::Ponderings::The Cost of Handcrafting and it's Sustainability

Hey,

Today I'm posting about what can sometimes be seen as a touchy subject - the cost of handcrafting things and how to sustain your creative outlet.

Lately I've been really interested in the topic of entrepreneurial handcrafting. There is a lot that goes into having a business, let alone a business around your creativity and productivity. So I have been reading a lot about the cost of handcrafted goods from a business perspective.

Then there's the personal perspective of the cost of handcrafted goods. I was reading this blog post about the true value of making a quilt for a gift.
First there's the raw materials that go into a handcrafted project, sometimes they need a large investement. Then when the time spent on the project is factored in the 'true' cost of a project can really add up.(especially in countries where the minimum wage higher than the international average)

Anyway, why am I talking about this?  You may notice a few changes around here at SimpleFibreLife in the near future. I'm going to be adding adverts and affiliate links to my blog. Let me explain...

I am currently between jobs. I have been for awhile. It is hard to sustain my creative outlets without my own disposable income. So putting adverts on my blog and having affiliate links are a way to raise some funds to put back into my sustaining my creative projects. Which I will not doubt share with you. It's the circle of life blogging.

All this came about because I'm writing a bunch of book reviews this year and I wanted to link to the books themselves on a website that I would buy the books from myself. When I looked into it I learned about affiliate programs. I would usually buy my books from Book Depository so, where possible,  I'll link to them using affiliate links.
I should add here that these books I'm going to be reviewing have not been gifted to me. I have purchased these books myself using my own money or gift vouchers that have been given to my buy friends or family.

Don't get me wrong I don't expect to make a million bucks out of this exercise. I make things because I love to make things, but the reality is that materials that go into making things cost money. Hopefully this 'commercialisation' of my blog will contribute to those costs.

Why am I sharing this with you? Because I'm all about transparency and if I were in your position I'd like to know what's going on.

I hope I haven't put anyone's nose out of joint, but these are realities of life and I'd rather be open, honest and frank about it than pretend it's not the way it is.

How do you sustain your creative outlet?
Leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you :)

Until next time,


P.s. Yep. I totally drew that image. I'm pretty rad with MS Paint  :P