Month: August 2022

Artists and crafters spend large amounts of time creating their products. These could be items sold on a large scale or even those designed on a bespoke basis. Depending on the type of item created, the artist or crafter could spend large amounts of time sitting or standing in the same position. This can cause stress and strain to occur on many parts of the body. It is important to look after your own back health and the health of anyone who works with you. You may need to look at your small craft business insurance policy to see whether you need any other policies in place to support employees.

Some of the most common areas affected are the back, neck and shoulders. The longer that we sit or stand in one position, the more likely it is that our posture will start to suffer. It is when we begin to slouch that added strain occurs on our muscles and joints.

There are several parts of the crafting process, that can see problems occur with the strength and health of your back.

Set up

Your crafting set up will have an impact on the way you sit or stand and how much pressure occurs on your joints. It is important that you have the right set up for your specific craft, rather than try to make do with a dining room table. There are lots of options available, such as adjustable desks and easels for artists. Other crafters can also find tables that suit their needs, such as work benches.

It is also important to ensure that you are sitting on chair or stool that will support your posture. It can be tempting to use a dining room chair but these are not designed to support your body for long periods of time. Instead there are chairs on the market that have been created to be ergonomic, specifically for crafters. In the case of those people who refer to stand whilst they are working, standing desk can be utilised.

Where possible you should ensure that you are sitting upright in your chair. When creating intricate items it can be hard to prevent yourself from slumping forwards. You can rectify this by using table mounts and risers that will help lift your work up higher.

A chair with lumbar support, moveable armrests and wheels, will help you to move around freely in your workspace. It will also allow you to create a set up that sees all your materials placed close to hand. It is important that you think about a safe way to store your items and you should always have small craft business insurance in place.

Breaks and stretching

One of the best ways to help prevent back pain and issues such as sciatica from setting in is to ensure you take regular breaks. It can be difficult for those working in creative fields to ensure they take enough breaks. This is down to the fact that when in the creative zone, you tend to forget everything else going on around you.

Set a timer to notify you when a hour has passed. You should then, where possible get up and take a short walk. This can be popping to your kitchen to make yourself a drink. Keeping hydrated will also help to prevent muscles spasms from occurring.

Other stretches that you can do throughout the day include the following:

Arm stretches – take your arms above your head and gently reach up. Next take your arms out to the sides and stretch. You can also pass each item across the opposite side of the body and stretch. This helps to release tension in the upper back and shoulders.

Waist twist – take a gentle rotation to each side of your body. If you are using a chair with armrests you can place your hands on the side you are turning to. This helps to give you a gentle shoulder twist as well as release pressure on your lower back.

Wrist circles – working with your hands can lead to cramp in your wrist. Taking a gentle wrist stretch by circling your wrists in both directions can release the muscle tension.

Selling products

As well as looking after your back whilst creating your products you also need to think about what happens when you sell your products. If you have an online store you will probably spend a lot of time entering items into your shop. The above stretches will help with long periods of time sitting at the computer.

If you have small craft business insurance in place that allows you to sell items at fetes and fayres, you will need to support your back during these sales. Most of these fetes will see you standing for long periods of time. Where possible you should try and walk around your stall and limit the amount of time you stand in one place. If possible, have a family member or friend at the event with you so you can each take breaks during the day.

Exercise and strengthening

Prevention is always better cure and if you build up the strength in your back, you will find that you experience less pain. Many exercises help support your spine and the rest of your musculoskeletal system. Some of the best one are walking, swimming and yoga. They all help to support your core strength which in turn helps to support your spine.

Plan time into your week to enjoy some gentle exercise and you will notice that you have less problems with pain and discomfort in your back whilst crafting.

Close your eyes for a minute and imagine a small wooden railway engine, bright red with a set of smart carriages following on behind. Next, picture a knitted rabbit, just the right size to fit into a small child’s hand, it’s sparkling button eyes giving it a surprised but friendly look. Or what about a rag doll, dressed in a freshly pressed pinafore, her knitted plaits neatly tied with sky blue ribbon? Next, imagine a couple of children poring over an exquisitely made wooden puzzle of the British Isles, learning the counties and cities as they carefully set each piece in place.

