I am thinking of starting a Craft Of The Month Club, in the distant future. Please understand, this is NOT a solicitation. This is just an idea and I'm just looking for honest opinions! I wouldn't even start a business for several years and I would never solicit her for it when it was started!!! I just want to get that out of the way, becuase I know advertising is not allowed and I wanted to be clear that's not what I'm doing!!
Anyway, I've been thinking about it pretty seriously. I've seen various ones online and I find them to be very expensive. I also find the crafts to be kind of...lame. As a parent, I want my money to equal the value of a product. I make crafts for my son. They usually correlate with his interests, the season, a holiday, etc. I include some poems and stories that correlate and a handmade lesson book, also. Several people have told me I should start a craft of the month club and I only now an taking that seriously. I really enjoy coming up with unique crafts for my son. I think I would love doing this for other people, too. Kids can do so much learning through creating and I'm very crafty and artistic.
My questions for you:
I know money is very tight with the economy the way it is. What would make you decide to spend money on something like this? What would you need to see int he product? What are things, that would make you excited about purchasing something like this?
What is an ideal price point, for this kind of product? If you would never purchase something like this, why? If you have any other suggestions to add, that would be wonderful!!
Great Ideas already and thanks for the links!!! I did plan on including items, that could make more then one craft. Also, I thought of maybe laminating the lesson books, so they are reusable in the future. I love the idea of offering single crafts, too! The thought never crossed my mind. That would be a great way to try the crafts out first. From your suggestions, it seems I would have to find a way to make the shipping free. I agree, shipping can make me decide to not buy something. Thanks for the opinions, of people who wouldn't buy, too! It helps to know the reasoning, because there are probably a lot of people who feel the same way.
I am not crafty at all, so this would interest me. Can't really say what price ... would depend on what's included. If it was a large craft with lots of pieces, I'd say maybe $15.
What would interest me is if it came with good instructions for those of us who are craft-challenged. Would also prefer things that aren't too messy (no glitter!).
Best of luck to you!
i love this idea! it sounds like something you would pre-pay for, say for christmas & then get craft-y kits in the mail or something like that? as for a price point, i would say maybe $5 per craft, so $60 per year. what a great gift to receive from a family member that keeps giving all year long - great marketing tool/technique! i know my son (5 yrs old) loves to get his Ranger Rick magazine, so if that was an option, I think it would be well-received by the kids! as for a suggestion, i would just make sure you had an age-appropriate craft & maybe include some modifications/simplifications for younger kids or something to make it more complex for older kids - so siblings in a family could do the craft together. i would be all over this - pls keep my info in case you do start it!
You might start out by trying to sell individual craft kits at local craft fairs. I probably wouldn't commit to a craft of the month club but would buy reasonably priced quality individual craft kits at a craft fair. I would make sure to have business cards on hand and anything you sell should have a website on it so that people will know where to buy it again should they want another craft.
Great idea although my kids are older and I probably wouldn't do the craft of the month club. I would buy individual craft sets if there was something my older children (ages 7 and 5) could do.
I go to a craft club once a month. It's not always about kid stuff, a lot of time it's adult things, jewelry, picture frames, home decor. There are two ladies that run it. They take turns planning the craft, buying the supplies, and hosting it at their house. They have a blog set up and a facebook page where they post the picture of what we are making along with the price - most projects are around $5.00 each with the most being about $10.00. At that price, I love going to make one project and then decide if it's something I'd like to do on my own, or sometimes I make multiple at the club and don't do it at home. They don't make money doing this, it's more for the fun and companionship. That's all I can think of right now...oh, they "craft lift" from blogs and online sources, sometimes modifying for what our group would like.
I would rather have the option to purchase kraft kits, and a craft of the month club would be available if i chose.
You could certainly do this on etsy, it may even be successful.
As for a project price, I'm sure it will vary by the age the craft is geared toward and what the end result is. I probably wouldn't want to spend more than about $12 per craft though for starting out, because there will also be a shipping charge on top of that.
Also, yes, I would mostly need to see the end product.. depending on what it is.
This doesn't show an end product, but it is pretty clear what the possibilities are:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/8330287/mr-robot-diy-kit-for-...
this one very clearly shows an end product, as well as all that comes in the kit:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/62155630/make-your-own-owl-or...
On a side note, my friend is an elementary art school teacher. She does a craft of the month club in her home with her friends. She comes up with the craft, takes orders and the people pay her for a supplies/teaching fee and then she hosts the class. Perhaps you can start with doing one or two of those to see people's reception.
