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Post by lindsay on Feb 25, 2019 16:31:43 GMT
I’ve run a couple of wet felting workshops now and have more lined up. I find some participants would like me to offer some starter packs of wool and equipment that they could buy. On the one hand I’m glad they want to do more at home and am keen to encourage this. There aren’t local places that sell good merino tops and the postage charges at World of Wool are quite high if you don’t want to place a big order. On the other hand, I don’t really want to have to buy supplies which I both have to pay for and store, not to mention the admin. Simple equipment is relatively easy (except pool noodles as I can only buy them easily in summer) but when I think about all the possible colour combinations of wool it’s off-putting.
Do other people who offer classes face this and if so, what do you do about it?
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Post by Shepherdess on Feb 25, 2019 18:00:51 GMT
Lindsay I usually suggest a few on line places and I am lucky enough to have a couple of place not to far away. The only thing I sell in classes is usually I will sell some of my dyed silk scarf blanks as people often do not want to get into dying(yet). but 20 of those take up very little space. Not a big money maker but every little bit helps and I usually have extra so people have choice for the class. I don't want to get into selling fibers for the same reasons as you. You need to have so much inventory and it all needs to be stored and tracked.
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Post by MTRuth on Feb 25, 2019 19:16:18 GMT
I agree with you and Ann about selling supplies. It is painful both admin, storage and having enough choices as you say. Do you have sign ups quite far in advance? If so, I would suggest online places to buy if there isn't anywhere local. Then they can buy in advance. Or you can suggest in the class if there are several who want to buy supplies, that they could pool their orders and have only one shipping payment.
If you have samples of what different places sell, that may help people to decide what and how much to order. I know beginners have issues with what they are buying and what the amount will be as 100 grams (or whatever) doesn't really compute until you see how much fiber that is.
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Post by lyn on Feb 25, 2019 21:08:30 GMT
Don't worry about colour combos and packs of wool ready to sell - that does take a lot of making-up time and storage.
Rather than offer packs, how about you buy some wool in a few basic colours (ones that you would use up anyway if you didn't sell them) and offer to sell, to those wishing to buy, in approx 25g chunks of whatever colours they wanted (you would need to take your kitchen scales). You could charge by the gram (it's tricky to weigh out 25g exactly!)
This does involve up-front cost, but if you ordered extra when you do your own wool order you could qualify for a discount. Sell the wool with a small mark-up to cover your effort - it will still be a good price to a new felter.
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Post by lindsay on Feb 25, 2019 21:31:07 GMT
Thank you all for your ever-helpful advice. I did suggest Wingham Wool as well as World of Wool for online wool but my experience of buying from suppliers other than those hasn’t been very positive in terms of quality. I do also suggest people club together to make an order but so far they’ve looked very underwhelmed! I like Lyn’s idea of bundling up 25g balls of things I’d use anyway - or even the colours I have in stock that I never use - so maybe that’s the way to go. Still worried it might be a bit of a bun-fight especially as the building closes early on a Sunday so it’s quite difficult to get everyone out on time but I’m sure I can find a solution to that. Maybe do it in the lunch break.
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Post by lindsay on Feb 25, 2019 21:35:27 GMT
Lindsay I usually suggest a few on line places and I am lucky enough to have a couple of place not to far away. The only thing I sell in classes is usually I will sell some of my dyed silk scarf blanks as people often do not want to get into dying(yet). but 20 of those take up very little space. Not a big money maker but every little bit helps and I usually have extra so people have choice for the class. I don't want to get into selling fibers for the same reasons as you. You need to have so much inventory and it all needs to be stored and tracked. If I was nearby Anne I would definitely buy some of your dyed silk scarf blanks, they are gorgeous. |
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Post by Antje on Feb 26, 2019 8:11:47 GMT
Hi Lindsay. Decades ago I used to sell upholstery supplies to my regular weekly eve classes students. Because it was stuff I also (at that time) needed it didn't seem to take up too much extra room and as Lyn suggested I added a small mark-up to cover my costs of prepping the supplies, which does take time and effort. It wasn't much but every penny helped and was certainly cheaper than if they had gone out and bought the supplies.
Do you have an afternoon tea break before completing your workshop and then packing up? I often attend Sunday workshops with my local textile group - we usually manage a quick tea break between lunch and packing for a 4pm close. By this time folk would see their almost finished item and perhaps be more excited to try something at home, this could be your opportunity.
I echo Lyn's suggestion - keep to what you have or use yourself....BUT....have them pre-weighed (saves so much time, faffing and distraction) and limit yourself to say 10 packs (or half your students perhaps). Tell folk you have a 'limited' number available....that one word can often do wonders for sales. If you have packs leftover then just open them up and use in your own beautiful work.
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Post by Pandagirl on Feb 26, 2019 18:57:58 GMT
I was fortunate when I taught a Felting class it was in a store that carried roving. I also gave handouts with several online sources. I wouldn’t want to prepare and store kits either.
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Post by lindsay on Feb 26, 2019 22:32:30 GMT
Many thanks Antje for sharing your experience - very helpful. I may offer a selection of pre-weighed ‘pick & mix’ balls for those who are keen |
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Post by lyn on Feb 27, 2019 11:30:40 GMT
Lindsay - you will sell far more wool in pick 'n' mix small balls than in packs.
Annie and I went to a yarn show last Saturday and when faced with a pick 'n' mix basket of small skeins of wool, we couldn't stop picking them out! As our bags filled we would see yet another lovely colour that we just had to have .....
Always the same with us!
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Post by MTRuth on Feb 27, 2019 17:06:47 GMT
That's a good idea Lyn, then people can pick out all the colors they want in their pack. I guess you could say pick 4 colors (of however many you want to) for a certain price. Or if they choose a certain number, then they get one free.
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