Made on the Left KickstART Markets workshop

Join Made on the Left for a workshop and networking session as a part of the KickstART Festival! With the KickstART Markets fast approaching, the Made on the Left team will be discussing everything you need to know about selling at markets, with heaps of handy tips about developing your creative business, including;

- Pricing your products/services
- Stall aesthetics
- Tips and advice for selling at markets
- Approaching shops for wholesale

- Coming up with your business name

- Branding and packaging for handmade products;
- and much more.

You'll also have the opportunity to ask questions and network with other independent artists and small business owners.

Past stallholders at the KickstART Markets have found this workshop incredibly beneficial and useful to their business and art practice. We strongly encourage everyone who is in the early stages of building their creative business or practice to come along. Entry is free.

When: Thursday, March 13 from 6.00pm - 8.30pm

Where: Venue in central Northbridge TBA
Register through the Propel website: http://www.propel.org.au/events/1356

Presented by Propel Youth Arts WA in celebration of National Youth Week, the KickstART Festival is a massive series of events designed to spark your creativity. The KickstART Festival will be serving up an assortment of arts workshops, performances, discussion forums, live music, special events and activities from 5 - 26th April, 2014. 

Guest post: 10 Qualities That Attract Wholesale Buyers

You’ve spent years perfecting your products, they sell well at markets and you’ve built up a loyal following. But how do you know if you’re ready to start selling wholesale? 

Getting shops to take you seriously as a potential wholesaler can be an uphill battle. What do they want? What are buyers looking for but they never tell you about? Below are 10 qualities that you as a business possess which will separate your products from all the competition and show buyers that you are a brand worth taking seriously.

1. You Make Products That Will Sell In Stores: 
Seems just a little bit obvious but sometimes what sells well in a market or online will not sell well in a retail shop. Personalised items or products that do not display well (made to fit clothing or un-stretched canvases) will probably be rejected by a wholesale buyer because they won’t be able to display the products well enough to get a sale.

Before approaching a shop ensure that what you are selling is something they can display and sell on the spot.

2. You Look Like A Business – Not A ‘Hobby’: 
Shops will be less likely to take you seriously if they think this is just a phase you’re going through. Always give shops every impression that you are a business; return emails and phone calls promptly, have answers to questions they might ask you at the ready, know what kind of delivery time you’ll need, have your wholesale policies in place and stay friendly and approachable but refrain from talking about personal subjects until your relationship reaches that level.

3. Your Branding Is Cohesive: 

Make sure everything about your brand tells the same story of who you are. This includes logo, packaging, website design, business cards, brochures and more. Try this exercise to see if you have cohesive branding: grab one of everything you have that relates to you business that wholesale buyers and customers will see. Spread it all out in front of you and take a good look. What does your brand say? Does everything flow together and look like it all belongs to each other? If not, revise the aspects that do not work and redesign them so they do.

Ella & Lily Photo by Brian Hadwin

4. You Have A Unique Selling Position: 

What is it that you do that sets you apart from everyone else? Do you:

• Create eco friendly products? 
• Use materials that are locally sourced? 
• Use special/unique packaging? 
• Donate to charity with profits? 

Try and refrain from simply stating “my unique selling point is that each item is handmade”. In a world full of handmade products for sale that isn’t a unique selling point. Instead find one aspect that you do that other artists aren’t doing. For example: “My cupcakes are made using only locally sourced ingredients”, “I donate one item I make to a local charity for every dozen I sell” or “My bath salts, including the packaging are 100% biodegradable”

5. Your Products Can Be Consistently Produced: 
From now on when selling to shops you need to be able to ensure that every item is the same as the last so wholesale buyers never get a shock when opening up your latest order. In some occasions you won’t be able to make identical items, necklaces featuring wood found on the beach will never be identical but customers should easily be able to tell the difference between the large wooden necklace and the small wooden necklace. Features such as clasps and wire/chain should always be consistently reproduced.

6. You Have Thought About How Your Items Will Be Displayed: 
You’ve thought long and hard about how each of your items will be displayed and worked on making changes so shops can get the best bang for their buck. Can your products be stacked on top of each other or can you use different packaging so they take up less space? Is everything eye-catching as a display? Do you need to display information with your products and is that noticeable as well?

Don’t be afraid to go back and rethink your packaging if it isn’t working for you.

Fluid Ink Letterpress

7. You Have Amazing Photos You Can Give Shops: 
Always have a collection of images you can give a shop in the chance they request one. Shops will sometimes request images so they can put them on social media, send with a press release or add to their website.

You will need at least one image per product with a plain white background and one image per product which includes props and/or people. Make sure they are crisp and clear, show special details, illustrate packaging and show who you are as a brand.

8. You Can Offer Your Products At A Price Which Allows The Shop To Add A Profitable Mark-Up: 

It may seem unfair that a shop gets to make as much if not more money than you and all they do is selling. But don’t forget the point that they are actually selling your products, without them you would have to sell the items yourself, a costly and time consuming undertaking. They also have many overheads that they need to pay in order to sell your items. If you cannot sell your products at a reasonable wholesale price then you’ll need to change some aspect of your production/costs in order to do so or forgo being able to sell your items at retail outlets.

