Ever dreamt of having your handmade ceramic housewares sold in a store like Crate and Barrel or your local boutique, but don’t know where to start or are overwhelmed at the thought of cold calling sales? In the past, to offer a collection to a retail establishment, you as an artist would need to prove that you can deliver a quality product, reliably, and then go out an find every single one of your customers to sell to (not forgetting that you would actually have to make and deliver your product on top of this). Today, with services like Faire, you can list your handmade artwork or craft goods to sell at wholesale to retail and ecommerce establishments.

Taking Faire as an example, if you are a ceramicist that makes a standardized craft product, like a handmade plate, that is unique to you (but still reliably similar enough to be bought in bulk), you can list that item online to be bought at wholesale. The buyers of your craft good can be small boutiques, larger regional chains, or even ecommerce stores that want to dropship unique goods. After you list your product, Faire will then find you buyers, then all you need to do is fulfill orders once they come in.

This capability takes a lot of pressure off of an artisan, as it saves the proactive sales that someone would have to do while starting their business, and creates a passive way to generate sales.

If you’re just starting out as an artisan, getting your first few sales online while building your portfolio of sold goods can be a great way to prove reliability to an in-person boutique. After retaining a few boutique clients, you could be on your way to selling in a big box store like Target or CB2.

Of course, you can opt to blend your sales approach by listing your craft products on a service like Faire, while also reaching out to local retailers or businesses within your community or through cold calling. Having a diversified approach to finding new business will often help in the long run, as online sales can come in when in-person outreach stalls and vice versa.

Selling your work through established channels like retail boutiques and high end retail can be a fantastic goal for an artisan to aspire to and achieve. Retail buyers are always on the lookout for new products to offer in stores, and by utilizing a modern digital tool like Faire to get a jumpstart is a great way to get your work in front of the people who make decisions about what is sold in stores. The best part about Faire is that it is almost completely passive, meaning once you list, the marketplace does the work for you. If you create craft goods, what store would you want to sell in?