Original Idea Post
Jun. 20th, 2010 04:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crafthavenCraft Swap/Craft Resource Center
Looking for a catchier name...
This is not an actual action plan, more like a collection of my brainstorms, and an explanation of what my idea actually is.
Goals
The idea combines two goals: to organize a large-scale swap of crafting materials on a quarterly basis, and to maintain a resource center where crafters can obtain crafting materials and other relevant resources free of charge.
The Swap
Crafters tend to swap materials on a small scale basis, trading between friends or organizing a "swap day" where everyone brings items they do not plan to use but don't want to waste. I would like to organize a quarterly event, something like a yard sale or flea market, wherein local crafters bring crafting materials to share and come away with new materials they can use.
The Resource Center
This, in itself, is a combination of two things. First, an online catalogue, and the physical storage space, of any materials that are left over between swap events or added between events. Second, an online knowledge base about subjects relevant to crafters.
Looking for a catchier name...
This is not an actual action plan, more like a collection of my brainstorms, and an explanation of what my idea actually is.
Goals
The idea combines two goals: to organize a large-scale swap of crafting materials on a quarterly basis, and to maintain a resource center where crafters can obtain crafting materials and other relevant resources free of charge.
The Swap
Crafters tend to swap materials on a small scale basis, trading between friends or organizing a "swap day" where everyone brings items they do not plan to use but don't want to waste. I would like to organize a quarterly event, something like a yard sale or flea market, wherein local crafters bring crafting materials to share and come away with new materials they can use.
Admission
The "price" of admission would be an item to swap. Guidelines will be set for what this item can be, for fairness' sake (things outside of the guidelines may also be brought, but you must have at least one item in the guidelines to gain admission). Each person admitted would be given a standard-sized bag or container to fill--see below for more brainstorming about bags. Possibly bringing additional guidelines-acceptable items would merit additional bags? Still thinking about that.
Bags/Limiting Takeaway Items
I don't want to enforce a strict one-takeaway-per-trade rule, because many of us will bring more than we take away and that's okay, it's part of the spirit of things. Basically, it's not a direct trade--more of a "donate and you'll get access to this pool of donated items."
But I do want to limit what people can take somewhat, which can be done with bag size. I'm thinking, also, maybe one bag size can be used for fabric/yarn/scrapbooking/paint/tools and a smaller size for beads, because a bag that would be reasonable for a piece or two of fabric might be able to hold a ridiculous number of beads. Also there's the possibility that more guidelines-meeting items would get you more bags, but I'm not sure about that. Maybe you could just get one additional bag. Let's not get too crazy.
Guidelines
I'd have some other crafters help me with this, but I was thinking as a sketchy start:
-Fabric: Single piece that is at least 1 yd in length, or two pieces at least 1/2 yd in length.
-Yarn: Single ball or skein of natural fiber yarn or decorative acrylic yarn, or two balls or skeins of plain acrylic yarn.
-Tools: I'll have to think more about this, but I like the idea of accepting tools (nice scissors, hole punches, knitting needles, crochet hooks, stuff like that)
Beads: No, I really have no idea how to break this down, I don't bead. I was going to say 1-2 packages, but then some fancy beads come without packages, and some packages are cheap and tiny, and yeah I don't know.
Basically the guidelines are supposed to be the MINIMUM someone can bring to trade--they can always bring extras, even things that don't count in the guidelines, on top of their "admission fee" donation. (i.e. fabric scraps smaller than 1/2 yd should not count as an admission donation, but they can be brought in addition to a yard piece)
Frequency
As mentioned above, I'm thinking quarterly. I am a busy person (aren't we all?), but I think I can make time for 4x a year.
Alternate donations
There's also the possibility of accepting "things needed for the running of this shindig" as price of admission. Items like storage bins for keeping the leftovers between swap events (part of the Resource Center stuff below).
The "price" of admission would be an item to swap. Guidelines will be set for what this item can be, for fairness' sake (things outside of the guidelines may also be brought, but you must have at least one item in the guidelines to gain admission). Each person admitted would be given a standard-sized bag or container to fill--see below for more brainstorming about bags. Possibly bringing additional guidelines-acceptable items would merit additional bags? Still thinking about that.
Bags/Limiting Takeaway Items
I don't want to enforce a strict one-takeaway-per-trade rule, because many of us will bring more than we take away and that's okay, it's part of the spirit of things. Basically, it's not a direct trade--more of a "donate and you'll get access to this pool of donated items."
