Thought I would post some of my more recent hats. Enjoy!
Please let me know if I posted any of these before. I cannot remember. LOL
This one I gave to a friend. Sorry about the lighting. It's one of my more Steampunk hats, with gears on either side. I should have gotten better pictures of it before I gave it away, but hindsight and all that. I think it turned out really well. It's one of three I have made without making the frame as well. It's also bigger than I usually make them.
This is one of the other hats that I have made with a pre-made form. The hat is not quite finished as I need to add some decoration and fix the lace trim at the back, but I really liked the fabric and the tulle with this one. Again, bigger than I usually make my hats.
Sorry about the blurry on this one. Again, my camera sucks. This one I like because of the Day of the Dead feel to it. This is actually an older picture, I have since added cording around the brim to hide the edge of the brim and the gap there.
I have actually decided to look into what it would take to turn this hobby into a paying one by seeing what it would take to produce enough to sell. So far I've figured out what it costs to make them, still figuring out prices for selling them.
Oh, and I've decided to go under the name My Dapper Demon for once I do start selling them. :)
If anyone has any constructive criticism, tips or ideas for future hats please let me know! I love hearing back from people on these.
Please let me know if I posted any of these before. I cannot remember. LOL
This one I gave to a friend. Sorry about the lighting. It's one of my more Steampunk hats, with gears on either side. I should have gotten better pictures of it before I gave it away, but hindsight and all that. I think it turned out really well. It's one of three I have made without making the frame as well. It's also bigger than I usually make them.
This is one of the other hats that I have made with a pre-made form. The hat is not quite finished as I need to add some decoration and fix the lace trim at the back, but I really liked the fabric and the tulle with this one. Again, bigger than I usually make my hats.
Sorry about the blurry on this one. Again, my camera sucks. This one I like because of the Day of the Dead feel to it. This is actually an older picture, I have since added cording around the brim to hide the edge of the brim and the gap there.
I have actually decided to look into what it would take to turn this hobby into a paying one by seeing what it would take to produce enough to sell. So far I've figured out what it costs to make them, still figuring out prices for selling them.
Oh, and I've decided to go under the name My Dapper Demon for once I do start selling them. :)
If anyone has any constructive criticism, tips or ideas for future hats please let me know! I love hearing back from people on these.
Edited at 2012-11-18 01:37 am (UTC)
Thank you for the link!
But you're going to need a few things: Either a better camera or learn how yours can take non-blurry photos (I had an old 5 megapixel camera for a while that worked for my work, so it doesn't HAVE to be top of the line), a lightbox to take photos IN, and perhaps a mannequin head so people have a general idea what the hats can or would look like on themselves.
You can pretty much make a lightbox out of cardboard and paper if you don't want to buy an actual one. Youtube probably had tutorial videos.
And then things can be awesome.
Avenues you might consider: custom wedding items (steampunk wedding = HUGE right now) sold on a venue like etsy, and maybe seeing if there are Steampunk cons anywhere near you that you might be able to sell all weekend at - it does mean that you'll have to have lots of stock prepared in advance, which can be one of the trickiest things about having a crafting empire.
Good luck!!!!
I intend to first start selling the hats at conventions, and I was thinking of doing custom orders as well. I've been warned away from Etsy from several people however, so I don't know if I'm going to go through that. I'm still considering it though.
The stock issue is the thing right now, as right now I only have about a little over half a dozen hats. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to get up the money to get the supplies I need...and where I'm going to put all the supplies, lol.
Thank you for the advice!