Careers Around Craft

If you love the world of arts and crafts but don’t see a future for yourself as a crafter, there are plenty of opportunities to work in and around the craft industry. Although a primary career in the craft industry would be working as a producer of items, there are lots of options for working alongside talented crafters to provide them with the services that they need to be successful. Most crafters want to be spending their time crafting their products and, in some cases, they won’t have the necessary skills to be able to look for where to sell ‘homemade crafts uk’, or to market their products. There may also be elements of finishing off their products that they don’t have the time or the skills to complete. Here are just some of the careers around crafts that you could look into.

Photography

All product-based businesses need to have high-quality images of their products. These will help to encourage people to buy items on the business or other e-commerce websites as well as provide content that can be shared on social media channels. Product photography can differ from portrait or landscape photography and so it is important that if you look to move into this line of work you create a portfolio of items that you have photographed so you can share this with potential clients. Whilst you won’t necessarily need a private studio to be able to take product photographs, you will need access to lighting, light boxes and potentially some props that can be used alongside the products. It is also important that you can take the photos and edit them in graphics software to make them as commercially viable as possible.

Framing

This is an example of a finishing product. When artists produce landscape or portrait paintings or photographers make prints of their photos, they may need to be placed in frames ready to be sold. This is a job that can take time and it is often best passed onto someone else. There will be a need to research what types of frames are currently most popular as well as look for those frames that are most cost-effective to buy. When you have decided where to sell homemade crafts UK-wide, you can decide whether you are going to offer framing as standard for all your pictures and prints or whether you are going to offer it as an additional service. Working as a framer can be incredibly rewarding as you help to add the final touches to items before they are delivered or picked up by the customer.

Marketing

All businesses need to market themselves as this is how the products and services that are on offer become visible to potential customers. This is especially true for items that are made as a part of the craft industry. Working as a marketing specialist within the craft sector allows you to find ways in which to increase the number of customers buying products. This could be by sharing pictures of the products on social media channels and creating content that makes them want to buy the items. It could also be creating campaigns for specific times of the year such as the run-up to Christmas or Easter. It is important to understand the business’s audience, their product and what makes it appealing, and also to find where to sell homemade crafts uk-wide that will give the business entry into new markets.

Sales support

When crafters are busy creating their items or attending fetes and fayres, they often won’t have the time to deal with any sales enquiries that come in. This is where those people with sales support skills can help. This might mean working in an administrative capacity and answering any emails that come in and responding to enquiries based on current or potential sales. Other sales support jobs might include picking and packing items ready for delivery. This can include selecting the items that have been requested, packaging them up using the packaging materials most appropriate for the items, and adding in any personal brand touches. Printing shipping labels will also be necessary, before sending the items out for delivery.

Website

Having a fully functioning website that makes it easy for customers to buy items is extremely important. This could be a stand-alone website built using a platform such as WordPress, or it could be a site built on Shopify or a presence on Etsy. The type of site that is used will depend very much on the type of business, the products being created and sold and the size of the business. It is important to get support from a professional who can help you manage your site. This might mean updating your product listings, dealing with any enquires that come in via the website and adding in new products. The imagery that you use on your website will be incredibly important.

There are lots of other jobs that are related to the craft industry such as delivery couriers, event staff who can help you sell your items at fayres and also admin support jobs that might help you manage your enquiries and respond to any social media messages or comments that you receive.

The type of job that you choose to work in will depend on your skills and passions and the type of job that crafters need support with will also depend on what their skills are and how much time they have available to be working on all other aspects of their business. By working with others on areas that they are not confident in, crafters can free up their time to do what they love and also help to increase sales and then ultimately the profits of their businesses.