Get Crafty with Dom from the Crafted blog!

We chat with craft lover and craft blogger Dom from the Crafted, in the lead up to her event Handmade Wholesale Live, curated especially for Sydney Craft Week.

Hi Dom, please introduce yourself and tell us about your blog Crafted.

Hello!  My name’s Dominique but I prefer Dom. I’m a 20 something (can only say that for another year so I’m running with it!) craft addict from Sydney. 

I started Crafted as a way of sharing my own handmade projects and to connect with other creatives out there in the craftosphere. I am a maker myself and I’ve had several attempts at starting handmade businesses but got sick of what I was making over and over again. I just couldn’t find my “thing” that one medium or style that I loved and wanted to build a business around. Then one day I realised, the “thing” I loved was Handmade. Not just making things myself but the whole concept of handmade and handmade business. Since then Crafted has really evolved into more of a platform to promote Australian makers and artists and share their hard work with the world. 


You have a beautifully curated instagram account, featuring Australian makers, artists and designers. You are really at the forefront of the local craft scene. How do you find these makers and curate your feed?

Oh how I love my @Crafted_Aus account. I get to share some fabulous work from creatives all over the country. I find most of these makers on instagram! Most of the pieces I feature I simply find while scrolling through my own instagram feed and I also encourage people to use the tag #craftedaus on their posts for a chance to be featured. There are so so many amazing makers out there, they make my job of curation very easy. 

To curate my feed I use insta planning app Plann. It allows me to shuffle photos through it’s drag and drop functionality so I can arrange everything by colour and I’m constantly adding and changing as I find more amazing work to share. Some of the makers featured in the feed have scored media attention after being spotted on the Crafted_Aus account. I get such a buzz when I hear things like that! 
 

On your blog you have dedicated a lot of features to the subject of wholesaling. Is this a particular area you've found has been quite tricky for makers to navigate?

Yes! It all started as an idea for one post, just one. I created two surveys, one for makers who are interested in selling to stores but haven’t yet and one for makers who are already selling to stores. I was overwhelmed with the responses! I ended up with so many questions and pain points for people. I sat down and started writing and before I knew it I’d written 14 pages of content! It was then that I realised this needed to be more than just a single blog post. 

This particular niche is quite interesting to me as it combines two industries I’m quite passionate about: Handmade and retail. I feel I have a good understanding of both of these industries and because of that I have a lot of knowledge that I can pass onto those who can use it! I didn’t want to stop there. I didn’t want these posts to simply be my opinion on things, I wanted a more rounded view. So I created a third survey and sent it out to retailers who sell wholesale products in their stores. I wanted to know, from them what they thought and what they want makers to know. 

I’ve loved writing these articles: Intro to wholesale, 6 things to think about before approaching retailers and Creating your first catalogue.


What are your top wholesaling tips?

I think the most important part is the work you put in before you even start talking to retailers. 

• Get your pricing right before you jump in. This is super important! Our first post Intro to wholesale includes a guide on pricing handmade products for wholesale.

• Prepare a catalogue - doesn’t need to be printed if you can’t afford a print run (a lot of retailers prefer an emailed catalogue) but it does need to be thorough and include all the info a retailer might need. (A website is even better of course!)

• When you do start reaching out to retailers, don’t just show up on their door step and expect a half hour meeting. Retailers are busy and I know for a fact, it drives them nuts when they are expected to stop what they are doing for someone to pitch their products to them. Instead, give them a call and ask if they would be interested in seeing your work. Grab their email, shoot them some info and perhaps organise a time to meet with them. Trust me, you will have much better luck with retailers if they feel like you’re valuing their time. I’ve written more about this in a post too: How to communicate with buyers. 

What are we to expect from your Sydney Craft Week event Handmade Wholesale Live at The Tribe?

A whole bunch of awesomeness! We have a great panel lined up who’ll be ready to answer all your questions about selling your handmade goodies to retailers. We’ll cover everything from pricing your products and creating a catalogue to finding and getting repeat orders from the retailers that are right for your brand. You can also enjoy some retail therapy of your own at the event and enjoy all of the amazing pieces The Tribe has to offer. 


Who will be speaking at the event?

Kobe Johns - Director of Life Instyle 

Avalon Dennis - Communications manager at The Tara Dennis Store 

Emma McPherson - The Plant Room 

Chris and Camila - Eggpicnic 

Jeff McCann -  Artist


What type of crafts do you like to dabble in yourself?

So so many! I get obsessive about a medium and them get over it just as quickly and start obsessing over something else! My working life started in Art and Craft retail so I was surrounded by the temptations of all kinds of materials all day.  

I’ve always had a thing for ceramics; there is no better feeling than having your hands (and arms…) covered in clay. Polymer clay is super fun too. Love a bit of colour. ;) I love working with wood, but living in an apartment makes that a little tricky. I was making table numbers and signage for cafes and weddings for a while. I’ve done research/making work for a few TV shows in a wide range of mediums which is always good fun! I’ve done some weaving recently, too! I’ve always liked crafts that take time. If I can do a project in one sitting I don’t get the same sense of satisfaction as I do when it takes HOURS and HOURS! I’m a little nuts like that!
 

Where can we find out more about you and what you are up to?!

TheCraftedBlog.com houses all of my babbling in terms of blog posts. 

@Crafted_Aus on instagram is my happy place as we talked about earlier. 

@CraftedDom is my personal insta which also tends to be pretty crafty! 

I totally get a selfish little buzz when I can help someone so come find me and say hi! I’m always happy to chat handmade. 

 

Meet Dom and hear a fascinating talk on wholesaling, held at The Tribe in Darlinghurst, as part of Sydney Craft Week.
 

Handmade Wholesale Live
When: Saturday 14 October, 1pm – 3pm. 
Price: $35. Tickets are limited and need to be purchased online before the day of the event. 
Where: The Tribe, 21 Foley Street, Darlinghurst

For more info and booking link, click here.
 

 

Interview: Kylie Walsh

Images (L-R): Dom Norris; Handmade Cushions from The Tara Dennis Store; The Tribe; Handmade wedding decorations by Dom. Courtesy Dominique Norris.