Even though Support4Business is still actively involved in our core small business service offerings – bookkeeping/payroll, web design & hosting, promotional products, etc. – I really missed creating physical products. As mentioned on our About page, I have a degree in design, specifically clothing design, and though web design has some creative components, I really wanted get back to designing and producing hand-crafted items.
So, over the past couple of years, we have purchased a vinyl cutter, heat press, embroidery machine and a 3-in-1 printer…and I’m already drooling over sublimation equipment and white toner printers. But, I keep telling myself, “baby steps,” as my home office is already too small for the inventory, supplies and equipment we currently have on-hand. (I will add to this article, if (when) I buy new equipment. :))
As you can see from the above photo, I went a bit overboard by designing and creating a little bit of everything! There are just so many fun things to create, with only a few pieces of equipment. As a result, I am currently in the process of narrowing down the items on which I want to concentrate, and creating our niche…cause otherwise, we will need to add another room onto our home!
In the meantime, I thought it may be helpful if I shared some of our favorite sources for our S4B Design Studio endeavor, for those interested in the crafting business. I do not make any income by referencing or linking to these resources. They are simply offered to help those who may be starting out in the crafting business or those searching for new suppliers.
Right now, I do have a few items listed in my Etsy store. My goal, as I find time, is to use Etsy to sell my original designs as digital downloads. For my “Idaho” themed designs, appealing to our local market, I use the Square Online Shop feature. However, most of my original design handmade items are sold at pop-up shops at regional festivals and craft shows. What a fun way to get out of the home office and showcase my wares! It has resulted in numerous custom orders. Since I have a full-time job, in addition to my home-based small business support services, I personally have no desire (or time!) to do mass production. If I did, I would have to get more serious about producing YouTube videos and keeping up with Facebook and Instagram posts to market my business. So, based on the time I do have, I prefer showcasing a sampling of items I can make, and taking orders for individual, personalized gifts.
As I’ve mentioned in previous Tips & Tricks articles, I obsess about finding the “biggest bang for my buck!” – for myself and my clients. To that end, I do a ton of research, trying out new items and suppliers. The resources I am listing below are those that have worked very well for us. In the case of the craft and inventory suppliers, we have purchased multiple times from them, and every order has been speedy and accurate. So, as I have quite a list to share, we best get to it! (This article was originally going to list all our equipment, supply and inventory sources, but it was going to be way to long, so we are splitting up the articles.)
Equipment We Use:
- Silhouette Cameo 3 Cutting Machine: I did a lot of research, comparing the Cricut machine to the Cameo, before I purchased this first piece of equipment. I am very pleased with my choice! It does everything I want it to, and there are still features I have not yet tried. I use it to cut out our preferred Oracal permanent vinyl, as well as the Siser heat transfer vinyl. I also create all my product tags, stickers and banners with this machine. The Cameo 3 is being phased out, as Silhouette America has recently released the Cameo 4 model. I was tempted to upgrade at the end of the last fiscal year, due to the larger cutting area and new features, but we chose to purchase upgrades for our 3-in-1 printer instead. But, we will definitely be upgrading our Cameo machine in the near future.
- Heat Press Nation: When I first experimented with HTV, I tried using a regular iron…uggh! I quickly saw the need for a heat press, so I purchased a cheap one off eBay. It had a lot of attachments, but it did not do a good job with consistent heat and pressure, which is crucial if you have bulk orders and use pre-printed transfers (more about that below). So, I upgraded to a larger heat press from Heat Nation. What a difference a quality heat press makes! I will likely be upgrading again in the near future, and if I succumb to my desire to try out sublimation, I will need to get one of their mug presses also. Depending on whether you are starting out or expanding, Heat Press Nation has a wide range of products from which to choose.
- Brother PE800 Embroidery Machine: This was the third piece of equipment we purchased. I have always wanted an embroidery machine, but felt we should not jump into a large commercial machine, until we tried out this medium first. So, again, after months of research, we decided on the Brother PE800 model. It is a great little machine, and with the exception of caps, which do not embroider well on a flat bed, it has helped us decorate many different types of products. The biggest challenge, as all embroiderers will tell you, is learning how to digitize. As I create many original designs, this has been the largest learning curve. Definitely not as easy as creating designs to cut out on the Cameo 3.
- Snapmaker 3-in-1 Module Machine: This is our latest piece of equipment, because, even though I have not yet mastered embroidery digitizing, I really wanted to try engraving gifts. I was originally looking at the GlowForge machine, but in my research, I found the Snapmaker 3-in-1 machine. It not only engraves, but it also does 3-D printing (which my DH is interested in) and CNC carving. Plus, it is more affordable than other engraving products. I am loving this machine for my engraving! I have purchased many upgrades recently, and I currently use it to engrave tumblers, bamboo, and leather. My DH is enjoying the 3-D function…we just have to negotiate who gets to use the machine. We have not yet tried out the CNC module, but am looking forward to trying it out. The Official Snapmaker Owners Facebook page has proven a great resource for owners to share ideas and settings, as the product is still relatively new.
These are the products we currently use in our S4B Design Studio. In future articles, we will share our favorite resources for craft and inventory supplies.
For further reading, we have a variety of small business advice in the Tips & Tricks section of our website, as well as a Resource Toolbox full of helpful tools. If we can help you in any way with your small business, we welcome you to Contact Us.
Until next time…Best wishes in your endeavors!