promoting your craft business on the web
We love craft. There is just something magical about the whole crafty business, and clearly we are not alone in being fans. Whether you run a retail business and wish to move into online selling, or are looking for a way to turn a hobby into something that can generate income, we can help.
no business is too small for us
Probably most businesses start small. The notion that one can start an online business from the spare bedroom/shed/alcove under the stairs and go on to grow it on is certainly true. Indeed, we've helped one client do exactly that and by doing so, turn a hobby into a successful business. Click here for screen shot of CTM website
case study - capture the magic limited
Here's how we helped Vikki Carter turn her hobby into an online business in less than a year. Capture The Magic Limited was the outcome of an inspired realisation that Vikki could turn her passion for scrapbooking into something much, much more. The following account is Vikki's story in her own words.
life in a shed
" I was initially terrified of setting up an online shop, but again Clive worked his magic and with some excellent tuition and some nifty software, the web-shop opened for business last July."
Vikki Carter,
Capture The Magic Ltd
"I became a scrapbooking addict in 2001 after striking up a friendship with Tracy, a new mum like myself and already a ‘scrapper’. She got me hooked and then moved to Texas. A few subsequent holidays with them satisfied my craving for scrapbooking materials, but this was soon not enough.
What I really needed was a local scrapbooking supplier stocking my favourite ranges – Doodlebug, Wubie, me and my BIG ideas, etc – as well as essentials such as trimmers, punches and adhesives. I knew that there was no such business – then the light bulb went on and I realised that there could be – it could be me! My mind was then instantly buzzing – ranges I could stock, producing a catalogue, setting up a Company, advertising, funding, storage …
After I calmed down and persuaded my husband what a great idea this was, the hard work began. I set up a Limited Company in order to purchase stock from US suppliers, and made contact with an excellent shipping agent (Rainbow Freight, Heathrow) to arrange deliveries. I tracked down UK suppliers by contacting manufacturers of the products I had used over the previous years such as Fiskars, E K Success, and Herma.
Whilst I can create for hours in my scrapbooking, I have no other creative or design flair. I knew I needed a corporate identity – something to make people notice me, and entice them in to see what was on offer. Knowing that this was beyond me, I contacted Clive at Hilton Creative and asked for help. He worked a miracle with the information I gave him and the CTM logo was born.
I commenced trading in February 2004 at a craft fair at Wood Green Animal Sanctuary, Godmanchester and was petrified no-one would buy anything. Such fears were soon allayed and I now appear regularly at craft fairs throughout East Anglia (details on the website). I was initially terrified of setting up an online shop, but again Clive worked his magic and with some excellent tuition and some nifty software, the web-shop opened for business last July.
My stock room was initially a spare bedroom, but guests soon had to negotiate with stickers and storage boxes for bed space. The final straw came when my four-year-old and her best mate decorated one entire bedroom wall with Glamour Girls and Best Friends from the me and my BIG ideas minis sticker range! The stock had to go … out to the shed! The shed has numerous names – workshop, haven, heaven, scrapshack, but it has essentially given us back the house and brought the stock under (relative) control.
Time for my own scrapbooking has all but disappeared since CTM was launched, but I have had a great time over the last 18 months and met some fabulous people – many customers have now become good friends. I am grateful to everyone who has helped me get this far – including my mum, my husband, Hilton Creative, Rainbow Freight – and look forward to exciting times ahead."
how we did it - the ctm logo
The creation of the CTM logo was the first step. We wanted to produce something that encapsulated the essence of craft and the fun of scrapbooking yet looked reassuringly professional. The logo has been designed to work well within specialist craft and scrapbooking magazines and is often printed in a range of fresh, citric colours that help it sing out on the page.
ctm online - actinic catalog
With an initial stock consisting of some 1000+ product lines it was clear that whatever ecommerce solution we came up with should be able to handle the product range and accomodate future growth; (the current product range is now well over 4000 items). Additionally, the ecommerce facility should be simple to use and should make the process of stocking the online catalogue as easy and convenient as possible. Not least, among the key requirements was the facility to accept payment in a number of ways, including real-time validated credit card transactions. We recommended the Actinic Catalog.
One of the benefits of the Actinic Catalog is the capability to do all the product and category creation work locally, on the clients own PC. Products, images, descriptions, pricing and shipping details are all prepared offline. Once everything is ready to stock the Catalog, it is uploaded by the click of one simple button. This feature is just one of the Actinic Catalog's great strengths. Some ecommerce solutions require that all configuration and stock entry work is done online, one product at a time. While this may be fine for a hundred or so products, it can become painfully slow and laborious for larger numbers of products, even with broadband connections. (That said, such basic catalogues can work well and we ourselves do use them if we feel they represent the best solution for a particular client's needs and budget.)
We configured the Catalog and implemented the online credit card handling faciltiy in conjunction with Vikki's merchant bank. We then provided Vikki with tuition in the use of the Catalog, offering guidance on the best way to prepare images and streamline the product creation process. To maximise her budget Vikki had decided that she herself would undertake the task of stocking the catalog - all 1000+ items.
update
The site went live in July 2004 within two months Capture The Magic online had generated more than six times our fee in orders. Since then the site has gone from strength to strength, featuring as Website of the Month in Papercraft Inspirations magazine, (April 2005) and now receiving more than 1 million hits per month.
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