We started getting emails from makers and stores within days of coronavirus hitting the United States. So many stores began closing. And so many makers saw dizzying drops to their revenues. Day jobs were lost; markets closed and heaps of inventory languished; so many people are taking care of small children and trying to save businesses. And above all, everyone had so much uncertainty.

Today we’re answering a common maker question that seems simple but trips a lot of makers up: Should I use a newsletter-style email or a personal email to keep in touch with my stockists? There are certainly pros and cons to each method, so we’ll take them one at a time. 

When it comes to my creative business projects, I tend to work in the shelter of my own space and ideas. I don’t usually ask people for advice, trusting my own vision over what Uncle Ned Who Worked In Business thinks.

Today I want to share a few things to consider if you feel like the retail price for your handmade line ends up too high, once you make “room” for both your costs and the wholesale price/margin.

Right before the holiday season, many of you are receiving or shipping final orders before you start to hunker down for a well-deserved hibernation for a few weeks. And let me be the first to say: PRIORITIZE HIBERNATION. Sink into it with all the cookies and family and naps you couldn’t possibly make time for over recent months.

The other day, I was coaching one of our newer makers by phone. To get to know her line, I flipped through her product listings to get a sense for what the jewelry was all about. Most of the pieces were ornate, creative, asymmetrical confections that were both vintage and fresh. But part of the line was simple brass jewelry. In our conversation, I asked how she felt about the brass pieces -- is that a direction she was planning to go in?

Mostly, growing your handmade wholesale business is not a place for cheats or tips or tricks. 

Mostly, growing wholesale is a long-term game where “boring” things like consistency, follow-up, respect, thoughtfulness, and gradual improvement of your product line are what work.

Since we spend all day everyday working with makers who are doing wholesale outreach, sometimes we’ll come across a fun tip that just is so simple and works so well that we think, “Gosh, I wish everyone knew about that.” 

As one maker friend put it: People were saying for months that a shift was going to happen with Etsy Wholesale. And, well… Shift happened.  As you’re probably well aware by now, Etsy Wholesale is closed its doors: July 31, 2018 was the last day of the platform. While few people are surprised -- since Etsy Wholesale had been quietly withdrawing for months -- many makers are understandably frustrated, freaked out, or just… tired.

This year, I was invited to speak about growing your handmade wholesale business at Makers Summit (by Makers Collective, in Greenville, South Carolina.) It was exciting, since I really admire the Makers Collective folks and the authentic, thoughtful way they do things. But I had some reservations, because it's hard to take time away from work and life to do something that may be awesome or may be meh.

In 2006, I was living in New York City and going to yoga a lot. I was going through a hard time, so yoga class served as a refuge, exercise, and social connection.

One day, as I walked out of class, I saw a stack of books for sale by the cash register. The handwritten sign next to the stack said the book was a memoir by one of the yoga studio’s attendees. I figured the book was terrible, obviously just displayed because the author went to yoga at the studio. But I bought it anyway because my life doldrums were such that going to an actual bookstore or library wasn’t happening. As the cashier ran my credit card, she mentioned that the next day, the author was doing a reading and Q&A at the studio. Since I’d be at yoga anyway, I decided to go.

Set your wholesale minimum at the right level — not to high or too low — to make sure you won’t hurt your business with a minimum that doesn’t make sense.

In 10th grade, I realized or decided that I was bad at math. During math class, I was simultaneously confused, bored, and overwhelmed. And doing my math homework in the evenings was so tedious and overwhelming that I buoyed myself with a huge bag of ginger snaps and Charles in Charge sitcom breaks.