Kara thank you for your in depth comment…..my response was too long so decided to do it here also so that non WordPress bloggers could see it.
I understand what you are saying about small businesses helping the community but am still concerned about the high price tags required to do that. Your example of sjorcha is interesting as well as people will always be having babies so there is a definite need for that type of product. However there may be an over saturation point for other products and this could affect your business of handbags and scarves. Once people start to buy a certain label and the word spreads is there not a time when people will say…I am so over her….or such like? That happened to me with Olga Berg. I wonder if your mentors have discussed this with you? I would be interested to know as I feel human nature does not change and fashion, even alternate fashion ….. is all about being individualistic and fresh.
But as I said the big thing for me is the lack of creativity in some small business products. That is why I loved it when you branched out into scarves, there are a lot of scarves around like your design…we can thank Denise Schmidt for that…but yours are much more original and show a wonderful mix of new and old reclaimed fabrics…. same with your bags. However I am concerned with the high prices that need to be charged so that independent designers can make a decent living. We have had that discussion before about how the government needs to do more to support small business owners…especially in this industry.
You actually made my point for me about flickr being used as a form of marketing. You are recommending that people look at your work ……. “as long as you don’t mention its for sale” But isn’t that what a photo gallery on a website is for? To show what is currently for sale and what has already been sold? You also make my point exactly that there is a difference between hobbyists, crafters and business people….the only people doing business on flickr is flickr…it is against the TOS which we all agree upon when we sign up. [Although a lot of people don't bother reading it]
I do take your point though that there is a difference between the three and that you are trying to run a small business…its just that the prices required to make your business competitive and viable mean that I and a lot of others struggling to simply pay the bills cannot afford those type of prices. As a crafter/ artisan I also find it hard when people would think nothing of paying upwards of $200 for a handbag that may take three hours to make yet would not consider paying even $300 to $400 for a quilt that has taken maybe two to four weeks to make. It is a real imbalance and means that it is achievable for artisans in the fashion industry but not for artisans in the quilting industry. But perhaps it is just who you know…and comes back to the networking and marketing thing which you are so good at!
Kara has had some wonderful press, especially recently, both online and in newspapers. The Sydney Morning Herald Business section also did a brilliant article. It is here and probably explains better than I what it takes to make it in this industry.
Update …just checked my link for Olga Berg….good grief the bags are stunning again…sorry Kara but I can afford those. Of course every second person is thinking the same thing so we are back to the mass produced thing again. Oh I feel a headache coming on!
