My Knitting Niche - My Brand

So on Monday of this week, I received in the mail a “no, thank you” from Christmas Crafts Co-op, the organization that runs the Harvard Square Holiday Fair.

That got me thinking again. What exactly is the direction that I want my business to go in? What is my brand, and how can I understand it in order to better communicate with more customers?

I love creating patterns, and I love knitting. But I’m not a volume knitter. Nor do I produce a high volume of inexpensive items on a regular basis. I am a beauty broker, and I offer my customers a custom experience when they order my knitwear and patterns.

It is probably a good thing that I was not able to book a spot at the Holiday Fair, as I don’t think I would have been able to produce the volume of items needed to sell to the general public over several days. Many of my patterns take time to knit, like the Winter Solstice Cuffs, for example. And the price point ends up being so high, after materials and labor, that I might have been quite unsuccessful at a crafts fair.

Of late, I’ve been thinking similar thoughts about my Etsy Shop. I need to increase the volume of items listed. I sell patterns there, and with 11 patterns already listed, I feel good about my business in that area. However, I should increase my Ready-to-Wear lot. I bet people would come around a bit more if they saw garments that could be shipped right away, rather than just custom Knit-to-Order listings.

My success on Ravelry.com has been quite good. I have sold many patterns, and quite a few folks have begun projects using my work. As a business woman. this has been very satisfying, and, as a knitter, it has been really nice to share my love of handiwork with others.

The question is really who I am - my brand - and how I can understand and communicate it to my customers in order to increase sales.

I have submitted several patterns to Interweave Knits and Creative Knitting, but none have yet to be accepted. These may or may not be the appropriate venues for my designs; there are many knitting magazines out there that accept submissions. I am not deterred. We’ll see what happens with my winter Knitty submission in the coming months. I think that patterns are my business’ strength, so I will continue to concentrate on getting them out there.

At present, my goal is to publish a book of knitting patterns with a publishing house. That would be fantastic. What I need to do is figure out exactly what my knitting niche is - my brand - so that I can communicate this through a winning proposal!