But I do want to limit what people can take somewhat, which can be done with bag size. I'm thinking, also, maybe one bag size can be used for fabric/yarn/scrapbooking/paint/tools and a smaller size for beads, because a bag that would be reasonable for a piece or two of fabric might be able to hold a ridiculous number of beads. Also there's the possibility that more guidelines-meeting items would get you more bags, but I'm not sure about that. Maybe you could just get one additional bag. Let's not get too crazy.
Guidelines
I'd have some other crafters help me with this, but I was thinking as a sketchy start:
-Fabric: Single piece that is at least 1 yd in length, or two pieces at least 1/2 yd in length.
-Yarn: Single ball or skein of natural fiber yarn or decorative acrylic yarn, or two balls or skeins of plain acrylic yarn.
-Tools: I'll have to think more about this, but I like the idea of accepting tools (nice scissors, hole punches, knitting needles, crochet hooks, stuff like that)
Beads: No, I really have no idea how to break this down, I don't bead. I was going to say 1-2 packages, but then some fancy beads come without packages, and some packages are cheap and tiny, and yeah I don't know.
Basically the guidelines are supposed to be the MINIMUM someone can bring to trade--they can always bring extras, even things that don't count in the guidelines, on top of their "admission fee" donation. (i.e. fabric scraps smaller than 1/2 yd should not count as an admission donation, but they can be brought in addition to a yard piece)
Frequency
As mentioned above, I'm thinking quarterly. I am a busy person (aren't we all?), but I think I can make time for 4x a year.
Alternate donations
There's also the possibility of accepting "things needed for the running of this shindig" as price of admission. Items like storage bins for keeping the leftovers between swap events (part of the Resource Center stuff below).
The Resource Center
This, in itself, is a combination of two things. First, an online catalogue, and the physical storage space, of any materials that are left over between swap events or added between events. Second, an online knowledge base about subjects relevant to crafters.
Online Catalogue
After a swap, anything that was donated and not taken will be stored and catalogued. Between swap events, all of these donated resources will be viewable on a website, sorted by color and type. I've already developed a spreadsheet to auto-generate the website code and make cataloguing easy. The next swap event, they'll be in the pool of potential takeaways again.
Barcodes
I really want to use barcodes, though it may needlessly complicate things. My spreadsheet can auto-generate them (Excel + free barcode font=AMAZING), and I can mail merge label sheets to stick them on to things. CueCat scanners are cheap, plus Dad might still have one I could bum off of him (if he's not using it, which it's possible he is since he does inventory stuff for the copier parts he uses for work). I wouldn't want to mess with scanning things at a swap event, so I think I'd do a reverse inventory--if anything barcoded is still left after the swap, I can scan that as a "still here" rather than scanning everything that was going away.
Storage Space
Currently, my basement. I have plenty of space. Which is why I will seek donations of storage bins, because while I have some (which are currently storing things that I will be donating to the swap), they're limited, and I'm looking to put time and energy into this but not a lot of money.
Other Online Resources
I'm thinking this is just a collection of articles and relevant links, which is part of the same website where the catalogue of donations is housed. I've written some of my own and collected some good links for my own use, and hopefully if I can get this off the ground other crafters would contribute.
Membership
I like the idea of having a membership option--not sure yet if you become a member automatically by donating/attending a swap event, or if there is some minimal fee (I'm thinking VERY small, like $1-$3). The main membership benefit, I think, would be the ability to "reserve" items between swap events--to request that something listed on the website be set aside for them to collect at the next event. Basically calling dibs on an item. Probably with an electronic newsletter, just something simple to let them know about the next swap event, and any major updates/changes to the resource center.
After a swap, anything that was donated and not taken will be stored and catalogued. Between swap events, all of these donated resources will be viewable on a website, sorted by color and type. I've already developed a spreadsheet to auto-generate the website code and make cataloguing easy. The next swap event, they'll be in the pool of potential takeaways again.
Barcodes
I really want to use barcodes, though it may needlessly complicate things. My spreadsheet can auto-generate them (Excel + free barcode font=AMAZING), and I can mail merge label sheets to stick them on to things. CueCat scanners are cheap, plus Dad might still have one I could bum off of him (if he's not using it, which it's possible he is since he does inventory stuff for the copier parts he uses for work). I wouldn't want to mess with scanning things at a swap event, so I think I'd do a reverse inventory--if anything barcoded is still left after the swap, I can scan that as a "still here" rather than scanning everything that was going away.
