As the holidays approach, we get this question a lot from the makers we work with:

“Things are crazy for me right now, and I’m not sure if retailers are even ordering. Should I even bother connecting with stores during this season?”

For store owners, this time of year is about trying to survive and high hopes for a great season. (Retailers often make 30% or more of their total yearly gross between November and December.) For makers, it’s a crazy combination of making, packing, and shipping goods for Christmas, doing holiday markets, and trying to lay the groundwork for sustained growth in the coming year.

When I was about eight, I went to camp for the first time.

As a fairly introverted person who loved hanging out with my family, summer camp ended up being hard. Thirty-two-year-old me would know exactly why it would be hard for me and in what ways; eight-year-old me was bewildered, as the camp seemed literally designed to have a good time around every corner and yet I felt kind of dazed from home sicknesses and nervousness about how to be around the other kids.

Here's the thing. You can't just send the same email to a bunch of stores and expect a positive response. Hear me when I say that efficiency does not equal spam. 

Almost every maker we talk to says, “I really want to grow wholesale -- and that, in itself, seems like a huge challenge. But even more than that, I want store accounts that are real relationships, and that place orders regularly over the long term.” 

oday we wanted to talk about a topic that’s always kind of squishy and discomforting for makers: when should I go to the expense and effort of sending samples?

Now, this is a topic with a lot of different approaches and opinions. Every maker is different, every store has different requirements, and there are no hard and fast rules. But today we’re sharing two simple perspectives that might help take the pressure off -- while also helping your products to rest happily on new stores’ shelves.

Over the next several weeks we will be writing several posts in response to what we have been hearing from the makers that we work with around putting yourself out there, rejection, what silence means, and the key mistake most makers make when sharing their work. 

Time after time we have heard stockists say that the biggest factor in determining if they are going to order from a new maker is if they feel that the product is right for them. The sooner you are able to help them see the beauty of what you have made, the better -- and since some of them won’t make it to your website, you need to help them out.

We are so excited and honored to share an interview that we had with (the great) Elise Blaha Cripe on Elise Gets Crafty. We talk about getting started with wholesale, what to expect from stores, what you really need to jump into wholesale, tips on terms and conditions, and more!

As we all learn and relearn as small business owners, anything that is not sustainable in the long run will have to stop, either by choice or by necessity. And we think craft shows are often one of those things, for makers.

Liz Sieber’s stores are simultaneously super-friendly and exquisitely curated and designed. Walking into Omoi Zakka or Sieber’s new store, Select Shop 215, feels like stepping into a story that unfolds shelf by shelf. The gorgeously practical is nestled next to the outrageously creative -- and it’s all with a consistent voice and point of view. Handmade goods sit alongside Japanese imports; luxurious splurges and economical little items both have their spots. It’s the kind of place that is as inspiring as any museum, but also so accessible and welcoming that you feel instantly at home. 

Over here at Wholesale In a Box, we’re really passionate about something we call “Penguin Tactics.” Penguin Tactics is our name for when a maker does something bold, remarkable, generous, and beautiful to connect with a store or customer. We named these incredible little acts of connection “Penguin Tactics” because of something that our friends at the Unreasonable Institute do.