hand-crafted card maker, you really do have an advantage. You can try many ideas, readjust them quickly and then get back in the market quickly.
See Other Advantages of a Handmade Card Business:
Handmade Card Business Part 1: Financial Investment
Handmade Card Business Part 2: You Change Designs Quickly
Handmade Card Business Part 3: Take Advantage of Trends
Handmade Card Business Part 4: More Designs & High Quality
Handmade Card Business Part 5: Higher Retail Price
Handmade Card Business Part 6: Homebased
Handmade Card Business Part 7: Easier for Beginners
Handmade Card Business Part 8: Card & Gift in one
Advantages of a Handmade Card Business Part 1: Financial Investment
Handmade Card Business Part 1: Financial Investment
Handmade Card Business Part 2: You Change Designs Quickly
Handmade Card Business Part 3: Financial Investment
Handmade Card Business Part 4: More Designs & High Quality
Handmade Card Business Part 5: Higher Retail Price
Handmade Card Business Part 6: Homebased
Handmade Card Business Part 7: Easier for Beginners
Handmade Card Business Part 8: Card & Gift in one
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Get Your Greeting Cards Into Stores: How to Find and Work With Sales Reps (Updated 2017 paperback) If you like to make greeting cards, this book explains how to get your cards into stores and sell them nationwide. Learn about changing trends in the indie card market and niche opportunities available for artists. Book includes detailed guidelines on pricing cards for a profit, getting professional feedback on your designs, finding sales representatives, pitching your card line to them, approaching stores, and the industry standards you should follow. Information is also applicable to gift items, such as magnets, journals and calendars.
Start and Run a Greeting Card Business From a British author, whose country has a long history of greeting card design, she takes you step-by-step through the process of starting and running your business with lots of useful practical advice to help you, including: - Deciding what type of cards to produce - Finding your market - Dealing with printers - Copyright and licensing - Pricing and profit. Kate's note: Some specs are different (card sizes) since it is UK standards.
Pushing the Envelope Things the small greeting card manufacturer needs to know about finding, recruiting and retaining a winning sales force can be found in this easy-to-read handbook. Written from both the manufacturer and sales rep perspectives, this nuts and bolts guide is full of industry information, sales tips and guidance for building successful and profitable rep relationships. Kate's Note: This book was written by my top selling sales rep in the country.
-
ARTIST and WRITERS GUIDELINES Compiled and Updated by Kate Harper Want to submit your art or writing to a greeting card comp...
-
This is an excerpt from Get Your Greeting Cards Into Stores: How to Find and Work With Sales Reps If you like to make greeting cards, thi...
-
Article excerpted from Unusual Ways to Market Your Greeting Cards and 22 Places to Get Your Designs Featured A booklet on how to get your c...