Arts and Crafts

Past experience shows that many operations end up as part-time, low income businesses. The Key to success is mass production of unique, hard to copy items and outstanding marketing and self-promotional skills. Artisans should not depend on the local market place to support them.

• Antique style art.
• Art and craft classes.
• Bird Feeders, cages and houses.
• Blacksmith service and ornamental metal work.
• Calligraphy.
• Cartoon drawing for newspapers, children - check into copyright restrictions.
• Carving products such as jack-o'-lanterns from plant materials.
• Create and sell corsages.
• Creating board games, jigsaw puzzles, with a local twist as souvenir items.
• Custom bumper stickers and license plate frames.
• Custom and decorative lamps, shades, clocks, screens, etc.
• Custom sewing - quilts, pillowcases, kitchen table covers, etc.
• Custom weaving - rugs, mats, sweaters, etc.
• Decorating shopping centres and building Christmas displays and other seasonal/cultural themes.
• Doll-related products-collector dolls, doll houses, doll furnishings and clothing.
• Do-it-yourself kits to be assembled by the buyers-carvings, doll furniture, ship in bottles, etc.
• Dried flower arrangements and crafts.
• Fishing lures and flies.
• Gift baskets as presents, real estate agent gifts, etc.
• Glass making - art, engraved crafts, industrial and medical products, stained glass windows, etc.
• Handicraft co-operatives - joint retail sales or marketing at gift- trade shows, etc.
• Hand painted t-shirts and sweat shirts.
• Sketches or charcoal sketches of store fronts, people, caricatures, wildlife scenes, etc.
• Ornaments cast from concrete.
• Leather craft-wallets, pocket books, belts, etc. The money is in specialty, custom pieces where the margins are higher.
• Painting or sketching buildings for construction developers based on blue prints.
• Painting commemorative or personalized china plates.
• Painting greeting cards, stationary postcards, posters, etc.
• Painting names and addresses on the sides of buildings, mail boxes, curbs, and front doors.
• Painting murals on buildings or designs in swimming pools.
• Portraits of people, pets, etc. with unusual or imaginary backgrounds behind them. One artist takes old portraits and replaces the faces of dogs!
• Pottery, particularly specialty styles and products.
• Products and art using wild plants materials, rocks, soil, etc.
• Renting paintings.
• Sculptures.
• Silk plant arrangements.
• Souvenirs and fun novelty items for tourist attractions.
• Speciality woodworking-bird decoys, rocking horses, wild animal scenes, folklore/mythical figures, classic cars, decorative trays, etc. for direct sale or wholesale to gift stores.
• Stuffed animals and do-it-yourself kits for assembly by buyers.
• Textile painting.
• Unique Christmas decorations.
• Unusual forms of art-a guy in Victoria makes paintings using spray cans. It is quite entertaining to watch him paint them!
• Wildlife and nature photography or painting.
• Wooden Toys.