16 FEATURED SELLER | OCTOBER DESIGN
My current line of equestrian-themed décor and lighting, detailed with upcycled leather harnesses and bridles, was an immediate hit. I grew up around horses and I’m happy to work with equestrians. They’re a fun (and affluent) community who are quite passionate about their horse companions.
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When I first started selling, I jumped on every venue I could, just to get my work in front of as many people as possible: craft shows, boutiques, charity auctions, and online collectives. That approach was great in the beginning, paying off in terms of networking. Somebody always knows somebody who might be interested in your products, or works for a magazine, owns a ranch, spa or boutique, or their cousin is an executive at Anthropologie. I’ve made many contacts along the way who have helped me expand my business. The bigger pay off is that I can now be more selective about where I sell.
These days, rather than jumping into every little craft show that comes along, I participate in only three or four larger, more prestigious shows each year. The larger shows are more expensive, but for me, are a far better investment in terms of time and money.
Be adaptive.
It’s always good to watch trends and to keep an open mind when it comes to your business. It’s ok to be flexible, to modify your products, or to completely change direction, rather than sticking with something that no longer works.
Some of my first designs
were industrial light fixtures, but over the past few years, the
market for those has become over-saturated. A lot of people jumped onto the repurposing bandwagon, plus large retail chains like Target and Walmart started offering cheap, knock-off fixtures of their own. I wanted to distance myself from all of them, so I switched gears and started exploring other design possibilities.
Some ideas fizzle and just become quirky, one-off furnishings, but others really took off and evolved into fully fleshed out collections.