Storage Space
Currently, my basement. I have plenty of space. Which is why I will seek donations of storage bins, because while I have some (which are currently storing things that I will be donating to the swap), they're limited, and I'm looking to put time and energy into this but not a lot of money.
Other Online Resources
I'm thinking this is just a collection of articles and relevant links, which is part of the same website where the catalogue of donations is housed. I've written some of my own and collected some good links for my own use, and hopefully if I can get this off the ground other crafters would contribute.
Membership
I like the idea of having a membership option--not sure yet if you become a member automatically by donating/attending a swap event, or if there is some minimal fee (I'm thinking VERY small, like $1-$3). The main membership benefit, I think, would be the ability to "reserve" items between swap events--to request that something listed on the website be set aside for them to collect at the next event. Basically calling dibs on an item. Probably with an electronic newsletter, just something simple to let them know about the next swap event, and any major updates/changes to the resource center.
Thoughts
Date: 2010-07-20 02:09 am (UTC)Perhaps not practical right now -- your physical swap meet should take precedence -- but as a future possibility, I'd like to see an online swap. You're going to inventory items and list them online anyhow; letting people claim them online wouldn't be all that much work. Getting craft supplies for just the shipping cost could be very appealing. (I'm actually not in Ohio, so this occurred to me as a way I could get involved.)
>> Which is why I will seek donations of storage bins, <<
Good idea. However, if you accept cash donations or membership fees, that would also work.
>> not sure yet if you become a member automatically by donating/attending a swap event, or if there is some minimal fee <<
If you want to maximize participation, do it free. If you want to maximize awesomeness, charge a small fee, because there will be some expenses -- not always obvious up front, either. Other member perks could include advertising your stuff for sale on the website (people rarely mind relevant ads) or getting to claim an item for shipping.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2010-07-20 03:13 am (UTC)I wonder, too, about facilitating or making space for people to arrange trades between themselves on the website, but that may be a whole other kettle of fish...I suppose that should probably wait until we find out how well everything else goes.
I'm leaning towards maximizing awesomeness--I really would like to have lots of member perks that make it worth "being in the club" so to speak. And, of course, I would like to spend some money on making the whole thing work more smoothly...so that tips me towards a membership fee too. I guess I'll need to start a list and then sort of...figure out what the benefits are worth.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2010-07-20 05:24 am (UTC)Yay!
>>Since in some ways it may tie into the membership benefits, it would make sense to go ahead and plan how it might work at the same time we're working out the rest of the thing, although it couldn't be up and running until after the first swap, since there would of course need to be things to swap for.<<
True on both counts.
>>But in the way I'm imagining the holds system to work, it would be easy enough to give a person the option between "hold this till the next event" and "let me pay shipping and send it to me right now."<<
That makes sense.
>>I wonder, too, about facilitating or making space for people to arrange trades between themselves on the website, but that may be a whole other kettle of fish...I suppose that should probably wait until we find out how well everything else goes.<<
That's actually easy: use a bulletin board forum system. It's the customary approach for things like seed swaps. These tools already exist as modular units that plug into websites, although I think there are outside hosts too. A very good, very popular and flexible one is phpBB:
http://www.phpbb.com/
>>I'm leaning towards maximizing awesomeness--I really would like to have lots of member perks that make it worth "being in the club" so to speak. <<
Okay, that makes sense.
>>I guess I'll need to start a list and then sort of...figure out what the benefits are worth.<<
Yes, keep a list of proposed perks. Also ask people what they would like to have.
Different options for pricing:
* Put all the perks in one package, but price it on a sliding scale based on income.
* Break up the perks, singly or in related sets, and let people buy which ones they will use.
* Let people barter time, materials, services, extra craft supplies, etc. instead of cash.
The more flexible you make this, the more people it will be able to reach and please. However, that will also boost the bookkeeping workload. Balance thoughtfully.
Hmm...
Date: 2010-07-20 06:02 am (UTC)Some of my goodies:
"How to Make a Catnip Ball"
http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/887750.html
"How to Dry Herbs"
http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/219601.html
"Tekura's Tunic" (a shared-world craft)
http://www.tornworld.net/settingpageview.php?id=67
Two batches of scrapbooked poems:
http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/916631.html#cutid1
http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/891559.html#cutid1