You can easily get started with wood carving, spend some time carving various projects. And then the question "what to do next?" arises. Imagine you have a bunch of whittling projects. They stand on your shelf with no practical use. Good thing it's possible to make some money out of that by selling your carvings. And here is what my article about.
Woodcarving can be not only a hobby but also a source of income. If you do it regularly and the shelves in your house are full of hand-made spoons, sculptures, and figurines, you might be ready to sell your own items. As usual, woodcarvers send their goods at the shows connected to arts and crafts. In this article, we will discuss some ideas about making wood carving your successful business.
Write down your ideas
Every businessperson needs a strategy, a plan that answers all the possible questions concerning his business idea and shows you the path for success. I would advise to take a piece of paper and start writing down everything that comes to your mind. Who can be my customers? What am I going to sell? How much would it cost? Where should I sell my items? How to make customers interested in my product? Why do they need to buy my items? Answering those questions would make it clearer for you where to start.
Make your product special
From my experience, I can tell, that people who come to the art show to buy a woodcarving item are not looking for a perfect product, neither they are interested in the techniques or knives you used to make it. The most important thing for them is that this item would raise their feelings or be associated with a person they are buying it for. That is why your products should tell stories, be special for you and those who buy them. This could be achieved by adding a pattern you have never used before or something from your own imagination.
Where to sell?
Once you have mastered your woodcarving technique and sure that your works are special and inspire others, you might start looking for a place to sell your goods. It’s not a hard task in the 21st century and there are many options.
If you see your local community as potential customers, you can start promoting your woodcarving projects to your neighbors. If someone bought your figurine, for example, they could help to spread a word about your items, and very soon you’d have many more clients interested in your works.
Another option is selling on the Internet on social media platforms. You can simply create a page on Instagram or Facebook dedicated to your hobby and look for potential customers there. If you have extra money, you could promote those pages and therefore increase your sales. The biggest advantage of selling on the Internet is that you could promote your items not only in your own country but also in the others. That would help you to grow your business more quickly.
Using Facebook for business is not the only option. There are also many marketplaces where you could do it: Etsy, eBay, Instagram etc.
One of the very reliable options is to visit your local stores and ask them to sell for you. You would not have to worry about advertising campaigns or logistics. The only thing you should do is to carve out your next project.
If those options are not enough and you like challenges, you could also create your own website, promote it, and start your business there.