What do these pictures conjure up for you? Good quality, something that will last, an investment and a good dose of nostalgia.

This is a good place to start for those who are considering selling handcrafted toys. Your products, although more expensive than their factory produced counterparts, will exude confidence, reliability and value for money. Buyers who are willing to spend a bit more will do so because they want to give a gift which will last, and the very uniqueness of your product will be a selling point.

Where to begin?

Below are some practical points to consider about selling hand-crafted toys.

Firstly, allow yourself to dream and your creativity to go wild! What would you love to make? How do you see children playing with your toys? What comments would you like to hear from the adults who buy them?

Then rein it in and do some research. Is the market already flooded with the hand-crafted toy you are planning, or is there a gap? If there is a gap, is it because there would be no market for it, or have you hit upon a great new concept? Can you give your product a twist which makes it stand out from other similar toys? For example, if your customers are ordering online, could you paint the engine’s name on the side and call it after the child who will own it? Or give the new owner of the doll an opportunity to choose its name and then embroider it on her dress?

Next build a business plan. Here at Craft Insurance we can give you individual advice to help you work out the best insurance product for your hand crafted toy business.

Have fun choosing a name and logo for your business, something with strong brand potential. Practice photographing your products and if you’re selling from a website or through social media, find ways to make your site stand out from the rest.

It’s worth mentioning pricing at this stage. While you obviously have to be competitive, don’t undervalue yourself and your product. Take into consideration your time, costs of selling and marketing, electricity bills if you’re working from home or rent if you’re in another building, and materials. As your products will probably be small, you may be able to source raw materials at a reduced price, eg offcuts of wood.

Next there are the legal requirements which might seem overwhelming but if tackled methodically can be achieved as part of your set up strategy. Check out the legal requirements in the UK regarding registering with HMRC and ensure you register within the required time framework.

Similarly, you will need to research the process around CE marking, a requirement for those selling toys within the EU. This is a self regulating process and can be completed by yourself at little or no expense. There are some helpful websites to guide you through the process in addition to the government website which lays out the requirements.

If you have come up with a completely new concept for a toy…how exciting and well done…you will probably want to consider patenting your idea. For this, it must comply with several requirements; these are around the novelty aspect and it’s ability to be replicated. Check out the official websites if you think this might apply to your idea.

Consider your marketing strategy. How will you be selling handcrafted toys? Online, at craft fairs or at other venues? You will probably be asked for public liability insurance to sell at craft fairs, and it’s worth picking up the phone and speaking to us about both this and product liability insurance needed for face to face and online selling. We are confident that, as a friendly, family run business we can help you to find the best insurance package for your business, and we look forward to speaking with you.

Consider the seasonal aspect of toy selling. Obviously Christmas is a high point for toy sellers, but could you adapt your toys to appeal at Easter, as an alternative to chocolate? What about modifying your product around the seasons? Using warm red and rich green colours for that toy engine in the winter time and blues and paler greens in the summer? Or use colours and patterns to reflect the seasons as you dress the rag doll or knit the rabbit.

Finally, your customers will be drawn towards your product because of its uniqueness, its quality and the sense of nostalgia it brings. In a fast paced world, a solid, well made toy brings with it a sense of a bygone era, when life was less complicated and more stable. Customer care is thus a big part of the buyer’s experience. If you can convey a feeling of reliability in both your marketing and customer relations, this will enhance the whole purchasing experience. By selling handcrafted toys you are giving your customer so much more than the single purchase; the gift of imaginative play, opportunities to develop problem solving and interpersonal skills through play and the making of memories that will last.

It’s a wonderful feeling when inspiration, time and resources all align, our creative juices flow and a new concept or product emerges. While we hope that this happens as a steady stream, realistically the routine tasks of producing existing lines, processing orders and staying on top of all the other daily mundane tasks of running a craft business can squeeze our natural creativity to a slow trickle. In order to nurture it we need to both be aware of its source and give ourselves space to allow it to flourish. Broadly speaking, we can categorise these as inspiration and time. Below are ten tips which can help you to look after your creativity.

