Disabled with a craft business idea what do u think?

Question

this idea will take me time to get the skills for becoming professional standard! just need some input from the out side world . OK i have Fibromyalgia and i cant work and i don't get an income I'm married and he works and takes care of me!
i have tried many crafts but have failed due to health making me be in so much pain So this is my last try at something i have come up with an idea of making homemade card that wasn't like the rest which has clay figures and so forth and you could have the clay figures with the same colour hair and clothes and style of who u want to give it to as a gift as the modelling will take alot of time to get good at
when i get good at modelling this would takes years!! i would want to start making Fimo key rings, earrings, brackets, Mobile charm small cake toppers not from Fimo though as that would cost us to much i would have to use my homemade clay IS IT WORTH IT? IS THERE A MARKET FOR IT? WOULD U BUY THEM?

Answer 1

I don't think there you will make any money at all from this type of product. The market is full of gift cards, mostly produced in China (where M & S buy theirs) for about 1p a throw. Look at all the gift card shops on the High Street - the big companies make millions from this kind of stuff. You cannot hope to compete with them.

Answer 2

If your not very arty regarding making fimo shapes you could always buy the moulds until you are skilled enough to design them yourself.
Also you can make earrings and key rings etc from shrink plastic....you would need to buy some rubber stamps, ink pads and some sort of paints to colour the images.....stamp the image, colour it in, cut it out and put it in the oven or you could use a heat gun.
Have alook at the do crafts site for ideas and they also have a forum to ask for advice or just chat about different crafts
www.docrafts.co.uk
Good luck.

Answer 3

I'm disabled and I do crafts.
I love your idea with the FIMO,
especially cake toppers,
you have no idea how hard
it is to find scuba divers for cake toppers.
You can check with your
council on the aging or
with the handicapped division
of your Leisure Arts for your city,
there may be a gift shop
that takes things on consignment.
I used to take my cards to the flea markets
and sell them I have so many clients now,
from my doing that.
Sometimes, I regret doing
it in the first place and recently,
I have added jewelry
to my line of crafts
that I make and sell.
So don't get discouraged.

Answer 4

Sounds like a good idea, why don't you make a few samples and send some to card shops to get there opinion about wether they would sell them or buy them off you, alot of people start off this way, start of with the small independant shops rather than the big names at first, you could also advertise on e-bay or put an advertisment in a craft mag, there are lots of web sites where people who are trying to start there own business advertise what they sell and swap tips with eachther etc.
Good luck.

Answer 5

Sorry about the pain you have to live with hun & kudos to you for not wanting to just sit around & be 'kept' by someone else.

I'm not sure if I'd buy your product or not without seeing it first, but you're clearly a fighter & fighters survive, so just don't give up with all your wonderful ideas that you have, I'm sure you'll hit the market one day - one way or another.

Just because there may not be a market for something right now, doesn't mean there won't be in the future.

Success to you honey, you deserve it.

Answer 6

Well done you for trying out something.
I don't know if you are able to use 'Publisher' on your computer, but I make cards using photographs and printing them on photo paper with separate inners with messages on. I only make them for people that I know - family and friends- but several times I have been asked if i could make one for someone special.
Good luck to you whatever you do!
p.s. remember that with the new regulations on postage, the thickness of the card when finished may not fit the new criteria if you have too big a clay figure on it.

Answer 7

You may want to check with your insurance company and see if you can get rehab services to build up some skills and how to adapt equipment and techniques to accommodate your disability. I think you are on the right track, but clay will be painful for your hands, and those are crafts that people enjoy doing, more than buying.

Polymer clay sends out fumes when you bake it, so you may want to try a few projects but have an escape plan if you need to get away from the fumes, to see if it will affect you. Most of us don't notice, but some people are poisoned by it.
.

Answer 8

My partner has been incapacitated out of work, she now makes handmade cards. The main selling point of her cards are they are 1 offs, there are no 2 the same. they are all works of art. those made to order are personalised. She wont become a millionaire selling them but it gives her a great deal of pleasure doing them and a sense of being to be able to earn some money
Avery labels have a range of blank labels to neatly put your name and address on the back so people know who to contact for further orders
Ask at your local shops and/or hairdressers to sell them on a sale or return, get a table at the school or church fair

Answer 9

to save money while you practice .
make salt dough to model with.
plain flour .1 cup
salt 1/3 of acup.
mix with hot water.
hot water strenghthens the dough
the finished item can be left to harden .
or put in a` low ` oven 2/3 gas for 20 minutes aprox
it can then be painted with any media you like.
hope this helps .
good luck.

Answer 10

There's lotsa variations in how people look, could u make them fast enough? if a card shop wants say 200 or 300, how about if u developed your skills at model making and offered them as specialist items on a one to one basis, i'm thinking about adds in the guitarist magazine offering to do one off models of the person with their guitar from a photo they send you? that would be interesting, also you have the drummers magazines and bass magazines, piano players mags, i would love a little model of me in a presentation pack with my drums and loads would love models of them with their fender guitars etc.