The times they are a-changin’.
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Skill development and education for those entering the Cottage Industry 3.0, education can run from “You Tube University” or “Local Classes” to DIY experimentation. As a supplement to guided learning that may be fine, however as a stand alone option much is lost!
Moving from a DIY project to a product service or merchandise involves strategy. While YouTube classes give great ‘how to’s” they often miss key pointers that those actually in the practice for a long period of time, take for granted. As such ALWAYS test by to see if the final product can stand up to use eg washing/cleaning or wear and tear.
Apart from the technique creating a successful item means deciding “what” would make a great “Sell” ! Offline we always had Creativity projects that allowed the exploration and often prompted new ideas. I also recommend a basic set of Merchandising “blanks or Patterens” as a starting point. These are thing everyone always “picks up” or uses It’s a great way to test product viability.
I’m currently looking at the issue of skill development for the cottage sector. They will be listed under the category Cuttage 3.0 ( derived from Cttage, Cuttage is a 1080’s advocacy group I worked on in 1980’s). To facilitate products for artist without sewing or soft product development, we’re developing basic “Merchandise Blank” #sewopen package for that our site members will be able to use … Membership here