I work at a Renaissance Faire, and, as of last year, am also a crafter. One day I was going through some things from the attic at work, and found back issues of the Crafts Report, circa the late 1990s. I found articles even in years-old issues helpful, and thought, "Why not? Current issues would likely be helpful as well." The very first issue gave me a clue to finding some information (about season color popularity) that, as far as I am concerned, pays for the whole subscription. The ads--a portion of a magazine I normally avoid like the plague--are great, as they suggest other possible venues close to me, or offer ideas for sourcing materials. Other articles suggest ways of breaking into completely different venues, upscaling your offerings, how to determine what you need to charge to make a product cost effective, and so much more. Even if you are an established, successful crafter of long standing, I suspect this magazine will offer new insights and ideas.
If you are interested in small business as an entrepreneur this magazine is for you. I always learn something from each issue. This economy can be rough for the little guy trying to start and manage a business. Lots of tips to help you start or run a business. Resources and information on showing your works of art. Try it, it is well worth the money.
There is a lot of good information in this magazine.
Homemade Business magazine is full of interesting and valuable information for large or not so large craft business. Lots of valuable for growing any size handmade business no matter the stage you are in.
I find the articles informative and relevant to anyone in the Craft/Art world. I read it cover to cover and find out about crafts I am unfamiliar with as well as the ones I am very familiar with.
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Description
Handmade Business is the definitive print and digital resource for artists and entrepreneurs. It provides new resources, industry news, and valuable business advice to help artists build their businesses. It also provides various advertising opportunities for wholesale vendors to reach new buyers.
I really like the useful articles for small business savvy! For every craft medium, it has volumes of common sense and strategic business mentoring.
The Craft Review has a cover tag that claims it is the business resource for artists and retailers. While I am not sure that it lives up to the tag line, I believe that it is a strong startup resource for a crafter expanding their business.
The magazine is published monthly by Jones Publishing Inc. Oddly enough, the most helpful section for me turned out to the the questions and answer column, since the questions asked were questions I had concerns about. The subjects addressed how to sell in a booth, what to wear, when to approach a customer, trusting other people to man your booth, etc.
In the March 2008 issue columns included Co-Op Advertising, Applying to Craft Shows, and Developing Business Goals. Most of the columns were informative and interesting to read, with photos and graphics interesting enough to hold an artists' eye.
The magazine assumes that you know your craft and are interested in learning about the business end of it. I think anyone trying to expand their sales further than their hometown could learn a few things from this publication.