After a lot of conversations on various etsy teams, and discussions at fairs and events it becomes clear that a lot of my fellow british craftspeople who both design and make their own pieces are becoming more and more tired with going to fairs and events and being bombarded with bought in items,franchises and resellers instead of the advertised crafts. We also feel that we are considered strange by people because we actually make the items on our stalls ourselves.
We feel that people are somewhat used to going to craft fairs and instead of getting beautifully hand crafted items they are being shown items that you could get on any high street in britain,
To go with this discussion I have been busy this morning designing signs for my fellow makers to print out and display on their stands, on websites and even their online shops to explain that what is on offer has been made with their own fair hands.
What follows are some prototype designs that I will be asking opinions on from other makers so we can decide on a final few for our own use.
design1
design2
design3
design4
design5
design6
design7
design8
design9
These images will be offered as a FREE download for people to make use of but I do ask you to only download and use them if you are selling 100% your own items on your stands
Image was made from a copyright free union flag image and edited and digitally aged by myself using computer software
Posts
A great idea, Naomi. I'd be happy to use this too.
ReplyDeleteAs well as all the bought-in items and resellers at craft fairs, I've noticed that some of the so-called "handmade, not available in the shops" type websites here in the UK are selling stuff that is made in the Far East, and just sourced by a small UK outfit. These are easy to spot as they are in endless supply, and the goods are far cheaper than anyone here could realistically buy the materials for, never mind sell them and stay in business!
Ok, off my soap box now, thanks for listening!
PS, I like the first one best :)
ReplyDeleteHi Naomi, I agree it is a great idea and I like the first one as well.
ReplyDeleteI love the colours from No. 6 and the text from No. 1. Definitely a good idea and a sign saying British Designer/maker would be good too. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas!
ReplyDeleteReally good idea, I would definitely use this at a fair!
ReplyDeletegreat idea - I like design 4 best :)
ReplyDeleteI really like 6 and 9 the best and yay for someone standing up for us!
ReplyDeleteCarrie
Great Idea! I like 1 the best! :)
ReplyDeleteFab! thank you all for your comments I'll be doing a poll as soon as I have done one for (you are buying from e.c.t.) so we can all decide on what we like. Also had a suggestion for badges and stickers so if we have a sign up list we can get one or two of our teamies who do them to make us up a large batch to wear
ReplyDeleteI think it would be good to have two different colour versions available - because for some stalls, a brightly coloured union jack would look garish above their white linen and silver jewellery or whatever, whilst for others the beigey version would look really dull against their stall of brightly coloured toys or whatever...
ReplyDeleteThanks Kes. That what I was thinking. Some peeps like the more natural (colour design1) whilst other like the bright and eye catching (colour dsign 6 or 9. I was thinknig of keeping the sepia and the bright but having options on text and maybe 3 different wordings. Designs 4 and 5 are quite 'Punky' with the part colour part black and white
ReplyDeletevery cool. Looks like you had fun with these
ReplyDeleteGreat idea and I like the first design ;).
ReplyDeleteI live in the UK but I'm not British, so I suppose I wouldn't qualify...:(? How about 'I support designers/makers in the UK' instead....:)))