A class and this and that.
I taught a Nunofelt Scarf class a couple of weekends ago. I had a fun group of ladies who were really interested in learning this technique.
Here are a couple of pictures of the setup with the ladies working on thier layout. They used hand-dyed silk blanks and Merino wool. Then there were lots of extras for them to add, lots more merino in many colours, handspun yarn, speciality wools and several types of silk, silk top, silk hankies and silk throwsters’ waist. A few brought some of thier own alpaca too.
and the scarves they were working on.
And then we were too busy enjoying the felting for me to remember to take more pictures. Well, I thought I took more pictures, but I guess I didn’t do it properly.
I had two ladies who had to leave early as they had a long drive. They worked diligently to be done before they had to leave. They did a great job, and I hope to see them again.
Here are the other 6 ladies and thier finished scarves. I am pretty sure they had a good time.
After that fun I had to get to work myself. I had to resupply The Log Farm store. They sold the last of everything during Sugar Bush. I have been busy making Dryer Balls and Felted Soap
Next are some drop spindle kits.
All 3 of these are fairly easy to put together and sell well at a relatively low price point. What do you make and sell in this price category? I have been thinking that cards with pictures of my felt might be a good idea.
18 thoughts on “A class and this and that.”
Another successful class! Everyone happy with their creations. The scarf, of the lady in the orange striped jumper, is intriguing – it’s like a painting.
You’ve worked hard to make all those dryer balls and colourful felted soaps and you still have the drop spindle kits to assemble, but that’s not such hard physical work so you’re nearly there!
With regard to low price point – we had a stall at a small craft fair last summer and the cards we made sold out very quickly – wish we’d made more. To keep making costs down we used our scraps of felt and material to make the card front and left the insides blank ‘for your own message’. We invested in cellophane sleeves for them because they made the cards look ‘professional’ and kept them clean.
Thank you. her piece was very painterly, the colours were delicate, I really liked it too.
isn’t it funny how a plastic sleeve elevates a product. It’s why I put my bag charms on card and in cellophane, it keeps them clean and organized and it upscale them.
Cards are something I am definitely thinking off.
Lots of smiles so it was obviously a fun class and it’s nice to see everyone made something both lovely and different.
I make and sell a lot of cards with photos of previous work. I definitely recommend them. It’s a good idea to offer a discount on three as a lot of people then buy three rather than one.
Felt cards as mentioned by Lyn (RosiePink) are a great idea and a good use of scraps & offcuts. I specifically make felt for cards as well. You can make the felt in sheets then cut it into strips which keeps the cost down. I find people are willing to spend on individual hand-made cards for a special person or occasion. Key rings and coasters can also be fairly low price if you create a design that can be made quickly enough. It’s a while since I’ve made any – I should think about that!
Photograph card are what I was mostly thinking of.Do you attach a photo to a card or print right onto the card? printing onto card is what I was mostly thinking of, but felt cards might be good too. I will have to ask some artist friends where they get theirs printed.
It looks like a fun class Ann, with a group of fun ladies. Each scarf is so unique.
I can’t sell many felted soaps for the life of me! I put a lot of work into them with needle felted designs on them and charge $10. I get a lot of “what do you do with them, especially when the soap is gone”? Can I ask if you think I am over charging for them?
I like the idea of cards. I might have to give that a try next time.
Hello Donna – to help sell soaps an information board helps. Keep it simple, easy to read and just cover the advantages such as:
easier for people with arthritis and children who find soap too ‘slippy’
felted soap will last much longer
it gently exfoliates
the remaining felt can be used as a scrubby
and it looks pretty!
Thank you. I think your price point is a little low. I know its counterintuitive but if your felting a picture on too then the price should be higher. sometimes hight price meant more valuble to people. You see mine are simple. A spiral strip or a little piece of silk hanky wrapped around. Maybe felt a few simple ones to have at $10 ( thats about what I sell mine for)and pup the price onthe others to $15 and see how it goes. I have a sign with my display. and a tag tied onto each soap. I can send you a picture of what they look like displayed. The other think I tell people is that the left over shrunken felt makes a great cat toy.
Yes Ann another fun class where your ladies obviously enjoyed making their lovely scarves. I think that the orange striped lady’s scarf is the best, I thought that at the early laying out stage and I loved the finished result, a bit more conservative than the others, (but then that’s me 😔!)
I think cards are a great idea for items that people might snap up, especially if they are cash strapped. Just random pieces of felt would be good so that they could be used for any event. I once made some from odd bits of tatting that I had kicking around and they went well, Lindsay’s suggestion of 3 at a discounted price is a good one – one that I should have thought of when I was selling.
Keep up the good work.
Ann
Printed cards with photos of some of your more intricate works would probably sell too, especially landscapes. You would probably find that cards printed “professionally” work out more cheaply than you could do them at home, taking into account the cost of card, ink, electricity and wear and tear on your printer. I think that there are on-line sites where you can sort of do it yourself, uploading your photographs, picking the size, weight of card and any wording etc., where you’d have the best of both words. I’m sure Mr Google could find them for you.
Good luck
Ann
Drat my reply disappeared. I really liked her scarf too, subtle and painterly. Cards seem to be one everyone agrees are a good seller. I have a few artist friends that sell print cards so I will have to ask them where they get them done.
Another succesful class and happy students.
I agree with Ann B. about the professional printing. Find a site that allows lower minimum of cards to be printed. That way you can test your market.
I sell smaller framed pieces and cards as lower end items. I’m trying to decide if I want to do any “production” type items but I hate making the same things over and over. No more cat toys for me!
Thanks. I guess the consensus is I should start thinking more about finding a printer. I will need to take lots of good pictures.
Production felting is boring. I had an audio book on while I wrapped all the soaps and then watched some shows while felting them.
Sometimes scanning works better than taking a photo. Do you have a scanner? Or if it’s a local printer, they might be able to scan a piece before printing.
Thanks for the advice Lyn &/or Annie. I think I will try the soaps again with a brief description as you suggested.
Ann. I definitely was putting too much work into them for the price I was charging which is why I stopped making them. I was thinking too many people are using liquid soap these days.
Oops, Anonymous was me, Donna.😂
Looks to me like you had a room full of happy students Ann. Lovely results too.
I don’t do fairs but I wonder if felted pens might be something you could add to your stall. They are quick and easy to make and kids love them!
Helene x
I’ve never heard of or seen felted pens Helene. What are they? Google refuses to tell me about anything other than felt tipped pens. 🤬
Ann
Felt Pens?