• We still start at the beginning…how we approach our day makes a difference as to how we deal with the challenges we face throughout it. Mornings can be a busy whirl of juggling for many, but it is well worth getting up a few minutes earlier than the rest of the household and so allowing yourself a time of quiet before the rush begins. This is a time to lay down any of the anxieties about the day ahead and to fill your own reserves. For some this might be going for a run or workout and for others a quiet cup of tea with an inspirational reading and time of reflection. This is the time to tap into the source of our creativity for the day ahead. For those with a faith, it is time to pray and read your holy book, others may find contemplation and poetry a source of inspiration.

• Nurture your own soul. In the same way that a teacup needs to be refilled so it can offer us that refreshing cup of tea, so our souls need to be filled and nurtured in order to keep giving out. If we are going to produce beautiful products we need to put ourselves in the place of beauty. This will mean different things for each of us, but some suggestions are; visit an art gallery or a craft exhibition, read books which stimulate your mind, try out a new recipe and enjoy it with friends, go to a concert or listen to a variety of good music at home. Find out what inspires you and do a little more of it.

• Spend time gaining ideas and inspiration from other crafters. You will probably have discovered the wonderful world of craft fairs and if so will know what a great source of inspiration and connection they can be. If you are selling at one, do remember to ensure you have your handmade craft insurance in place. However, visiting fairs occasionally not as an exhibitor but just to browse, can be a great springboard for new ideas of your own.

• Nature itself is a great source of inspiration. Spend time looking closely at a flower, a leaf or a small bug. Despite their size, they are intricately designed; many engineering solutions are based around design found in the natural world.

• Take time to walk; whether this is in a park in the middle of a busy city, or a ramble in the countryside, the combination of walking and being in a green space is good on so many levels.  Look up at the sky, watch the clouds, breathe deeply and then slow down. The combination of green and blue are so restful for the eyes. (Imagine if the sky were purple and grass was red!). Allow the beauty and amazing design of our natural world to seep into your spirit.

• Many people find journaling a helpful way of processing thoughts, concerns and ideas. There are a plethora of blogs written with suggestions on how to journal, so we will not go into detail here. Suffice to say, using bullet points to jot down things you are anxious about can be helpful. Once down on paper, it may be easier to find solutions for some of them. For example, peace of mind about your business footing can be gained by ensuring you have handmade craft insurance in place. Once you have expressed the concerns topmost in your mind, you are then free to allow your thoughts to ramble as you express ideas, concepts and daily happenings. Out of this, creativity flows!

• Ring fence time to experiment with new ideas, lines and techniques. This comes back to your  basic admin. Ensure that the foundations of your business are secure, including having    handmade craft insurance in place, setting time for processing orders, communicating with customers and marketing your product. This will then free you up to have specific time to experiment and work on new ideas.

• It may sound strange, but boredom is actually good, or even essential for creativity to flow. In our super charged world, where we are not only permanently busy but also have a steady flow of information coming thorough our ears, we have to resolve to have times of quiet. If you commute to a place of work, or as you go to the shops, try travelling without the radio, podcast or music. As you spend time doing daily chores, be mindful of sometimes doing them in silence. Our brains need space in order to create and we need to allow them to have this.

• We are all completely unique individuals and so will all be inspired and restored in different ways. For some, time alone curled up with a book and a cup of tea is life giving, for others vigorous exercise will leave them feeling fresh and ready to take on the world, for yet others a cup of coffee and chat with friends or a night out leaves them buzzing with ideas. Work out what tops you up and so puts you in a good place to be creative.

• Finally, we come to rest. We are not designed to work flat out seven days a week, and   something will give eventually if we do. Make rest and fun part of your weekly rhythm. This will pay dividends as you feel refreshed and your creativity flourishes.

Maybe pick a couple of these suggestions and start to put them into practice. And remember, our creativity flourishes when we aren’t carrying excess anxiety. So, if you’ve not done it yet, give us a call and put your hand made craft insurance in place. Then, go and get creating!