BOOKS

Essential books for reference and inspiration for artists and craftspeople alike.

Selling Your Crafts:

Creative Careers in Crafts:

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Selling Your Crafts by Susan Joy Sager

Signed copies of Selling Your Crafts, are available through ArtBiz 

($19.95 + ME tax, if applicable, & $3 shipping)..

To order, send a check or money order to:

ArtBiz

PO Box 222

South Berwick, ME  03908

For resale or review copies, contact:

Allworth Press at www.allworth.com

or (212) 777-8395.

Questions? Email ssager@artbiz.info.

Craftspeople, hobbyists, students, teachers, and craft dealers will find this an authoritative and thorough source of information on selling in today's marketplace. Drawing upon profiles of established artisans and the helpful insights of small-business entrepreneurs, this unique guide not only gives tactics for promoting and marketing crafts, but also the necessary forms for getting a business up and running.

The book details how to network effectively and build an effective customer base, listing organizations, business associations, and craft publications that offer further sources of information. Filled with easy-to-understand examples and sample forms and contracts, this book provides the essential tools for prospering in the crafts business as well as resources to keep savvy as business grows.

Here's a review of Selling Your Crafts from the Dec. 2000 issue of Arts & Activities:

Here is a book offering so much more than an ordinary how-to book. Susan Sager is known to many craftsmen for ArtBiz, a center for the professional development of artists and craftspeople. In the first chapters, she establishes for us, with interviews of experienced and professionally known craftsmen, a picture of a successful artist-cum-businessperson in todays marketplace. Practices and images have changed greatly since 1950: national craft fairs, the important new role of workshops as settings for training, and the relationship of selling ones wares to the market. Above all, Sager creates an awareness of new standards for quality and achievement.

Here's another from the November/December 2001 issue of Fiberarts:

Based on her ArtBiz seminars, Sager's advice is a step-by-step guide on how to market and sell your work, and how to run a craft business successfully. Whether you are a full-time production craftsperson, or a part-time craftsperson who makes a living in another field, you will find valuable information on managing all those left brain endeavors creative people tend to dislike.

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Selling Your Crafts:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

About the Author

Introduction

Section I: The Professional Craft World - An Overview

1. Overview of the Professional Craft Field
- Trends
- Training

2. Profile of Role Models and Views of Craft Administrators

- Full-time Production Craftsperson
- Craft Teacher
- Non Craft Job with Professional Craft Studio
- Famous Craftsperson

- Views of Craft Administrators

3. Mentoring
- Apprenticeships
- Mentoring Programs
- Residencies

4. Self Assessment
- Questionnaire

Section II: Setting Up Your Crafts Business

5. Business Planning
- Goals for 1st and 5th Years
- Methods for Measuring Your Success
- How to Write a Business Plan

6. Organizing Your Business
- Selecting A Name
- Sole Proprietorship vs. Partnership

7. Finances
- Designing a Budget
- Financing Your Business
- Pricing Your Work
- Determining Your Hourly Rate

8. Studio
- Zoning
- Leasing vs. Owning Your Space
- Contracts

9. Working with Professionals
- Accountant
- Financial Planner
- Lawyer
- Banker
- Photographer

Section III: Managing Your Crafts Business

10. Office Basics
- Selecting a Computer
- Sample Letters and Forms
- Scheduling Production & Office Work
- Shipping

11. Keeping the Books
- Recordkeeping
- Taxes
- Credit and Collection

12. Insurance
- Health
- Disability
- Product Liability
- On and Off Site Coverage

13. Employees
- Subcontractors vs. Employees
- Policies
- Wages & Benefits
- Supervisory Skills
- Legal Requirements

14. Retirement Planning
- Lifestyle Issues
- Supplementing Your Income
- Investment Planning
- Estate Planning

Section IV: Marketing Your Crafts

15. Marketing Plans
- Designing a Marketing Plan
- Measuring Results

16. Your Image on Paper
- Logo Design
- Brochures and Alternatives
- Stationary, Business Cards, & Hand Tags
- Resume
- Biographical Description of You

17. Description of Your Work
- Product Descriptions
- Copyright vs. Trademarks

18. Your Portfolio
- Developing a Body of Work
- When You Will Need A Portfolio
- Slides
- Photographs

19. Getting the Word Out About Your Work
- Advertising Campaign
- Public Relations Campaign
- Press Kits
- Mailing Lists
- Direct Mail
- Newsletter

20. Craft Fairs
- Finding the Right Show for Your Work
- Wholesale vs Retail Shows
- Jurying Process
- Booth Design
- Making a Sale

21. Galleries
- Finding the Right Gallery for Your Work
- What the Gallery Can Do For You
- What You Must Do For the Gallery
- Cooperatives
- Alternative Spaces
- Selling From Your Studio

22. Commissions
- Private vs. Public Commissions
- Percent for Art Program
- Slide Registries
- Designing a Budget

23. Interior Designers & Architects
- Finding Firms that Specify Craftwork

24. Mail Order
- Approaching Existing Companies
- Starting Your Own Mail Order Business

25. Sales Reps
- Finding the Right Sales Rep for Your Work
- Contracts

26. The Internet
- How to Use the Web as Part of Your Business

- Domain Names

- Search Engines

- Linking Your Site

- Advertising and Publicity

- Designing a Web Site

- Maintaining Your Site

- Email

- Web Site Promotion and Marketing Plans

27. Customers
- Profiles
- Customer Service Policies
- Retaining Customers

Section V: Resources

28. Networking
- Craft Organizations
- Business Associations

29. Workshops
- Continuing Education Programs
- Guilds & Associations
- Small Business Centers

30. Business Magazines
- Keeping Informed

Conclusion

Recommended Reading

Bibliography

Index

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Creative Careers in Crafts

by Susan Joy Sager

Designed as a companion book to Selling Your Crafts, this book includes:

• Over 40 profiles of working craftspeople in clay, fiber, glass, metal and wood,
• a special section geared to supporting young craftspeople (and their parents) to make the transition from school and find ways to nurture their creativity out in the real world,
• tips to guide readers through the transition from paid employment to working for themselves,
• an overview of craft history and the contemporary scene, and
• a section on defining success.

