The Art House has a crafty shed which is often full of handmade goodies by the craft group at Tools for Self Reliance as well as other makers local and further afield like Dave Hubble with his Rebejoo range of recycled jewellery, Shani Burgess of Dragonfairy Designs with her unique pyrography, Tiff Aita of Tribal Turtle and many more.

The crafty shed of delights

In our years of running the Trash Cocktail Boutique we have learnt quite a few things about what works and what doesn’t for selling crafts.

This lesson is:  The last slice of cake rule – or, make lots of the same thing!

We find that customers buy more if you give them a variety of similar items to choose from.  Whilst the creative process often means that you, as a maker, want to make all kinds of different things, this can work against you when trying to sell.

One necklace, bracelet or handmade bag on it’s own rarely sells, but if we display seven or eight similar items, they fly out of the shed like magic.

We notice the same with cake.  Nobody ever chooses the last slice of cake, no matter how

A grouping of similar things can be visually appealing to a customer

fresh and yummy it looks.

Making lots of the same thing has the added advantage of automatically giving your craft stall or display a unified, visually appealing look from a distance.

This ‘last slice of cake’ rule applies particularly to lower priced items, so when displaying high-end goodies the rule can, in fact, be the exact opposite.

Why?  Well, who knows the inner workings of the customer’s mind, but perhaps it’s because people like the visual appeal of lots of things together, the

Customers love to have a good rummage!

Aladdin’s cave feel of it, the sensation of rummaging through a pile of pretty things to pick out the one that’s your favourite!

Of course, using a single, larger, piece can sometimes give the display a focal point, as can using contrasting colours and textures – you don’t want things TOO samey!

Whatever the reason, try this rule and see if it increases your sales!

Are you a maker? Please share your tips and tricks in the comments section – we’d love to hear from you!

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