A few weeks ago, I had the honor of doing an interview with Maria of Maria’s Blue Crayon! Maria was so much fun to chat with, I just had to share part of the interview with you here too. You can read the full interview over on Maria’s blog here.
How did you come up with the name ‘Woods and Wool’?
My husband, Austin, actually gets credit for this. I had been racking my brain for weeks to come up with the perfect name for my Instagram handle/Etsy shop. Austin and I were headed up to northern Michigan and I’ll never forget as we were going down a winding road, surrounded by beautiful trees, he said “What about woods and wool?” We both love the outdoors, Austin loves woodworking (even though you don’t see a ton of it on the Woods and Wool feed), and it just felt right. So that was it. I made the Instagram account about 2 minutes later.
With having a full-time job, how do you make time for your small business?
I’ve realized that if I don’t prioritize my maker goals, they won’t happen. (Pssst. You can read my 5 Steps to Prioritize here!) Sometimes that means giving up other things, but it’s just a matter of figuring out what is important to you and making it happen.
I also love planning! When I set out to create a new pattern, I create a schedule for myself and for my testers to set the expectation and stay accountable. I should say that my testers are the best and have never let me down, so the deadlines are mostly so that I don’t let them down! It also helps me to announce a release date on Instagram so that I have to stick to it! I’ve done this for my Fall Collection release and all of my pattern releases so far.
Pricing can be tricky to figure out for crocheters wanting to sell their finished items. How do you suggest handmade items be priced?
To keep it simple, I always suggest using your material cost + hourly rate to find your wholesale price. If you’re not sure what your hourly rate should be, start with at LEAST the minimum wage in your area. You should also consider any overhead costs into this number. Then, you multiply the wholesale price by 1.75 to create your retail cost, which now includes a profit margin! Yay!
I know you and a few other makers are very passionate about helping the maker community and have created a MakerStrong Facebook group. Could you tell us more about that and who can join?
Maker Strong is an educational and inspirational community all about boosting maker confidence and building profitable businesses. The group started as a mission by Chantal (@knitatude), Toni (@tlyarncrafts), and myself to help support and encourage other makers to know their worth. Anyone can follow along at @makerstrong on Instagram, or by joining the Facebook group here!
This interview was originally posted on Maria’s Blue Crayon and can be viewed here.