9. You Can Deliver Your Wholesale Orders On Time: 
To do this you’ll need to perfect your manufacturing process, work consistently until the order is completed and ensure that no matter what else is happening in your professional/personal life you can fulfil the order.

10. You’re In This For The Long Haul: 
Realistically, most businesses take 2 – 3 years of wholesaling before they break even and much longer to turn a decent profit. This means you’ll spend years selling wholesale to shops before it becomes financially worthwhile for you. The personal benefits will kick in almost immediately but perseverance and hard work will get you through the long years. This is good news for retail outlets who will need to know that you will stick around and that the time and money they will invest in you will pay off for them long term.

Jacquie Hughes is a former committee member of Made on the Left. Find her here: delightsociety.com.au

Are you ready to wholesale?

Hi Everyone,

Some of you may be getting to the stage where you would like to wholesale your products to shops and stores. This can be very daunting if you're not a super-confident seller or are uncomfortable approaching stores. Agencies can hep with this, but sometimes they don't understand the handmade business ethos or approach. Lia has been working in our area for a while now, so we thought we'd give her a shout!

OUTSOURCE MARKETING

Outsource Marketing (OM) is a home based business, established in 2008 when owner, Lia Simmonds identified a need by “small scale” Australian craftspeople and designers to have their products marketed effectively to retailers through exclusive wholesale representation.

As a Wholesale Distributor OM sells their product ranges to over 80 retail outlets throughout Australia who are primarily homeware/gift stores, fashion boutiques, gallery shops and bookstores.

The current product range can be viewed online www.outsourcemarketing.com.au and includes stationery, greeting cards, handbags, t-shirts, cushions, tea towels, fashion accessories and art prints. We are always on the look out for new products to join us.

REPRESENTING

OM currently represents the following 6 Australian designers that can be viewed on our website:
Ali J- perth
The Near Future- sydney
Running with a Sandwich- perth
Formosa Design- canberra
Zilpah tart- canberra
Tex & Joe- perth

BENEFITS OF WHOLESALE REPRESENTATION

The main reason people choose a distributor is that selling your own products is hard work, time consuming and emotionally draining! It is often much healthier for yourself and your business to have a “middleman” or “middlewoman” in this case that deals easily with all of this for you. Some other reasons are:

• Frees up your time to create- no more running around selling to shops
• A secure & convenient online wholesale shop that promotes your products 24/7
• An agent to maintain, build and establish new retailer relationships
• Established existing network of WA retailers with expansion into the eastern states
• Centralised administration of all invoicing & delivery (no more running around chasing up
• monies from retailers)
• Fast upfront payment of orders
• Designers maintain creative control and direction over their business
• OM provides feedback from buyers to designers on their products’ saleability and success.

WHAT LIA LOOKS FOR IN NEW PRODUCTS/DESIGNERS

These are some of the main elements I am looking for when sourcing new products to represent:

• New products must complement existing products I represent
• Professional business branding & product packaging
• Products with a difference
• Designers that can offer a broad product range
• Competitive pricing
• Prefer to deal with designers who already selling their products at art/design markets

OM NEWSLETTER

I also distribute an email newsletter which is sent to my database of over 400 contacts. Advertisingspace is available for purchase within the OM newsletter for designers wanting to reach the retail buyers of stores from all over Australia.

If you feel that your business is ready to grow to the next level and you are looking for wholesale representation then please feel free to contact us!

Lia can be reached on
www.outsourcemarketing.com.au
lia@outsourcemarketing.com.au
Mobile: 0408 393 160

From handmade to wholesale

The Living Creatively website has a new article on how to take the step from selling directly to customers, to wholesaling to a retail outlet. There is particular reference to Etsy sellers that makes the advice in this article an interesting read:

http://www.livingcreatively.com.au/creative_business/in_business/handmade_to_wholesale

Heads up for wholesale site

Rhonda has contacted us to give Made on the Left a heads up about her brand new online showcase for designers.

Unique Boutiques is a place where new designers and wholesale suppliers can showcase their products directly to boutique owners around Australia. The website, which is currently under construction, will act as an online portal to help boutique owners get directly in contact with designers to make wholesale enquiries.

Unique Boutiques is already featuring selected designers from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and Rhonda is now looking for representatives of our vibrant left side scene to showcase their designs on the site.

While the site is getting up and running, free profiles are being offered to selected designers. Once a critical level of boutique owners have registered, subscription fees will apply but existing designers are under no obligation to sign up. Categories will include Children, Babies, Stationery, Adult Fashion, Spa & Beauty and Jewellery.

Check it out at http://www.uniqueboutiques.com.au/ - the Children’s section is currently the most finalised if you would like to view that as an example of what the rest of the site will look like when complete. You can get in contact with Rhonda through the website.

Disclaimer: by providing information Made on the Left does not endorse particular products or websites and users are encouraged to undertake their own research before signing up!