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!

Yes, sPortyBlacksand, and you are forced to push clothespeg dollies with their skirts filled with lavender just to feed your habit.

The illicit sock monkey trade is truly grim. :(

There is a huge dried lavender black market in the cobbled back streets of Shrewsbury

It's a hop, skip and a jump to a full on scented soap habit.

Christ and people say my trade is smutty!

Before you know it, you find yourself in possession of one of those knitted (crocheted?) toilet roll cover dolls. :(

I've seen the kids hanging round nightclubs with little bags full of paisley patterned birds....heartbreaking.

I have a loo roll lady.

I do find it a bit annoying when people are pushy with what they're selling, but I do have some great sellers on my FB friends list, including someone who makes absolutely amazing personalised cards.

Hate it when people keep trying to flog pampered chef or usborne on their statuses though

How can anyone criticise those selling homemade cakes?! Madness.

Also everyone needs to buy cards anyway so rather than buying them from Tescos would much rather get locally made ones. Our neighbour is an artist and does beautiful cards of her pictures for £1.50 a million times nicer than the generic ones in the shops and cheaper. Same reason I get my veg delivered by the local grocers (run by local mums) veg same price as Morrisons but I get to feel good about supporting local businesses/farmers and it gets delivered to my door whats not to like

I have a loo roll lady.

You do!? I think you'd better remove yourself from this thread immediately. I don't want to share a thread with you, it might be infectious.

sPorty

stonetheroses - have you considered the fact that many people might think your 'art' isn't all that? Nasty, nasty post.

Agree with Chipping. People can be creative and artistic because they have flair and talent without doing a BA hons in fine art or whatever. I hate pretentious and snobby 'artists'

Holy crap - does that mean that over the next six months I have to acquire some impressive baking or card-making skills, else be shunned at playgroup? This pregnancy malarky is tough going.....

kerstina there is nothing snobby or pretentious about taking your art seriously, making an excellent product and selling it for a fair price.

Nor is there anyhting snobby about saying some hobbyists produce tat. Or that they are selling at an undervalue simply because they can.

These things have an impact upon people trying to make a proper living out of their art.

I probably did not word my post very well. I have every respect for most artists it was just the way stonetheroses worded her post.It was very sneering.
There is no need people will not by tat so they will not be successful even if the products are cheap.

But wordfactory...do they really? Surely wrt any product there is stuff that is real quality and stuff that is, well, not.

I can't say I can entirely get my head around how another person producing something shit could impact on someone who is producing something good. And my business is in a field where there is a lot of shit products!

I don't mind at all apart from the ones who exert social pressure to get you to attend their events or buy stuff.

If it gets to the point of ostracising people or what almost crosses the line into bullying people if they're not attending or do and don't buy, then that's just little more than a glorified scam and it happens often.

By all means sell over the web or craft fairs etc, etc, but these events where you are almost forced to buy something are a pain in the ass.

I guess I understand the undercutting angle (happens to us all the time) but I think that if your work is better, and you keep pushing, then other people being cheap and crap won't affect you in the long run.

There are a lot of shit products. Am very tired :)

I'm with ginhag

And it is hard to avoid the word pretentious when commenting on someone who calls herself an artist with a capital A. Did you really mean to do that, stonetheroses?

I agree that no one will buy utter shit.

But people will buy a lesser product if it is much cheaper. Which it might well be if less time and effort has been spent on it, and/or the seller is happy to break even or make a loss.

It sort of denigrates the industry IYSWIM.

The world of books now opperates on the assumption that most writers will do it for fuck all.
The public now expect the shelves to be heaving with new titles each week, all for tuppence.
My agent often jokes that the only people who can afford to be writers these days are the retired and the wives of bankers .