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Emma Corrin
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#1
Old 06-18-2014, 10:43 PM

I'm currently starting some sewing projects and one of them is hair bows. I'm really loving how they're turning out, but am unsure if I could sell them. I'm thinking of posting some here and getting some feedback on them and feedback on pricing. If anyone could help out that would be great! I've only just started so I have limited supplies, but all feedback is appreciated!



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#2
Old 06-20-2014, 04:38 PM

Those are really cute. :) I do see a lot of hair bows selling on Etsy and such, so it does seem like there's a market for them.

Have you poked around there to get a sense of pricing?

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#3
Old 06-20-2014, 04:55 PM



oh they are adorable, Emma♥

Emma Corrin
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#4
Old 06-20-2014, 11:52 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by BellyButton View Post
Those are really cute. :) I do see a lot of hair bows selling on Etsy and such, so it does seem like there's a market for them.

Have you poked around there to get a sense of pricing?
Thanks! :D

For sure - I see people posting them on garage sale groups all of the time and wanted to make some myself for my trip to Disney and so I bought some supplies to mess around with, and it's really fun so I wondered if I could actually sell them! It really plays in to my artist side because you have to really think about what you're putting together and if it looks right - hopefully people like what I do and it works out!!

I did check around there and the prices ranged from $7-$15 - it really varied and so did the style - some complicated ones were $7, while others were closer to $15, and the same with the simpler bows - so I wasn't sure what was a normal price for them! I've never bought them myself so I'm at a total loss and don't want to over-charge T_T;


Quote:
Originally Posted by hummy View Post


oh they are adorable, Emma♥

Thank you!! :D
I just ordered in new supplies but they won't be here for a few weeks - I can't wait to get hem in and start playing around with everything! I really like how my first two came out, so hopefully I'll only get better! :D

Cherry Who?
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#5
Old 06-24-2014, 12:49 AM

Now that you have an idea for a price range, I'd say just start on the low end of that. You don't have customers, an established reputation, anything like that. Price to get attention. If they don't sell well, then it might be that you're asking too much. If they sell too well, then you can up the price a little.

Of course Etsy is good, but also consider flea markets and farmer's markets once you have a good inventory to display. People are into supporting local artists.

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#6
Old 06-24-2014, 01:56 AM

That's a good idea Cherry! Start small and then increase if things go really well and they seem to be selling too fast! I hadn't thought to do that! I think that would be a great way to try and base what kind of market is around here and what could potentially do well online!

Definitely on selling local!! Unfortunately we don't really have those things in my area, BUT we do have Craft Fairs all Fall! I think my supplies will be in in time for those, so I'm definitely going to go to those if I can get enough stock together! Thank you for the advice!! :D

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#7
Old 06-24-2014, 02:43 AM

Try looking at neighboring cities. I didn't think there was much here until I just started googling all nearby cities with "flea market" or "farmer's market" after them. These things don't advertise very well, so there could be a weekly flea market 15 minutes away from you and you'd never know! BUT, those things also tend to charge you for booth space, so it's not great for just starting out.

Another idea is to post a couple photos of your best work to facebook. Don't sound like an advertisement, just maybe a photo of you modeling one of your bows like "look what I made!!!" and if people really love it, you could be like "hey, I can do one for you if you want... they're $7." Maybe nothing, but if any of your friends do bite, they would probably be excellent advertisers for you. Since they already like you, they'd be glad to tell all their friends where they got their cute bow! Or, since yours (or at least the ones you posted) look more appropriate for little kids, you could always give one as a baby shower gift. Again, they'll be happy to tell their parent-friends where they got the bow!

Emma Corrin
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#8
Old 06-25-2014, 01:58 AM

Very true! I'm making a note to check around once my supplies come in, then I can figure out if it would be affordable to attempt or not! I know craft fairs are fairly pricey, so I can only imagine that those would be as well!

Oooo! That's a seriously good idea! I have a lot of Mom's on my Facebook, as well as a lot of people who wear cosplay-type average-daily clothing, so that would really get some buzz going once I get the hang of it! That's a really good idea - I've never really used my FB to market anything before, but just a show & tell pic would probably work because I constantly do that so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary, but it would get some buzz going!

Yup! Right now I only have 2 character ribbons to play with - I got a really good deal on them and wasn't sure if they were the right kind of size so I didn't buy a lot more to work with - but I'm getting a ton more in so I'll be able to make a wider variety! I really appreciate that you posted in my thread and took a look at it! You've had some really great advice that I hadn't thought of!! This is why I posted hoping to get some conversation going - it's great talking things out and getting people's feedback and ideas!!

