Take a look; Crafteroo and UKHandmade

Despite all the news of doom and gloom and economic depression the 'handmade' movement, if I can call it that, seems to have quite a lot going on at the moment. Things which all help to 'scream and shout', celebrate and support the 'handmade' and the 'handcrafted' in the UK.

There are more outlets to help get work in front of people and hopefully secure sales; I'm thinking of Foksy and MISI (make it sell it). New Craft Forums (or is it Fora? ) such as Crafteroo which is a vibrant place for crafters to openly discuss issues relating to their crafts, sales, and designs. It actively encourages and supports crafters and designers in getting their 'makes' and blogs in front of a wider audience.

It occurred to me yesterday that in the rush before Christmas I never explained the UKHandmade badge in the sidebar.

UKHandmade is a new online magazine started by Anna Sakura

There is a little more too it than just a very nicely produced magazine which includes articles about 'blogging', recipes and tutorials - so stuff to make. It spotlights UK designers and crafts folk. (.... and it's free!) Loads of gorgeous pictures!

Wrapped around all this though is a Forum, with all the things that you'd expect of a Forum. There are discussions about; working out the pricing of handmade goods, where Craft Fairs are being held, questions regarding suppplies.

Becoming a member allows you to create a 'Profile' page where you can say a little (or a lot about youself) You can join Groups, make 'friends', load up photo's or/and videos of your makes. A group where you can post and obviously find 'Free Tutorials and patterns' started just this week. It's worth a look.

Both Crafteroo and UKHandmade have Flickr groups which are powerful ways of reaching out to new audiences for your work.

On the 'About' page it states the aims of UKHandmade as;

UK Handmade is a design led online magazine committed to showcasing and promoting the best creative talent the UK has to offer. Artists and designers from across all of the art disciplines have a place here including photography, feltmaking, jewellery, fashion and art.

and a little paragraph at the bottom which I quite like.....

The term 'handmade' is now an indicator of quality, care and professionalism that is second to none and something we at UK Handmade wish to encourage and celebrate.

So, however miserable the Big Wide world is at the moment the 'Craft and design' world seems to reinventing itself, tapping into new reserves of energy and enthusiasm and shouting loud. Really quite happy and well. Here's hoping it flourishes even more this year.... So, if you're plagued by worry about selling your 'handmade' items ..... remember .... 'marketing' is important. Getting your name out there is important. And, also remember that 'Marketing' is subtly different to advertising.... but more on that another time. Have a good weekend.

Comments

[Kim]

I love visiting your blog Julia, you always have such interesting posts! Thank you!
Kimx

[JuliaB]

Hi! this is a great post... i'm heading over there right now! xx

[Debbie Moss]

Only today, I came across your wonderful website!
Thanks for sharing so many wonderful tutorials and tips with us all!
I`m hoping to back back again, and again...
Kisses,
Debbie Moss

[Kitty]

Thanks for those links - I didn't know about either forum. I post on a big forum, but it has no links to craftiness. I'm going to go right over and check out the ones you recommended. Thanks! x

[Andrea]

Thank you for these links. I am glad that it is not all doom and gloom because no sooner did I decide to try and sell some of my creations that the credit crunch was announced. Typical! Info on craft fairs will be very helpful. I am off to take a look.
xx

[Ali]

V. useful post... I knew about UKhandmade but had forgotten, so that's a useful reminder.