Over the years, it has become a norm for business owners to successfully sell their crafts to customers in a wide range of industries. There is room for everyone to share their art with the world, whether you are an artist, jewelry maker, or passionate about starting a pet business. So in this article, we’ll cover the basics of making and selling profitable crafts for profit and how to get started.
Overview
If a global pandemic taught us anything, it’s that anyone with their hands can make things. DIY content on platforms such as TikTok has exploded. A quick search on YouTube yielded craft tutorials for everything from embroidery to woodworking. Sourdough was having a good time.
It’s not surprising that we turned to crafts in times of isolation. Working with your hands has been shown in studies to provide numerous mental health benefits. Crafting helps to increase creativity by diversifying brain activity, especially for those who work on computers. And the sense of accomplishment that comes from creating something from scratch can help to reduce stress and anxiety.
Even better, exploring your creativity may inspire a business idea. Let’s get crafting if you’re looking for a monetizable hobby!
Crafts that Sell in 2023
Explore trending crafts to make with ideas for all skill levels ahead. Learn how to turn your passion into profitable products you can sell online, at craft fairs, and anywhere.
Jewellery Made of Resin and Polymer Clay
Resin and polymer clay jewelry creations became popular a few years ago, but they continue to be popular due to their versatility and appeal as DIY crafts. Resin jewelry is often distinguished by items such as dried flowers “preserved” in a complex, clear substance. In contrast, polymer clay jewelry is typically composed of opaque geometric shapes in bright colors.
Both require some initial investment but have a low learning curve with plenty of online tutorials. Jewellery making is a great hobby that can be turned into a side business because you can make multiple pieces in each batch.
What You Should Know:
- Resin jewelry is a little more challenging because it involves mixing chemicals, which can be messy. You can avoid bubbles in your creations through trial and error.
- Polymer clay jewelry can be created by cutting freehand shapes or using mini cookie cutters, then joining the pieces with jump rings. For a more professional finish, invest in a rolling pin designed for this purpose.
- Consider how this medium can be used in ways other than jewelry. Consider holiday decorations such as Christmas ornaments or picture frames.
Embroidered Rugs and Mats
Footprints can be seen in the frame. Rug hooking or tufting is another popular trend that is still going strong. You can create one-of-a-kind rugs, mats, or textile wall art based on your designs, whether you hook by hand with a punch needle or use a mechanical/electric tufting gun. Top designers frequently command hundreds of dollars for a two-by-three-foot rug. If you find your niche, it can be a lucrative business.
What You Should Know:
- Create tufted rugs to your customers’ specifications using a custom or made-to-order service.
- Starting out in this space will save you a few hundred dollars in materials, especially if you use a tufting gun. Before investing, try a class if one is available in your area to see if you enjoy it.
Dyeing of Textiles
Tie-dye made a comeback (again) in 2019 and is still going strong, appearing in fashion retailer collections on everything from sneakers to underwear. Tie-dyed goods are simple to make and sell at home because they require few materials and skills.
Depending on your skill level, you can buy and dye bulk blank t-shirts or tie-dye fabric to sew into one-of-a-kind products. Try traditional Japanese shibori, a popular resist-dyeing technique that uses natural indigo dye.
What You Should Know:
- Fabric dye, both synthetic and natural, is commercially available. You can also experiment with making your dyes from pantry ingredients such as avocado skins, turmeric, or teas.
- To resist dye, tie-dyeing is typically done with string or elastic. However, anything can be used for this purpose, including bulldog clips, clothespins, or a wax-resist method such as batik.
Paper Flowers
Paper flowers on a table are simple crafts to make and sell, and they can potentially be a profitable small business idea. The wedding services market has recovered from the pandemic and is expected to be worth more than $414 billion by 2030.
Marketing paper flowers as eye-catching décor for weddings and events could land you a piece of that massive pie. There are numerous free online paper flower tutorials and templates to help you get started. Even better, paper flowers are among the simplest crafts to make and require very little initial investment to get started.
