I am concerned that there is too much change going on in the crafts industry. I would like to ride out this whole economy problem and not change my prices or practices, because it will all get better soon enough. Right? Others have told me, however, that I need to be more flexible and that I need to be ready to make new choices should the need arise. I think I have a pretty open mind, but I don’t want to compromise my business or art. My beaded handbags aren’t selling as well as they used to, but I think they are popular enough that my sales should increase soon. I’m just worried that I’m going to go through all of the work and changes and then have to go back to my old ways. What do you suggest I do in the current economy to stay afloat? Is there a happy medium to this
Why single out the craft’s industry. From my viewpoint I can’t find any facet of life that isn’t being impacted by the global events of the past year. Whether change is good is totally subjective, good for you may not be good for the metal worker. But change is. We need to figure out how to flourish in a changing environment. You don’t say how long you have been making your bags and how often you change the designs, I would hope that since you are in the fashion business your designs change each year. This is probably a time when any maker would benefit from a careful analysis of their price points. There will always be people who can buy at the high end, there may be less of them and they may be reluctant to spend money the way they have over the past 15 years. The people for whom buying a handmade item was a stretch may be priced out of market for now. So what is now? I have been reading extensively about the financial situation at hand and I doubt there is an easy or quick fix on the horizon.