The Guide to selling Hand Mades to tourist gift shops

by S. Pimental

Hi, my name is Sylvia and I am the founder of this blog, Freesawpatterns.com. I used to work in  advertising, then I discovered craft wholesaling that led to my creating how-to tutorials. They are about making money from your arts &  crafts.  My experience with selling from home dates back to  15 years. My kids were 2 and 5 years old and I  needed to be home with them and make money at the same time. 
If you enjoy making crafts and want to make money at it, you need to  know that it takes a lot of  discipline to achieve this type of success. That means waking up everyday with the desire to want to do this, be home yet make money at the same time.
Let's begin and get started by gathering all the supplies you will need to sell products online and from your home.

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You will need an area where you will store your packaging & shipping materials.  
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Also you will need  table or counter top  to  work on to pack your items. 

On this table you will  need a  space for a reliable postal scale.

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List of materials (for packing and shipping):
1) Postal scale - get this on eBay or Amazon

2) Tape dispenser and tape-  Heavy duty stationery model,  that will hold  both wide and narrow tape.
   ( buy new or look for this for at a flea market or yard sale).

3) Padded packing envelopes (get on eBay or Amazon)
    Unless you are shipping glass or very fragile items, padded mailers will be the most economical. Consider the weight of a box, whereas a lightweight padded envelope  has the capacity  to do the same job. Use the boxes, however if shipping out glass and breakables.

4) Stuffing or padding for packages for inside of boxes (if applicable). 
 Keep your eyes open at a garage sale or flea market for this type of item. I bought an old  iron meat wrapping holder with a nice roll of meat wrapping paper attached at a flea market for a steal! I had also picked up a  carton full of padded envelopes for just crystal bags are just that- beautiful see thru clear bags that make your product look great, and its gives that finished touch.  
 
5) Crystal clear bags or similar bagging. This type of bag is a must to use when packing your product. It is not to be confused with a plastic type bag like a baggie sandwich bag.  These  are small size bags for items   under 1 foot or so. These bags come in all sizes. They provide 2 important things: they protect the item within the mailing and it looks very classic and professional. These bags can be found on the usual eBay or Amazon.

5) Scissors, pens, pencils 

6)  Post it notes or pretty stationery paper
You will use this to enclose Thank You notes in those mailed out packages. 

7) Storage space for shipping product. 
You will need  a place to store your hand made inventory. If your product or items are small  then they  will be able to fit in a wardrobe cabinet or some type of closed door cupboard. The finished items should be behind doors to keep  away  dust and  dirt.