to wonder how so many people seem to make a living out of crafty type businesses?

[Yawnarama]

Who actually buys the stuff?

On my facebook friends list I have a cakemaker, someone who buys buttons in charity shops and mounts them onto cardboard, a knitter, someone who makes dresses for little girls, someone who makes cards, and someone who makes candles out of teacups. Oh and someone else who makes fabric pinboards and sells them for an extortionate amount.

All of these women must be doing well from their sales as otherwise surely they wouldn't make and advertise the items. But as someone who isn't keen on overpriced crafty items and certainly wouldn't buy them as gifts, I find it hard to understand how they all do so well from it.

LilyVonSchtupp, thank you for your brilliant summing up. 'Craft' covers a whole range of stuff and the whole gammut of people from hobbyists covering their costs to qualified, experienced professionals running businesses. But that's the problem, 'craft' is too wide a term and means different things to different people, so you can wander into a craft fair expecting some nice cheap beads and find yourself looking at a £600 teapot - and vice versa. But there are brilliant fairs out there, like the contemporary craft fairs at Bovey Tracy in the summer, or Made By Hand in Wales, where the right customers get matched up with the right makers and everyone's happy (minimum bafflement at buttons glued on to random things, and minimum eye-watering).

Yes I agree smallbrownbird I think that's why my friends and their colleagues now call themselves "makers" as craft doesn't imply quality and skill any more. Not that I am doing down hobbyists. But I was talking about people who make a living from creating beautiful, unique and premium quality items that will last.

I run a craft-ish type group, and we do ok. I still have to take on extra work to make a living at the moment, but we've only been going just over a year. Some of the income is from things we sell, but the majority is from teaching workshops, running crafting parties and commissions. But business has been overwhelmingly brisk this Christmas, so I have high hopes for next year!

My friend who makes the most beautiful decoupage cards has a job and makes them as a hobby. She covers her costs and makes a (very) little on top, so not profitable.

Handy for those of us who love her work though.

I have such a business. I don't make a living out of it really. I manage to top up dh's wage whilst still being able to be at home for the kids after school and not incuring any childcare costs. It pays for the nicer things in life, but I do work bloody hard for it!

It is weird, but then a lot of people are really kept women and this is a 'nice but dim' hobby. One friend I know lives in a massive house and runs an online business like this - I had assumed it was that that paid for the house - in fact that is the product of a chain of two profitable divorces and the business is basically spending money and free claim-against-tax items.

hmmph

Hang on, this is mental..

A friend ? (Beth) ? found the idea for this tree in a thrift shop in America: made in the 1940?s it was an amazing accolade to the inventiveness of man in times of great want.

Decorated with anything from bits of broken fork to bits of a ration book..£ 450

WTAF?!?!?

I do some bits...but I work full time. What I do is competitive though and there's many others that also do it.

A friend of mine has a cake making business and the cakes are fantastic. But she also works 4 days a week as a librarian and her DH works full time. Novelty cakes are so labour intensive ,I don't think you'd ever make a decent living at it for the prices people (around here at least) are prepared to pay.

I wonder if for some people it's more a way of funding a hobby? My DH's hobby is pottery - this place would be overrun with bowls and mugs if he didn't sell some from time to time.