Becoming a Merchant Artisan
William Morris
must have been one of the genuine Renaissance people. During his lifetime,
this English poet, artist, craftsman, designer, social reformer, entrepreneur
and printer created an enormous body of work. Many of his wallpaper and
fabric designs are still produced today, although is work spanned the
last half of the 19th century.
So compelled
was Morris to create that he often invited other creative types (including
many of the artists who came to be known collectively as the Pre-Raphaelites)
to his country place, Red House, for weekends devoted to making things.
His guests were simply invited to work on any project that caught their
fancy. His devotion to artistic creation and handmade objects was also
a response to the Industrial Revolution that was sweeping Victorian England.
Morris proactively encouraged others to create objects of beauty and value.
Such devotion was backed up with great marketing skills, and Morris &
Company turned out exquisite carvings, stained glass, tapestries, chintzes
and furniture.
The spirit
of William Morris remains alive and well today as more and more of us
discover the pleasure of surrounding ourselves with the work of artisans.
Items plain and fancy, produced in small amounts, are finding eager new
markets.
In The
Ice Palace That Melted Away, Bill Stumpf writes about exploring the
Isle of Skye, where he and his wife came across a sign in front of a house
that read, "Woolen Socks for Sale." They knocked on the door
of the house and were welcomed by a friendly couple who fed them tea and
scones and told them about their business. The husband was a retired Army
officer and the wife a part-time artist. They had decided early on that
they didn't want to fade into oblivion upon retirement. Eventually, they
chose knitting as a business though they were untrained in the craft and
technology. "They sold socks in local towns but worked no more than
four hours a day and no more than three days a week. In addition, they
raised raspberries and Australian shepherds," Stumpf recalls.
After finishing
their tea, the couple invited the Stumpfs into their workroom, where their
knitting and sewing machines stood alongside their inventory of socks.
The author was charmed by the quality of the socks and, also, the quiet
way in which this business was run. "In an aging and modest little
English car," he writes, "they delivered their weekly inventories,
which sometimes reach two hundred pairs. They told how much they enjoyed
working with and befriending the local merchants and customers. As Sharon
and I left, we talked about what we sensed as a vital way for people to
live in retirement. We admired their gusto, their comfort in a reasonable
level of prosperity, their real involvement in the community and local
economy. We were so impressed that we set about planning a similarly civilized
way of retirement for ourselves back home."
Trendspotters
agree that the market for unique and customized items is resurging as
more and more of us are learning to cherish the work of human hands. Not
all artisans are taking advantage of the opportunities, however. Several
years ago, I met a man who was a masterful carpenter who loved restoring
old houses, flawlessly repairing woodwork and cabinetry. At that time,
he had abandoned his craft, believing that no market existed for his services.
He had accepted the myth of the starving artist.
Happily, that
myth is becoming outmoded as home workshops and studios are popping up
all over the place with artisans carving out their own merchandising niche,
proving that old-fashioned craftmanship can be profitable. If you want
to put your arts or crafts skills to work for you, don't make the mistake
of thinking that you're in the business of marketing to everyone. Specialized
products will attract a specialized clientele who appreciate and value
such craftsmanship. Once you are convinced that you do, indeed, have something
to offer the world, you're on your way to creating a profit center that
is as unique as you are.
Rena Hedeman
is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. When she was pregnant
with her first child, she began looking for nursery furniture that was
more interesting than the usual offerings. What she discovered was that
nursery furniture seemed to fall into two catagories: boring or outrageously
expensive. After she painted things for her baby's room, she began thinking
that there must be other parents exactly like her who wanted modestly
priced, attractive children's things. So her business, Little Kingdoms,
was born to fill that niche.
Not all merchant
artisans do everything from scratch. Some, like Rachel Ashwell, specialize
in rescue and repair. Growing up in London, Ashwell spent her early years
tagging along to flea markets with her parents. Her mother restored and
sold antique dolls and teddy bears; her father dealt in secondhand books.
Today, Ashwell owns the trendy Shabby Chic home furnishings store in Santa
Monica, California, and fills her shop with treasures she acquires from
flea markets, antique shops and anywhere else that catches her fancy.
Her unique approach to decorating with charming objects has spawned a
lively business and two popular Shabby Chic books.
There's plenty
of evidence that as mass production continues to fill malls and mail order
catalogs, those who create and market one-of-a-kind or limited edition
products lovingly made will find an eager and appreciative clientele.
It isn't only handmade clothing and decorative household items that will
find a welcome market: skillful woodworkers and plasterers and other preservationists
are finding their special talents in demand by those who long to salvage
buildings from the past.
There's no
doubt about it — there's a renaissance going on that is bringing
a new appreciation and prosperity to those who use old-fashioned skill
and patience to create wonderful things. If you have such a talent, take
a look at how you might put it to work in a fresh way. Your next profit
center may be as close as your hands.
There's
more where this came from.
Order Winning Ways now!
|
