Book Review – How to Start a Craft Business by Sara Millis

With so many craft based books out there, we may have all the ideas accumulating in our heads, without knowing how to develop them or make them successful.

When I first saw this book, my initial thought was – really?  Can a book guide us through this risky terrain?

About the Author

  ‘Starting your own craft business is an extremely exciting time, if not a little scary. There is so much to think about, that sometimes we just don’t know where to start!

This book is aimed at helping you start your business the right way, using 30 simple to follow steps.

Sara comes from a creative product background where she turned her initial £100 investment into a six figure business in a niche area of the craft industry. Throughout this time she taught a lot of colleagues and customers different aspects of how she created her business, so it seemed only natural to package these tools up and put them out there into the world.

Creating your business foundations the right way the first time around allows you to enjoy everything a thriving craft business has to offer; creativity, joy and of course profit.’

The books claims

The Reality

This book is a biblical tool for all those who are striving to create a career in craft, but are unsure how to start.

One highlight is the constant positivity which exudes from her writing; she makes us believe that it is possible, which is probably half of the battle.

Inside the Cover

This book has a limited number of images, it is the text which holds key.  To the “picture happy” casual observer, this may seem like a down point; however for those who really want to create a successful craft, it is the text which will seem like gold dust.

Table of Contents

This is very detailed, but covers everything from how to cope with selling your work, to HMRC registration and even how to photograph work.

As a “crafter” you may find it easy to make and create, but as soon as tax or photography are mentioned…suddenly the bright lights of the creative career may be dampened.  Personally I find that this book scoops you up and leads you by the hand through all the “hard bits”.  So if you want to start a business, the only thing asked of you is to read.

Diagrams

I previously mentioned that there are not too many bright colourful images, yet there are plenty of diagrams to explain and illustrate certain sections.

Is this book worth buying?

In my opinion, if you truly are serious about starting a craft business, this is an invaluable tool to have and look at again and again.  Due to the easy to understand contents sheet, you just have to glance before finding the page you require.

As the author herself admits on page 9, she is a ‘workaholic’ – maybe we ourselves need to channel some of her dedication into ourselves.

The author has been rather generous to our readers and given access to samples of the book here.

Excited to get it?  Buy it here!

Oh, and don’t forget to keep viewing Sarah’s blog, it’s worth going back and back to.

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Ailish Henderson

Editor in Chief at Mr X Stitch

As a freelance artist, designer, lecturer and tutor (how do I narrow down that description?!)I have been contracted by numerous arts organizations to provide Talks, Workshops’ and Masterclasses’ in Textiles, Print Making and Fine Art subjects.  These include branches of the Embroiderers’ Guild, Textile Study Groups and The Women’s Institute.  Every year I teach at The Knitting and Stitching shows and exhibit with the Artist in Action stand.Currently I am building up to my exhibition at The Spring Knitting and Stitching Show at Olympia, London this spring; having also written articles or had work illustrated in Stitch, Inspired, Embroidery, Selvedge, Daphne’s Diary, Prima (online), Cloth Paper Scissors and the Batsford book ‘Be Creative with Textile Art.'

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