To be fed up of people trying to hawk their 'craft' wares

[Goldenhandshake]

Over the last couple of years there seems to have been phases of craft/homemade items being hawked by loads of people, en masse, particularly over facebook.

There have been cards, cupcakes, personalised converse trainers and now hair bows seems to be the latest.

AIBU to be sick of the sodding 'Please like my FB selling page' requests, stalls popping up at DD's dance class, school fetes etc and then having people I know almost guilt tripping you into buying because you know them?

I know I don't have to buy anything, and I mostly don't, but have felt obliged to a couple of times. and have mainly been left disappointed

I did a craft fair at the weekend, trying to sell some of my handmade quilts pillows, bunting etc...but ended up feeling rather depressed. One of the quilt I made is beautifully made with expensive fabric (Tany Wheelani, tilda etc) expensive batting etcc.. I decided to charge about £65 for it which really is a bargain as there is no way I could ever charge the real price. Someone offered to buy it....for £18...I nearly had a heart attack. A lot of people were commenting on how lovely but expensive my stuff was (I didn't even include the time in it!!!). So I have set up a facebook page and I also have a website but I will only put limited stuff on it which hopefully people who appreciate that sort of thing will buy (or not).

I was amazed though at the number of people who sold tat at the craft fair, most of which you could tell was not handmade and sold loads. ..

The times I have heard 'oh what nice rainbow socks, you could sell those, I bet people would pay at least £7 or £8 for those...'
Thanks but no, the yarn costs that much alone. People have no idea.

YANBU

Although I enjoy seeing the pictures and having a laugh

People always try it on. I have a friend who is making a quilt out of DD1s jimjams (she is deceased and wore them often before her death). She has a quilting machine and her work is excellent. Any idea what I should offer for the work?

Well, after posting earlier that most things being "hawked" on my FB were lovely & tasteful - I log on just, and see a post advertising a new business basically hiring out fake childrens' characters for parties, christenings, "corporate events" & the like.

Stupidly, I clicked on the link & looked at the 'characters'. OMG, they are hilarious . All have their names slightly changed (Peppa Pig to Pippa Pig etc.) to avoid legal issues (I imagine).

Not exactly a craft but an example of shite being advertised on FB.

What a lovely idea expat.

I don't mind if they GIVE the stuff to me, but I won't buy it.

I went to a jewellery party once (with wine to loosen us all up) and I just didn't like any of it. It was all huge. I didn't buy anything. I felt like giving her a fiver towards the wine, but I couldn't stump up for her massive pieces of jewellery. All statement pieces I think, but not statements I wanted to make.

What does piss me off, and sorry if anyone else has mentioned this, how come people fall over themselves to buy overpriced trinkets for £40 from John Lewis and similar shops, yet when people are selling a similar thing, same quality and homemade, at craft stalls for half the price, suddenly it's tat. How come it's not tat in John Lewis?

I agree, InSpace.

Excellent point, inspace!

Thank you Ellisisland and MilkyBarButtons, I'll get on it!

Can I just say that it sounds like there are a LOT of talented women on Mumsnet and it's a shame we can't help each other to sell our wares.

I'd like to do a blog post about this - if anyone has FB page or website and would like to link up, would you PM me.

I can't knit. So I bought my baby hat on etsy. I specifically looked for the person who worked with real wool (not acrylic, though I understand the more elaborate designs need to be done with something that's a bi stiffer) and paid handsomely to some lady in Canada. I hate the idea of spending lots of ££ only for the material to be cheap. So for those of you who do it, there's definitely people who are willing to spend more if you use top quality material. Everyone everywhere commented on that owl hat.

Oh, and when I day 'we' should sell our wares, I'm not including myself in that cause I am talentless when it comes to crafts.

One of the biggest issues I find with creative folk is that they don't put a proper price on their work. You have to value your work yourself if you want others to see the value of it.

I sell rubbish at craft fairs and online. Literally. The stuff I make is "upcycled" (now hideously overused word) from stuff that would usually go in the bin, like bottle caps and ring pulls from fizzy drink cans. I work in conjunction with a group of adults with disabilities who do it because most traditional "jobs" won't be accessible to them. We work with rubbish to help keep our overheads low (non-profit group) and to hopefully create stuff that's unique and interesting. It can take lots of failed attempts to come up with stuff that will actually sell, and it can be hard to predict what will sell where. But when we get it right, people practically chuck money at us by the fistful!

MmeLindor-- that is a really good idea! There are quite a few crafty so & so's amongst the MNbloggers network as well...

I've been cross stitching for about 15-16 years. Over the years I've been asked specifically to do samplers for babies, weddings, etc which I've done and I've made a few quid at. Not to blow my own trumpet but I am bloody good at it, and I enjoy doing it. I did decide to do some cards en masse and small framed pictures and went to a craft show - where I was offered 50c a card and 2.99 for something that had taken me over 60 hours. I got pissed off and took the whole lot home. I don't bother anymore - I do them if people ask or if I see a project I want to do for a present. I did all the flowers for my wedding and a friends wedding, but I have no intention of trying to sell lumps of logs with candles jammed in them.

I know one lady on facebook who makes babygro bears - I thought that was a brilliant idea, you send her 2-4 of your DC's babygros and she turns them into teddy bears. I think that's a fantastic idea. I know another "lady" who trawls eBay for 99c/free postage "retro" "quirky" "hipster" items - aka bicycles, bird cages, moustaches and owls - and puts them in organza bags and flogs them for a fiver a go. Gets on my WICK. I also hate the knitted things. And the stupid stick on things for trainers. And cards made with a shaped punch and a bit of christmas-related tat picked up after watching a DoCrafts marathon.

Surely this is exactly where free market/capitalism comes in. Good craft stuff should sell and at a profit. Rubbish craft stuff is so transparent that it won't sell and those crafters will just stop as they don't sell.

I've not seen the blinged converse but I have seen do bribe do the most amazing blinged pointe shoes. She does them to people's outgrown/broken ones.

I would definatly get dds first ones decorated to keep as a memento

My pet hate is all the overpriced "vintage" (2nd hand ) rat people are trying to flog at outrageous prices.

I make jewellery as a hobby (not to sell, just for myself really) and you've got me all worried now!

I often make my friends bracelets/necklaces for their birthdays and now I'm worrying that they're not thinking 'oh lovely, homemade jewellery' but rather 'lafata it looks like a child has done this, you big cheapskate that didn't buy me a proper pressie'.

65 quid for a quilt?!

Crikey. You can get deadly boring ones on poncey sites like Cox and Cox/White Company that cost hundreds! And they're mass produced.

Cross posted, but lafata, I'm sure this wasn't you, but a couple of years ago a MNer in a group I was in made me a handmade bead bracelet for a secret santa and it is one of my absolute favourite things.

I'm sure it's obvious what is lovely and what is tat!