To get annoyed by Mummy Businesses

[NeilFan]

You know the type cake making, knitting, cup cakes, carding etc. Generally SAHMs whos kids are now at school and feel the need to go back into work but can't really be bothered. They pick up some hobby that people have diplomaticaly said they are good at and think it can be a business. Only know one person who actually has a talent for their business choice, all of the others would be better just asking for cash directly rather than palming off sub standard products onto polite friends. Same goes for all of that pampered chef and candle party lot who are even more deluded. My first post on mumsnet but this stuff really annoys me!

So we've had enough of threads about working mums who don't look after their children and farm them off to childcare, SAHM who do nothing but eat chocolate and drink tea all day and call that working and now we are on to mums who try and work at home by making a bit of extra cash from a hobby.

FFS just get in with your own life and stop trying to make yourself feel better about your choices by having a pop and someone else's.

I used to run a small business making cakes and running children's baking classes. I earned a very good salary (reasonable 4 figures a month) given the hours I did.

Bitch all you want, sounds like jealousy to me

I wonder how many are registered self employed. If I have to go through the pain of self assessment so should they, bet that would stop a lot of the underpricing funded by hubby types.

I wanted to stay out of this one but just can't help myself. I am an Artist and do loads and loads of events. It never ceases to amaze me what shit people make and try to sell.

Anyone selling anything can book for a stand at many events (apart from the exclusive ones which can be very very picky). Two types annoy me:

a) The jewelry makers who buy beads, thread them on a piece of string and attach a clasp. There are some amazingly talented people out there making jewelry but these are not them.

b) Card makers who go to a shop, buy crap, cut it out and stick it on a folded piece of card. These people drive me mad, it is nothing more than sticking and gluing. These people to me are on a par with the Jamie Oliver and Virgin Vie clan.

I see these people and think for the love of god take the time to learn a decent craft or be more creative. Many never do very well and moan/whinge. Their husbands are usually hovering in the background somewhere wondering what the actual fuck they are doing there on a Sat afternoon. They are usually brought only for the purpose of loading/unloading and running off early to get the car as close as possible to the marquee at the end of the day. Usually you don't see these people at event the next year.

I am very pro Mums (in fact anyone) trying to make a living from being creative. There is too much crap out there though, just because you see something nice on etsy/wherever and think 'I could make that' doesn't mean you should make shitloads and present to the public to buy.

I'm with you OP.

Flame away ;-)

"I am particularly fascinated by the ladies who make monkeys out of socks, don't get me wrong they are fantastic but I'd love to know if they actually make a living out of them!"

Errr, that would be me. And yes, I do make a living out of it! Proper website and all that jazz...

paradisechick: I'm an adult webcam and phone operator

eeerrr isnt that posh speak for sex worker?

I knit. I'm sick of being asked why I don't sell my work. I like to use natural fibres (which are expensive generally) and it takes ages to knit anything. Even a v. simple baby hat takes about 2-3 hours and around 4-5 quids worth of yarn.

People sell these on etsy for around £10. Madness. Madness.

However, when all my friends/ family have enough hats, baby blankets, pairs of socks Imight resort to selling my stuff!

I wouldn't call it posh speak.

People surely flog their work for under cost because they want and need to get rid of their creative endeavours in order to make space for more?

My mother had a phase of making (very beautiful) porcelain dolls. For a while, every drawer in every room in her house was full of completed dolls, or heads, or arms, or legs waiting for assembly.

I agree op

Why on earth does it bother you? These women are trying to make some extra cash. If they are good at what they do then great. If they are not so good then they won't get many customers.

What is so wrong about women being creative to get some extra cash?

I'd be interested to know how you get round the trading standards issues, McFlouncy. Or are you not in the UK? I looked into it and it just find't seem possible

What trading standard issues? What's so illegal about sock monkeys? Please tell me!!

So much of this strikes a chord with me, especially the rants about selling for less than cost, and stonetheroses on pathetic "craft". I have a "crafty" friend who keeps presenting me with embarrassing weird stuff. One thing - I have no idea what it is. It is a piece of material (cotton print, with a large pattern, and the placement cut in half) about 14" by 10", with a bit of padding in the middle strip (zig zaggy machine stitched "quilting" with a couple more bits of cotton). What is it? Massive ugly pot holder? Deep lumpy ugly placemat? Something to do with babies or small children - vomit-catcher? No idea. Didn't dare ask.

If it was ugly and had taken some time to make and think about, I would treasure it. I just can't understand the value in this bit of quickly machine stitched, randomly cut cotton though. (I have a sewing machine with a zig-zag stitch and lots of off-cuts of my own, thanks)

My aunt makes beautiful clever things and gives them to close friends and family and she is a genius. If she tried to sell them I bet she could make cost + a percentage (including labour in cost)

but people who put tat (or good stuff) on the market and don't charge cost + a percentage are devaluing us all

Sockmonkeys are not illegal but there are safety tests that have to be done on toys, by law. They cost money to do. Legally, toys labels have a symbol on that say they have been tested and to what level.

I mean to sell, legally, obv, not that you can be busted for possession of a sock monkey - you have to deal

"Mummy business"? "can't be bothered"? - get fucked, OP.

Anything that is sold that could be seen to be a toy has to meet certain standards regarding safety. Certain tests have to be carried out and you need information on materials used. Socks do not undergo the testing needed to prove they don't contain chemicals etc. (some fabrics do) so without doing your own expensive tests on each pair of socks you use they shouldn't be sold.

Some people try and sell them as collectibles for 14years plus only but the rules apply to anything that can be perceived to be a toy irrespective of how it is described.

I personally think there should be some sort of cottage industry exemption but there isn't

Ah of course I see. So would that only apply to things that are toys? Should they then be sold as decorative?

On a side note... Why socks? Are they old socks?

Things that are sold as ornaments are not subject to the same safety tests but if it is obviously meant as a toy, you might get done for it anyway.
Have you ever been given something like a grim little teddy with a label saying "THIS IS NOT A TOY DO NOT GIVE TO CHILDREN" and thought "well why the fuck would an adult want it?" It's just labelled like that to get around the safety testing laws. Won't necessarily work though.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. If you are under a pending charge for dealing sock monkeys I suggest you get professional legal advice.

I dont know ANYONE who does this

Bejeezus are you on any local selling pages on facebook? Have a look, there's loads of them!

III would love to set up a little hobby business and do what I enjoy all day

But I have no hobby or skills lol

useless

A man in a mac and carrying a brief case on a street corner tried to sell me some sockmonkey ... i said no. They are illegal after all. I can't say i wasn't tempted but it's a slippery slope isn't it?

One day you're sampling sockmonkeys and the next you're mainlining felt owl brooches with button eyes.