Plenty of you know I think wholesaling your handmade work is a great way to expand your business. I’ve even developed products specifically to help others get started with wholesale right away.

This is not a new story to me but I wanted to share it with anyone who may have missed the incredible success of a little known designer who wholesaled her work, got it picked up in a movie and became an overnight selling sensation.

Angie Bowlds, a 27 year old seamstress from Seattle, had wholesaled some of her company’s bag designs to a local boutique called Velouria. Fast forward and her bag is then purchased and used throughout the movie Twilight as Bella’s bag.

Angie capitalized on the exciting press by adding it to Etsy and marketing it as “The Bella Bag“. She literally became an overnight sensation and is still receiving daily orders (with close to a month wait) for the bag.

You can read more about the amazing story here.

From reading through various articles on this case study, I realize there were several interesting things that happened to get her to this place.

1 – She wholesaled her work to a trendy boutique
–> the key here is she took the wholesale chance AND got in a store that movie prop people and celebrities visit
2 – The bag was featured in the Twilight movie
3 – She marketed the tote as “The Bella Bag”
–> if she had not done anything about the press, noone would have known) and put it on Etsy
4 - She received a blog mention and word spreads
–> a blog reported the Bella Bag and from there, the news posted on a Twilight fan site
5 – She becomes an overnight selling sensation

So a combination of guts, luck, marketing and social media helped make her press opportunity golden.

What do you think of this amazing success story?

A long time ago, back when I was a few weeks into my Wholesale Journey, I started a thread on Etsy that became quite popular. People loved how easy I made wholesaling sound and even Etsy highlighted it in their “Success Newsletter”.

Then not long ago, this really awful seller decided to start trouble within the thread and alleged a lot of things. A few were true:

- I had a few other Etsy accounts that I never ‘deactivated’. I had no idea that was against the rules but I happily closed them down (one was when I use to sell handmade cards, the other when I sold scrapbooking supplies).

- I went against the rules and promoted a contest in the Business Topics section. At the time I really thought that since the giveaway included all prizes to improve an Etsy shop (banners, accounting spreadsheets etc) it would be relevant but I knew better and shouldn’t have done it.

- I had my shop in vacation mode but directed it to another site (my blog). Apparently that’s also against the rules but because Etsy doesn’t allow you to deactivate your seller account (and just keep a buyer account/profile) I had to stay on vacation otherwise I might get a sale (ha!).

The many other things she said were a cross between ridiculous and outrageous. One thing that completely pissed me off was when she said she never believed I actually got my work into stores and thought I just said this so I could get blog followers. Maybe this troll needs a timeline check:

End of April 2009 – Started selling handmade jewelry on Etsy

June 2009 – Started canvassing for wholesale accounts and got 5 orders in 3 weeks

End of June 2009 – Wrote the Wholesale Thread in question

September 2009 – Took a break from Etsy so I could try my hand at just wholesaling

November 2009 – Started my first blog (the former Etsy Business Blog)

January 2010 – Stopped wholesaling officially

So that would have been a seriously diabolical plan right!? HAHA

The FUNNY part is that she actually broke the very rules she supposedly was trying to uphold. Now I promised not to look at that thread again because it’s easy to feel discouraged by negative comments. But yesterday for some strange reason I decided to stop in and saw more nasty things (including new ones from that awful lady).

But one comment was a mix between snarky and nice. So I wanted to take some time to address the straight shooter’s questions and also give you more insight into why I changed my business model.

acageybee says:

So I’m guessing it’s more profitable to be a consultant & sell line sheets, e-books etc. on wholesaling than to actually make & sell jewelry?

Not more profitable if you factor in my time. With wholesaling, it was sending off my line sheet, waiting to hear from people, getting an order, filling it and getting paid. With consulting and products based around teaching, there is LOT more involved. For one, most of my work week revolves around stuff I don’t get paid for like:

- The Handmade ACTION Newsletter which is delivered to over 1100 subscribers. I have to prepare an action tip twice a week with a corresponding blog post taking the tips deeper.

- I write for a handful of blogs/websites where I help other artists get exposure or showcase handmade fashion finds. This is both strategic and personal. I get exposure but I also help people which feels damn good. Today my friend Grace got a boat load of exposure thanks to an article I pitched t0 Etsy so it’s things like this that really excite me.

- Networking. There is a LOT of networking which I actually thoroughly enjoy.

That being said, I did see an opportunity to give others the tools they needed to get their stuff into stores. I always say “Wholesale isn’t for everyone” because it wasn’t for me. There was a lot of factors, for one, I realized that I didn’t want to make jewelry forever. It was sad actually because I was so SURE you know. I am 24 so I think that my age and background allows me to try new things. One thing has ALWAYS been the same and that’s that I want to stay involved with the handmade community because that’s my passion. Another big issue with wholesaling that I hated had to do with my products. I will be detailing this in another LONG winded post.

Not hating at all! It’s still super helpful information & you obviously have to do what’s best for you & your family, but I’d love to hear a current perspective.

Did you get a lot of wholesale accounts & then realize that making so many pieces as an assembly line wasn’t very fulfilling? I’ve heard other people say that they used to do wholesale & eventually decided it wasn’t for them for exactly that reason.

That was definitely part of it! I outline a few things to consider before wholesaling here but my take is:

- JUST wholesaling isn’t a great plan unless you want to eventually hire workers to create most of your line for you. Looking back, I could have done this because it would have given me more time to stay on top of ordering supplies and landing more accounts. I also was juggling this while staying home full time with my toddler so that added chaos.

