hi, im a designer and sewer, i used to do upcyled clothing and then i changed to baby wear making dresses bibs, booties ect, but now three years on i want to go back to upcyling clothing and jewellery, but first i must let all my baby stuff be sold . its hard work, im trying selling it singly, job lots, bundles. i wish i had a magic want so it would all be sold as i am so excited in starting my new ventures lots of designs in my head waiting to burst out and be made!
does anybody else change the designing path they go down?
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All the time but not on Folksy,I do art and jewellery on here but you have to do other things,it could drive you nuts otherwise and I suspect this is why some suffer “crafters block”.
I have access to any number of old palletes and have made some nice garden furniture from them,people say it would sell but I like to do it for a break and besides I am not good with words like “bespoke” or “hand crafted from re-cycled timber” and in my heart of hearts still see it as a load of old tosh I made from palletes.
But yes I change my design theme a lot,some times work a bit of iron or stone other times maybe something from the junk pile.
I looked at your shop and nice stuff,why not carry on with them but add your new things?
Yep, I totally jejigged my crafts. I usually make a couple of things when I have a new idea, leaving me with no defined subject as to what a customer can come to me for, and I feel people like to know a maker for 1 or 2 things eg at a craft fair people flock to a jewellery stall because they want to look at lots of jewellery, rather than plough through a hundred unrelated items.
So I have rounded my ideas down to sewing and soldering.
Im currently trying to design fabric, but, do I design it to make things with myself, or sell the fabric for other people to make things!!?? If so, what designs would they want?! Heeelpp!!
I do a number of different things this means I have a nice variety of different things to offer a wider range of potential customers. What I sell most of is knitting and crochet items, buttons and hand small hand embroidery cards.
Those are my main seller’s however I do sell other things so I tend to have more of my main sellers in my shop and it’s nice when I get a customer who come’s for a knitted/crochet item and buys that but adds something else they’d not been looking for.
It also means I don’t get bored making the same things all the time. Also it’s good for my hands not to be knitting or crocheting for 6 hours a day and then suffering with my hands and wrist and pins and needles.
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I started off selling soap, then natural remedies, which paid for my first embroidery machine 
And that’s just the stuff I sell, I am forever trying new crafts and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon 
I do loads of different crafts, some I sell on Folksy, some I don’t. Although on here I have cards, pictures and sewn things, if I do a craft fair I only take cards and pictures as it’s easier to display on a stall and more cohesive. I tend to knit and crochet just for me as I’m still quite a beginner (especially in crochet) and I started out as a cross stitcher!
I started out doing lots of different crafts but then I discovered felting and now that is all I do (for folksy at any rate). I do however use the felt to make lots of different things so I don’t get bored of doing the same thing over and over. I did manage to sell most of my stock but still have a few bits left which will either go to the charity shop or tip when I move in a couple of months. I do also make other things for myself, I love knitting and crochet and working with different fabrics and other media.
I started out 11 years ago making fitted cloth nappies from vintage fabrics and then recycled wool nappy covers and cloth san pro. The recycling of vintage fabrics naturally led me to upcycling clothes and I used to sell these for adults and children, with the odd bit of mixed media and textile jewellery. Then I bought a microwave kiln and got hooked on glass. I got my proper glass kiln about 5 years ago and it’s now my main hobby, though I still do some textile art and dressmaking. I’ve just taken up crochet as a new play thing 
Now the academic year is coming to a close and I’m less busy I’m thinking of doing some more textile work.
Yes, when I first started out 4years ago I kids bracelets, then made toys. This was mostly just to raise funds for charity in memory of my sister (Big Bird to my Little Bird). Then I realised that wasn’t sustainable long term, and I also realised that toy making with all the Toy Safety laws cramped my creativity, so I switched to more artistic textile sculpture. I really enjoy what I do now, make sure I make enough to pay myself a small wage and reinvest in my business, and still manage to donate to charity too.