What You Should Know:
- Find or create designs that can be folded down and unfolded by your customer to save money on shipping.
- Why not try making and selling craft kits for kids and adults, including assembling and cutting elements of paper flowers that customers can assemble at home?
Home Fragrance
Home fragrance products, such as candles, are among the simplest crafts to make and sell online because they require no prior crafting experience. They’re also in high demand. By 2026, the home fragrance market will be worth $9.2 billion.
You can purchase a basic candle-making kit to experiment with adding essential oils to the melted wax. However, the options are limitless: get creative and stand out with unique containers/shapes like those by Yui Brooklyn, great brandings like Boy Smells, or unusual scent combinations like Frostbeard candles.
What You Should Know:
- Room and linen sprays, custom essential oil blends, and natural diffusers are other home fragrance crafts to make and sell.
- If you intend to make and sell candles online, keep in mind that they are brittle and prone to melting. Consider this when planning your packing and shipping strategy.
Ceramic or Clay Plant Pots
The plant-parent population grew like weeds at the pandemic’s start, and businesses selling plants and plant accessories reaped the benefits. Furthermore, because plant care is a long-term commitment, tangential businesses will benefit for years to come.
Pottery has a higher barrier to entry because it requires specialized ovens (called kilns) to fire the clay. These are often expensive and inconvenient, but you can usually find community centers or clay studios that rent kiln time.
Air clay or cement (poured into molds) can also make pottery-like plant pots that do not require firing.
What You Should Know:
- Learn how to work with clay and gain access to a kiln by attending a pottery workshop or class.
- Consider garden markers, hanging planters, watering spikes, or window boxes, which can be made from various materials.
Face Masks
While mask mandates have declined in some areas, face masks remain in high demand as COVID variants spread. Furthermore, face masks are widely used in some parts of the world to combat the spread of colds and the effects of smog.
If you know how to sew, you can make and sell fabric face masks by following online tutorials or designing your pattern.
What You Should Know:
- Face masks can be found almost anywhere. Why should they buy yours? Consider how you can improve on the standard mask in terms of design or functionality. Second Wind’s founder gained traction for her face mask line, which helped popularize masks as statement accessories, earning her celebrity clients such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jennifer Lopez.
- Face masks are small enough to ship via letter mail. Offer free shipping and include the bare minimum in the retail price.
Vintage Upcycle
A person working on upcycled clothing crafts is depicted in this illustration. Vintage upcycling may be a good option if you’re looking for a sustainable craft that you can do from home. The method entails sourcing vintage or used clothing—possibly with rips, stains, or dated shapes—and repurposing parts into new products.
A torn maxi-skirt could be upcycled into a tote bag, a faded vintage sweatshirt could be cropped and redyed, and an old t-shirt could be reimagined as a baby hat. For this DIY trend, the possibilities are limitless.
What You Should Know:
- To upcycle vintage clothing, you don’t need any sewing skills or a sewing machine. Distressing denim or cropping and dying tees are two ideas.
- Consider what is in high demand. Which past fashion trends have made a comeback? How do you make less-than-desirable cuts into modern silhouettes?
Tote Bags
This is one of our list’s most adaptable craft ideas, with options for people of all skill and creativity levels. Blank cotton tote bags can be purchased at a low cost and personalized with silkscreening, beading, hand painting, textile dyeing, or embroidering.
Sew tote bags from scratch using your pattern—add pockets, closures, and other details to make yours unique.
What You Should Know:
- Upcycling vintage clothing or fabric into a usable tote bag is a sustainable option. Consumer preferences continue to favor businesses with a focus on sustainability.
- Consider carving out a niche in this overcrowded market. What about wine bottle totes, backpack totes, bags that fold up to fit in a pocket, or totes screen printed with memes and pop-culture references?
- If you lack artistic talent, consider uploading your designs to a print-on-demand partner and having them shipped directly to your customer.
