Wearing ALL the Hats

 

North American society seems to have one and only one metric for measuring 'success'.  Money.

As such, money isn't a 'bad' token.  Generally currency is regional, and if it is regulated, people from different regions can fairly easily trade with each other using a 'trusted' token, and be fairly certain they are not getting cheated in the transaction.  There are books about the history of money and standardized measurements.   (For the development of the metric system, The Measure of All Things by K. Alder is quite fascinating.)

With the decrease of societal valuation of things that do not produce money, such as hobbies or recreational activities, there has arisen the attitude that anyone who does something as a hobby - generally a creative one, such as weaving, but also photography, pottery, etc. - pressure comes for practitioners to 'monetize' their leisure activity.

This is usually said by someone who a) knows zilch about the activity and b) zilch about running a business.  Because that is what they are suggesting - that the weaver, etc., not only weave as a hobby, but then run a business.  All in their 'leisure' hours.  Because the flip side of that whole equation is that they ALSO don't believe that being a weaver, etc. is a 'valid' job, either.  Even when you actually do it as your profession.  

With that one sentence "You should monetize your hobby", they whiff away the intrinsic value of being creative, just for its own sake, and demean the level of work involved in then trying to sell what you make.  They don't believe that it takes skill and LABOUR - as in hours of work - to make what you are making.  They have no concept of the process or the knowledge the maker needs to have in order to make a quality product.

Neither do they have any understanding of the legal/logistical requirements of running a business, nor would they probably bother with being 'legal'.

Those of us (even I am still on the periphery of the community) who have actually earned an income from what we make smile wanly and nod.  

All of that said, it IS possible to sell on a very low key basis.  But it still takes time and effort, everything from websites (pretty much required these days) and all the upkeep they take, to packaging (because if we are selling from a website we are shipping stuff), the marketing et bloody cetera.  Getting excellent photographs (another skill) is essential when selling online and it can be really hard to get accurate colour (and even if you do, it all hinges on the viewers computer displaying that colour accurately.)

For weavers there is the possibility that a local guild may participate in a local sales event and sell guild members' work.  Which is about as low key as you can get.  Be prepared to pay a % of your sale price to the guild for the service of renting the space (if they have to pay a rental fee - sometimes they can pay in volunteer hours - *so then volunteer if you can*), setting up and tearing down the booth, making the sales, collecting whatever taxes are legally required to be collected and remitted.  Be prepared to have *legal* fibre content tags, including care instructions, and *legal* fibre content listed.  The % you pay in commission covers the staffing of the booth as well (again, volunteer if you can, and DON'T just 'sell' your own work, for goodness sake!) and the banking/credit card fees and gives the guild a little income to keep being a guild. 

There are all sorts of versions of how to earn an income in the textile field, but none of them come without effort.

For me, I designed, then wove textiles.  I had to keep coming up with new designs every year.  I had to source the yarns to make the designs and ensure I had sufficient yarn inventory on hand so that I could make enough inventory to cover the show season.  If I ran out of yarn I was hooped as it would take a minimum of two weeks to get more yarn.  

After I wove the fabric, it had to be dry and wet finished.  Then the labels attached, then carefully stored (for months before the event because you can't produce $40,000 worth of textiles in a couple of months) before money started coming in.

Booths were applied for and deposits paid months in advance of the event.  So, money going out for yarn and booth rentals, 6 months before I could see any income.  And even then, there was no guarantee anyone would actually purchase.  Sometimes when the folk in my booth turned their noses up, they would make snide comments about 'high' prices.  Just loud enough for me to hear, but not directly to me, so no chance to comment - not that I really wanted to.

So I also wrote articles for publication.  Most magazines have a minimum of a six month lead time, so again, all the work was done months before I got paid.  And they rarely paid much.  It was more a way to get my name 'known' for teaching.

I booked workshops.  Then I had to be travel agent and set up the 'tour'.  Again paying for the entire trip well before the events and any hope of compensation.  I took to supplying all the yarn - so that I knew I would get guaranteed results.  (Started doing that after two workshops in a row on wet finishing when I specified *wool* yarn and several people turned up with acrylic warps 'because I wanted to use what I had on hand, not buy something'.)  That meant I had to sort the yarn and the drafts, which I would customize for each group given how many 8 and 4 shaft looms they had available), print out the drafts, then box it all up and mail.  Again, weeks before the workshop so that the participants would have enough time to dress their looms.  It also meant I had to have a 'teaching' stash, not just a production stash.

I was told other teachers would bring textiles to sell, so I began to do that as well, and sometimes I would sell out of all of the tea towels I had brought.  This was a welcome addition to my pocketbook because it was not 'budgeted' - it was a bonus.

In addition to all of the actual *weaving* and *teaching* tasks, I had to keep inventory - yarn and product -  keep track of my expenses/income, balance my books, collect/remit the sales taxes, pay my bills, arrange financing when necessary (which it was from time to time, my income being cyclic in nature, not steady).  I had to schedule my calendar making sure I wasn't double booking myself, then be my own travel agent setting up my trips.  

Since NA is a large continent, I frequently hopped time zones on top of some very stressful trips due to weather or other things.  I can't tell you how many driving trips I white knuckled through winter driving conditions - since going east meant going through the Rocky Mountains.  And rain.  I hate driving in the rain, and they don't call the west coast the wet coast for nothing.  I also don't like driving in big cities, and yet I began to make several trips to big cities every year.  Eventually I got 'better' at dealing with city traffic, but I never enjoyed it, especially in the rain.

Years of dragging heavy suitcases and cases of yarn/books took their toll on my body, and the hours of sitting in the van or on a plane weren't much better.  Add to that extensive food allergies and the lack of 'safe' food and, well, let's just say I'm not actually missing any of that anymore.

Being semi-retired means I have closed my 'business'.  I no longer collect/remit sales taxes.  When I sell on consignment, the seller does that for me.  I *do* declare what little money I earn from teaching or my sales on ko-fi when I send in my income tax.  But my weaving is no longer a business.  I make what I want, when I want.  I sell through the local guild and another consignment shop.  The workshop in October will be my last in-person workshop.  With only 2 registered so far, it will likely 'fail'.  And I'm not actually too bothered if it does.

I've taught for 48 years.  I expect I will continue to 'teach' but in the way I want, which is primarily via the written word.

Does that mean I have book 4 happening?  Another tiny slice for an already niche market.  I doubt I'll sell many copies.  

I still have the next class for School of Sweet Georgia, which will launch in November, and I am supposed to be working on the documentation for that.  Since that deadline is 'looming', that will be my priority for the coming week.  The file is mostly complete, but I need to add photos, and for that I need the current warp to come off the loom so I can take photos of the process.  Given my back spasm, that means I'm two weeks 'behind' schedule.  But I am back to weaving, albeit at a much slower pace, and the warp should come off the loom Tuesday.  

Wednesday I have a 7:30 am Zoom presentation, then the phone call with the pain doctor, and in between I will attempt to get the photographs taken.  

(All of this is to say...if you have a supplier in the fibre field, and some 'spare' cash, maybe make a purchase once in a while.  Your sale may be the tipping point in them eating - or not - that month.)