 

Here's a sample of what people are saying about Creative Careers in Crafts:

"Susan Sager articulates issues and opportunities for aspiring craftspeople in this thoroughly researched and clearly written book.  It's a great resource for getting to know the field."   Stuart Kestenbaum, Director, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts

"This book is a must read guide to help you develop a successful career in crafts."

Ann Barber, Director, NCA Benefits, National Craft Association

"Sager provides a fascinating review of the evolution of crafts through the ages leading up to many options available to creative men and women today."  Rebecca Ortinau, Features Editor, Crafts 'n Things magazine

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Part One: Crafts History and the Contemporary Scene

Chapter One: Then and Now

Clay … Fiber … Glass … Metal … Wood

Chapter Two: Success Defined

Self-Assessment Quiz

Chapter Three: Career Options

The Self-Employed Craftsperson … Teaching … Those Employed by Another Craftsperson … Industrial Designer … Historic Sites and Museums … Restoration Work … Crafts Administrator … Crafts Publishing and Writing … Related Jobs … The Non-Crafts Employee Who Maintains a Professional Studio … Business Workshops Designed for Artists and Craftspeople … Small Business Centers

Chapter Four: Educational Opportunities, Residency Programs, and Apprenticeships for Craftspeople …

Educational Opportunities for Craftspeople … Residency Programs for Craftspeople … Crafts Programs … Apprenticeships for Craftspeople

Chapter Five: Profiles of Successful Craftspeople

The Craft Organization Development Association Survey … Crafts and Tourism

Part Two: Clay

Chapter Six: Facts, Educational Opportunities, and Organizations for Ceramics Artists

Insight Survey Statistics on Ceramics Artists … Educational Opportunities for Ceramics Artists … Organizations for Ceramics Artists

Chapter Seven: Ceramics Artists Profiles

Potters: Gerry Williams, Mary Nyburg, Mark Bell … Public Artists: Randy Fein, Abby Huntoon … Sculptors: Lisa Tully Dibble, George Mason...

Teachers: Lynn Duryea, Christine Federighi, Iver Lofving

Part Three: Fiber

Chapter Eight: Facts and Organizations for Fiber Artists … Insight Survey Statistics on Fiber Artists … Organizations for Fiber Artists

Chapter Nine: Fiber Artists Profiles

Basket Makers: Dorothy Gill Barnes, Theresa Hoffman … Bead Artists: Wendy Ellsworth … Book Artists: Amanda Barrow, Jan Owen … Doll Makers: Gail Wilson, Pat Castka … Quilt Makers: Elizabeth Busch, Pamela Weeks Worthen … Wearables Artists: Ellen Spring, Marylou Ozbolt-Storer … Weavers: Patricia Palson … Yarn Artists: Peter Hagerty, Katharine Cobey

Part Four: Glass

Chapter Ten: Facts, Educational Opportunities, and Organizations for Glass Artists

Insight Survey Statistics on Glass Artists … Educational Opportunities for Glass Artists … Organizations for Glass Artists

Chapter Eleven: Glass Artists Profiles

Blown Glass Artists: Harvey Littleton, Dante Marioni, Richard Marquis, Josh Simpson … Stained Glass Artists: Candace Jackman, Bert Weiss

Part Five: Metal

Chapter Twelve: Facts and Organizations for Metal Artists

Insight Survey Statistics on Jewelry Artists … Organizations for Metal Artists

Chapter Thirteen: Metal Artists Profiles

Designers: Deb Stoner, Jill Kenik … Jewelry Designers: Arline Fisch, Tim McCreight … Blacksmiths: Peter Rose, Eric Ziner … Mixed Media: J. Fred Woell

Part Six: Wood

Chapter Fourteen: Facts, Educational Opportunities, and Organizations for Wood Artists

Insight Survey Statistics on Wood Artists … Educational Opportunities for Wood Artists … Organizations for Wood Artists

Chapter Fifteen: Wood Artists Profiles

Boat Building: Paul Rollins … Woodturners: Peter Bloch, David Ellsworth … Furniture Makers: Wendy Maruyama, Rosanne Somerson, Jere Osgood … Industrial Design: Julie Morringello … Utensils: Dan Dustin

Part Seven: Transitions and Support Systems

Chapter Sixteen: Making the Transition

Bridging the Gap … Soul Searching … Goal Setting and Business Planning … Business Planning … How to Write a Business Plan

Chapter Seventeen: Keeping Yourself Inspired

Finding a Mentor … Publications Networking and Organizations … Places to Go

Chapter Eighteen: Special Programs for Young Craftspeople Programs for High School Students

Conclusion
About the Author
Contributors
Bibliography

Index

TO ORDER:

Signed copies of

Creative Careers in Crafts ,

are available through ArtBiz

($19.95 + ME tax, if applicable, & $3 shipping)..

To order, send a check or money order to:

ArtBiz

PO Box 222

South Berwick, ME  03908

For resale or review copies, contact:

Allworth Press at www.allworth.com

or (212) 777-8395.

Questions? Contact ArtBiz at ssager@artbiz.info.