I think its a great idea. I would want to see the focus of the craft to be based on seasons,( jan-new years, feb-love,march-ireland, april-easter, may-spring,june-summer, july-independence, august-i have no idea, september- fall, oct, halloween, dec- xmas)
I would expect to pay around 20 to 30 dollars a month, a package deal for 9 or 12 months, i would only pay for it if it were more than one craft, but rather a box of them that might encompass, say, 3 or 4 separate crafts.
you could stand to make a lot of money on this, id steer clear of religion based things during xmas and easter in order to satisfy a larger demographic.
I'm thinking along the line of saying no, I probably would not do this....
Here's why:
There are tons of magazines and websites with 'craft' ideas galore.
Before the web, I used to buy a subscription to a craft magazine that came out quarterly, and it included monthly/seasonal ideas, from young to old crafts...something for everyone. I would look through it with girlfriends and we would pick one to do together for the holiday's as nice hostess or family gifts. Through out the year I would try several on my own. I never got my daughter interested in any of it - such a bummer. I was hoping for a craft partner in her.
I've moved away and we still remember those years of 'crafting' together, but admit we would not do that now as we all have a lot of personal experience under our belts and we do what we enjoy and are good at, quilting, knitting, professional artist, piano teacher, etc.
However, I see this working mostly for younger moms with younger kids who would appreciate tried and true ideas from an experienced mom crafter.
I personally would want a craft project that is of good quality, i.e. no play dough and glitter things, and I would like pictures of the finished project, one where a child really did the project themselves. Not one done all perfect by the planner.
Good luck in your planning and executing and hope you find success :)
S
I wouldn't purchase one because I dislike paying shipping and handling. Most to the craft kits you can buy online you can find all of the items in the stores for cheaper then what they are being sold for. I also look at a lot of craft blogs which give great tutorials on many crafts for kids of all ages and it is free.
I attend one that is for adults and it is a nice night out for me. I also like having the satisfaction of creativity and accomplishment. The projects run at the most $10. I bet I would pay more depending on the project. But I usually do more then one and give them as teacher gifts, etc. I saw in Southern living this month that there are places you can go to throughout the country to help with projects, i.e. reupolster a small chair or another place you learn how to refurbish a dresser. I would love that type of place because I never feel confident about doing it on my own. There are some places around here that you can paint a canvas that looks like one from a famous artist. The cool thing about that is you can get a group of friends and bring some wine. Nice MNO. Just some thoughts.
I would not subscribe to a craft of the month club.
Why not think about starting a craft web site and make money by selling advertise space? That could be a fun project for you and your kids. Directions and pictures. I would be more interested in something like that.
Also, maybe charge an intial start up fee that includes a binder to store the laminated craft cards in for future use - something really cute with your logo on the front - it's like free advertising for anyone that sees it at one of your clients home. And maybe the start up fee could also include some sort of small plastic container or bag to store craft supplies in - again covered with your logo. I think it's a great idea for busy moms. Personally my kids are too old and when they were younger I would find stuff online or come up with my own, but it does take time to find something or think of stuff and track down supplies. I think this would appeal to busy moms who still want to do crafts with their kids, but don't have time to do all the leg work. I think the $15 per month sounds about right and definetly offer the option to purchase extra ones (maybe someone would want more for a birthday party - or even also offer different packages for birthday parties) and extras around holidays.
I would not buy it especially withthe weak economy like it is. jmo
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I would not buy it especially withthe weak economy like it is. jmo
I would not purchase your product. I have much older children, & thru the years, I have been offered products such as your idea. I have found repeatedly that I can create the same end result at a much cheaper cost- on my own. By keeping a diverse selection of creative supplies......& by using easily-accessible websites, I can design & create a myriad of fun, inexpensive crafts & projects. The key is in having those supplies ready to go! I wish you Peace & Success!
I love doing crafts and have looked into these clubs and decided against them.
What would make me spend money is if it is something I can't get at a local craft store, it was quality(nothing with foam paper), and it was something I could not just do myself. Specifically related to holidays or certain birthdays so a child can keep it as a souvenier. Keeping the total under $20 would be necessary and to sell a lot, most moms I know would say $5 per kid.
The shipping charges would have to be reasonable and I HATE the US Post Ofifce as it loses and damages more packages that any other company, you can't track it except for drop off and pick up, and it takes longer than any other company. In fact, if I see that they are using the post office, I will use a different seller on Ebay for these reasons.
Hi! I know you received a lot of answers and I have not read them all so I'm sorry if this is a repeat answer. My first thought that came to mind was quality. There are a lot of crafts out there that the kids make and end up in the garbage after a few weeks. Don't get me wrong, I try and keep everything my girls make, but some things just fall apart. I also like the idea of free shipping. Another idea could be something like Overstock does with entire shipping one price of $2.50 and have specials of $1 shipping or even "free shipping" weekends.
I hope this helps and best of luck to you! I hope you succeed because I would love good quality crafts for my girls!