Woven and Knotted Home Décor
Woven and knotted textile art has made a big comeback, coinciding with midcentury home decor trends. These home décor crafts have something for everyone’s skill level. Macramé is a knotted technique popularized in the Victorian era and revived in the 1970s for making belts, textile art, and hanging planters.
Searches for “hanging planter” peaked between 2020-2023 but have remained steady. It’s a simple craft that requires little to no equipment.
Other textile crafts, such as hanging wall art, can be created by weaving on a loom, ranging from a simple wooden frame or handloom to sizeable electrical power looms.
What You Should Know:
- A beginner weaving kit can cost as little as $30 and includes everything you need to weave a test project.
- What other types of woven crafts can you create and sell? Consider placemats, bathmats, soft baskets, rope bowls made at home, or jewelry.
- When planning your collections, keep current home and décor trends in mind.
Artisanal Beauty Products
A surface is covered with a collection of handmade colored soaps with labels. Even if you’re not creative, DIY beauty products can be simple crafts to make and sell. In your spare time, experiment with simple products (such as DIY bath bombs) before moving on to more complicated craft ideas such as nail polish or lotions.
What You Should Know:
Because handmade beauty products make excellent gifts, plan your collections around gift-giving occasions. Gift sets are an excellent way to bundle products and make shopping more convenient for your customers.
When starting the craft business, using upcycled materials like Mason jars for product packaging can help you save money. These ideas are frequently found at local thrift stores.
Start a Craft Business and Live Your Dream
You’ll need a glue gun and your winning idea. It’s time to transition from a side hobby to your own craft business. Create a strong brand, write a business plan, and identify your ideal customer.
Remember to keep up with DIY trends and to think about seasonality. You’re now prepared to create crafts at home and sell them anywhere from a craft fair to your branded online store.
What Are the Best Ways to Begin Your Craft Business?
Many platforms have emerged to promote creating and selling crafts for profit. Some of the best ways to start your own craft business are as follows:
- Sell on Etsy: Etsy is a popular platform for makers, and you can open your Etsy store.
- Your website: You can create a website with your products to make it easy for customers to browse and buy and provide affordable shipping options.
- Facebook marketplace: You can sell items to local customers on the Facebook marketplace all year and offer shipping options to those who live further away.
Local Places to Sell Your Handmade Crafts
If you want to sell your crafts locally, you have several options.
- Craft fairs: Throughout the year, numerous local and national craft shows bring together makers selling handmade items, particularly around the holiday season.
- Craft store: Some many boutiques and shops bring together handmade goods for customers and where you can sell items.
- Flea markets: Because they attract a wide audience, local markets are always suitable for making money-making crafts.
Where Can You Sell Your Handmade Crafts Online?
There are numerous ways to sell handmade crafts online if you want to run your own business and sell handmade crafts online.
- Etsy: If you’re looking for simple ways to sell crafts online, Etsy is a great place to start. Offering low-cost or free shipping in your Etsy shop can help you earn extra money and increase sales.
- Redbubble: An online marketplace like Redbubble is very useful for artists looking to expand their product offerings. Print your artwork on clothing, home decor, gift items, and other items.
- Craft blog: Create a blog detailing how you make your crafts and build a following to sell the items to.
Crafts with the Highest Profitability
So, now that we’ve covered the various types of crafts available to you, what makes the most money? You can make and sell a variety of items for a profit, so the first step is to determine what you enjoy making the most and how long it takes to complete the items. Both of these elements will influence your pricing.
Paper crafts, wooden decor, jewellery, and pottery are the most profitable crafts to sell. These are the crafts that sell well all year. However, if you have a one-of-a-kind design or item that does not fall into one of these categories, you can still run your own profitable craft business. Customers will come to you for in-demand handmade items if you sell at craft fairs and focus on selling online.
When starting your own business, it is critical to ensure that you have a business license (if required) as well as any necessary paperwork to operate and sell your products.
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