- The pieces I created weren’t time consuming. I could fill a 300 piece order in under 2 hours but it was definitely tedious. If you truly LOVE creating for a living, you will probably be okay with the ‘assembly line’ process at first, but again you may have to start thinking about outsourcing part of that later. I realized jewelry making was more of a hobby.

- I like varied types of work. I have found great success in all my latest endeavors but the exciting thing was being able to keep my workload different every day. This helps me enjoy what I do because I get bored easily. I don’t think it’s a flaw but some would see it as “flaky”.  Thankfully being flaky has allowed much fulfillment in my life and I am excited about all the new things that will come my way in time.

Do you still sell jewelry? The business blog & consulting must take up a lot of time. Is that the direction you plan to go full time?

I can see how emailing a PDF would be a better business model. Takes time to write up the initial info, but then you can sell it over & over again. And no post office trips!

Thanks for all the info & best of luck in whatever path you choose!

The post office was indeed the least favorite part of my day! I took my last wholesale order in December 2009 but actually got two emails from retailers interested in picking up my line for this Spring. I just don’t have the urge to do it anymore and yes everything involved with the blog, newsletter and consulting is time consuming.

As for my PDF reports, they are custom to each seller so I cannot sell them again and again (wouldn’t that be lovely!). They require individual research because some days I’m working with a jewelry company in Canada and another day it’s a card company in Dallas. I will be launching new products over time to allow more passive income but I really enjoy researching different markets because it helps me keep up to date on the retail market. A healthy challenge!

Thanks for allowing me to write this post, it’s been a long time coming

Bead pics courtesy of (Dimora) on Flick’r

Should you wholesale your work (and do you really want to!)?

I landed 5 wholesale accounts in under a month of trying without a sales rep, fancy trade show or help of an expert. That being said, there are a few things you should ask yourself.

1- Do you really want to craft full time?

If you find certain parts of crafting tedious or not something your body could handle in the long run, you might be better off doing this as a hobby. With wholesale, you will be making items furiously and for longer hours so if you truly don’t love it, don’t wholesale.

2- Can you afford buying supplies in bulk?

When you sell online it’s easy to order supplies in small batches to make a few specific products but when you wholesale, you will need to have enough supplies on hand to make an army of items. Chances are high you get most of your supplies from online sellers so you will have to spend a decent amount ahead of time to ensure you have all materials and components needed for your entire collection. I always tried to have enough supplies in stock to make four of every item in my collection.

3 – Are you ready to feel stressed?

Wholesaling is completely different than selling to a single customer. What you do can make or break your business. Take it from someone who has screwed  up almost as much as I got things right, you will feel stressed, scared and you may even cry. It’s normal and guess what, the good WILL outweigh the bad on your road to wholesale success.

4 – Are you willing to raise your prices?

I was lucky enough to be allowed a 30% discount for my first wholesale order but this is NOT the norm. If you want to wholesale beyond a few accounts, you will need to raise prices enough to offer 50% off your prices. You have two options, make a new collection to wholesale where you can offer the half off discount OR raise the prices on your current items (the latter being much easier).

Don’t get me wrong, I want you to wholesale but just remember it’s a long term commitment so  just make sure you are willing to do what it takes!

I recently wrote a guest post for the fantastic website The Mogul Mom on wholesaling for a busy mama. It’s my spin there are some great tips for juggling your craft business’s expansion when caring for little ones.

5 Steps To Wholesaling Your Craft:

1.  Be prepared to succeed

If you go into wholesaling with the mentality that you may fail, you will fail. In one month I landed 5 retail accounts because:

• I was proud of my jewelry
• I was determined to see my work in stores
• I needed more income in order to continue my reign as work at home mom extraordinaire.

Read the rest of the article here….

When a crafter starts a new business, they often find pricing products to be a daunting task. Add wholesale issues into the mix and things will get even dicier. The issue is that most artists undervalue their work and even look to other online sellers to set the standard. Sure, you compete better when you have the same prices as peers but your ability to grow offline will be harder.

Here’s a few ways to determine your product prices for wholesale (or even just in general!):

• Asking for help on the Etsy Forums

Etsians are very helpful with this sensitive subject. Many sellers will encourage you to raise prices because it helps everyone as a whole.

• Working with a Jewelry Calculator.

Don’t be alarmed by the seemingly high prices this thing spews out. After a few months doing wholesale I realized this was very accurate and I even went above what it said at times! Be sure to add ALL your costs otherwise your results will be way off.

• Check your LOCAL competitors

Forget your online competitors and make a trip to a store you want to see your items in. Check out the retail prices of your competitors there because this will give you a very good idea of what your items should be sold for. Be sure to avoid looking at prices of mass produced merchandise like that of H&M because it can be discouraging and counter productive.

• Ask a competitor!

Many indie designers are very willing to give free advice on pricing your work. I spoke with two women (with very successful wholesale jewelry companies) and both were absolutely upfront and honest about how to price my collection.

A wholesale line sheet is a catalog of your product collection and normally includes pricing, descriptions and ordering codes.

I purchased my first line sheet template for $60 from My Magic Button. This was custom designed to match the colours and styles I already set up with business cards, shop banners and other related materials.

A template works well because you can change your line up at any time without having to spend another dime. You also can create both a wholesale and retail line sheet and use it for different audiences.

Here’s a larger photo of what Simone designed:

If you want to put together your own line sheet, be sure to purchase my Line Sheet Construction Kit in the shop.