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#9
Old 06-25-2014, 06:54 AM

I don't know how many you've made already, but definitely make a few prototypes before you start selling or advertising. I'm not saying anything looks wrong with the ones you've made, but generally after making something a few times you start coming up with ways to make it look even neater or more "refined" (not as in "classy" but as in "better technique, fewer mistakes"). The better the first impression people get of your stuff, the better their overall opinion will be.

I'm so glad I could help! Keep in mind that I've never done any selling on Etsy or elsewhere of crafts. So this isn't expert advise, just some stuff I thought of while reading your thread. I like planning, even if it's for other people.

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#10
Old 06-25-2014, 07:13 AM

I've only made a few - I've been experimenting with ribbon placement while I wait for everything to come in! The two I posted were literally the first two I made! I really enjoyed doing them and thought they turned out pretty well for only being my first ones and just learning how to do them (and at that point I was doing it the really hard way!!) so I decided to post on here hoping I could get some input on how they were turning out etc. and if anyone had any suggestions or anything! I'm really new to the whole hair bow market so wasn't sure how to even go about trying to sell them once I got more accustomed to it :3

I'm definitely going to make official prototypes once I get my new supplies in and get a better hang of the different techniques I'm trying out, then I'll post them here and show my improvement! :D I agree on wanting to make the best impression when it comes to actual sales and such :3 Now that I have figured out an easier way of doing things, I think they're turning out much better! Once I get finished I'll take more pics and put them in the first post :3

Lol! I've never done it either!! I own a business but it's MUCH different than this, so I'm totally out of my element! Talking things out really helps because other people think of things you hadn't and really gets your mind working with other ideas and avenues to explore - even if it's with people who aren't used to the market either! Sometimes an outside perspective is really all it takes!

Cherry Who?
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#11
Old 06-25-2014, 07:32 AM

Well good luck! I look forward to seeing your future prototypes.

Emma Corrin
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#12
Old 07-08-2014, 07:32 PM

Thank you! I look forward to posting them and getting some feedback! Hopefully my supplies come in soon so I can make attempts at better bows! ;)

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#13
Old 12-16-2014, 10:55 PM

I do hair bows too! I started selling them last summer at the Farmers Market in town. Super cheap, but more than enough to cover both the time cost and the material cost. I bought most of my ribbon off ebay in huge lots for huge discounts, and I bought my pin parts on ebay as well. I find if I'm looking for a lot of something that's the best place to go. While I couldn't control all of the colors/patterns that came with the lot, I got a good variety and was able to purchase only small amounts of more expensive speciality ribbons to make my hair bows go from "cute" to "Woah!"

I'm not seeing any pictures you posted... but I would love to. I'll try to find some of my own as well and post them up. I've got 2 little girls, so we use a lot of hairbows!

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#14
Old 12-21-2014, 12:49 AM

Melody: I think the pic links got disconnected because they were posted over the summer. Unfortunately I haven't had time to do anything as I've been very busy with my college semester! It probably won't be something that I get to until next summer as I start my internship and last semester of college right after Christmas. I'm not very active on Mene during the semesters so I had completely forgotten about this thread until it popped up into my feed!

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#15
Old 12-21-2014, 02:10 AM

I figured the same actually. xD But also figured what the hey! I'll post anyway! You're so close to being done with college! That's awesome!

I tend to make bows or other things during the down time I have at work. xD So I have plenty of time to fiddle around with things. I look forward to seeing your creations when you have time again!

Emma Corrin
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#16
Old 12-21-2014, 02:35 AM

Lol! Well I can't wait to see them!! I'll definitely be posting photos when I get the chance to make some more bows - my first ones were cute but totally made the hard way... before I knew about gluing layers.... xD;

Yes! I graduate with my first BA in May, then I'll be returning for an Associates then continue on with that one for the BA (two separate 2 year degrees) and then will be going on for my Masters. I think I calculated it out to be 100% finished by 2020 or so - and that's without my PhD! I probably won't get a PhD until I've been in the workforce for awhile though, if I ever decide to do it. I'm drained already and it's only my first degree! ;) Unfortunately I need a dual degree in order to do the work that I want to do so I'm stuck doing back to back BA's because they don't allow you to do dual degrees where I go to school. :(

 


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