If you are a craftsperson interested in the possibility of marketing your crafts, the following is provided as a resource list:

Shops

A listing of shops which purchase or take on consignment hand-crafted items can be obtained from:

• Bernu, 802 County Road 69, Bivey, MN 55709 (550 shops).
• Directory of Craft Shops/Galleries, available from The Front Room Publishers, P.O. Box 1541, Clifton, NJ 07015-1541 (over 1,500 listings).
• The Francisco Enterprise, 572 143rd Street, Caledonia, MI 49316 (2,800 buyers listed alphabetically and by zip code).

Books

Check with your local library to see if they stock, or can obtain for you through inter-library loan, the following books. Any bookstore should be able to order those still in print if they prove to be of particular value.

Business Forms and Contracts (In Plain English) for Craftspeople: Sound Information Without the Legal Mumbo-Jumbo by Leonard DuBoff, Interweave Press, 201 East Fourth Street, Loveland, CO 80537. (Includes IRS requirements, copyright issues, collection letter, consignment and commission contracts and other topics.)

The Craftworker's Market, Writer's Digest Books, 9933 Alliance Road, Cincinnati, OH 45242.

The Crafts Supply Book: A Comprehensive Shop-by-Mail Guide by Margaret Boyd, available from Storey's How-To Books for Country Living, Schoolhouse Road, Pownal, VT 05261.

How to Market Your Crafts to Retail Stores: A Complete Guide from Product Evaluation to Product Distribution by Dave Malby, TPS Publications, 8725 Ridge Road, Newcastle, CA 95658. (I have been told this is a particularly good one.)

How to Sell at Arts and Craft Shows by Kathleen and Robert Schultz, Sandune Press, P.O. Box 58, Mosca, CO 81146.

How to Sell What You Make: The Business of Marketing Crafts by Paul Gerhards, available from Storey's How-To Books for Country Living (address above).

The Law (in Plain English) for Crafts People by Leonard DuBoff, available from Northwind Farm Publications, RR 2, Box 246, Shevlin, MN 56676.

Selling Arts and Crafts by Mail Order by Allan Smith, Success Publishing, 2812 Bayonne Drive, Box 30965, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33420.

Selling What You Make: Profits from Your Handcrafts by J. Seitz, TAB Books.

You Can Make Money from Your Arts and Crafts: The Arts & Crafts Marketing Book by Steve and Cindy Long, available from Storey's How-To Books for Country Living (address above).

Periodicals

The Craft Fair Guide (quarterly magazine), P.O. Box 5062, Mill Valley, CA 94942 (lists and reviews craft shows).

Sunshine Artists Monthly (magazine), 1700 Sunset Drive, Longwood, FL 32750 (lists craft shows and festivals plus craft-related articles).

Wholesale suppliers

Available on the internet is Professional Crafter's Supply Directory. TPS Publications (address above). For a small monthly fee subscribers can search nearly 100 catalogues involving over 1,200 wholesale outlets to find the lowest prices on supplies and materials. Information is continually updated.

If you are interested in marketing your crafts nationally, contact The Front Room Publishers (address above) to be listed in its annual Creative Crafter's Directory. This company also sells a number of crafts-related books or booklets, such as Marketing Crafts Through a Home-Party System, Wholesale Craft Supply Sources, Directory of Wholesale Representatives, How to Market Your Handicrafts to Shops and How to be a Weekend Entrepreneur: Making Money at Craft Fairs and Trade Shows. In addition, they publish Craft Marketing News, which provides current industry-related news for artisans, producers of handicrafts, designers and arts and crafts shop owners.

The above information does not include all of the resources available, but should give you a pretty good start. For other references check with large libraries or large bookstores to see if they have Books in Print via CD on a personal computer or access to it on-line. You can then query on key words. Also consult the Encyclopedia of Associations and periodical guides in the library reference section for craft associations and other periodicals.

You will have to determine your own level of involvement. Making one of something is fun. Making ten of something for a community park arts and crafts show is interesting. Having to make 1,000 of an identical item to fill a wholesale order may be an entirely different matter.

(This information was excerpted from Ken's book, How to Earn Extra Money in the Country. It is available directly from him at no cost at scharabo@aol.com. For those without a PC, see if the one at your local library can handle Word for Windows 97. If so, a diskette can be obtained from Ken at 1645 West Blue Creek Road, Waverly, TN 37185 by sending five first class stamps to cover the cost.)