So you may have noticed that a growing trend in the art world is something called resin art,
you know, those really mesmerizing three-dimensional pieces
that have been filling up your Instagram feed if
you know what I'm talking about chances are you've already
dabbled in making some resin art yourself?
So today we'll talk about how you can turn your new hobby and favorite craft into a business.
Hey, my name is Mei Pak. And I help makers artists
and designers make a living from selling their handmade products online.
Resin art has really boomed in popularity in the last few years.
This is largely because of social media and you know,
the creation process is pretty hypnotizing to watch
and the end results are just stunning
so videos of artists making these pieces can go viral pretty
quickly social media is not the only reason
for the trend though.
We can also blame quarantine. Remember when everyone was baking bread.
Or making TikTok videos at the start of lockdown people were
getting super creative with their extra time,
but not everyone wants to bake or go viral on TikTok.
So some people start to dip their toes into making resin art.
Not literally, of course, that would be pretty messy.
The resin industry itself is growing rapidly.
The epoxy resin market was valued at five point nine billion dollars in 2019
and expect it to increase by 7% by 2027.
Now that's not all because of just art epoxy resin is used in a lot
of industries from jewelry to win power
and even Aerospace.
Yeah, this stuff is pretty intense,
but that's why it's actually a great business to delve into resin can be used
for such a large variety of pieces that your prices can fluctuate quite a bit depending on
what you're making you can make everything from earrings
and necklaces to keychains two paintings and furniture.
The options are practically limitless
and depending on which route truth take you can make quite a profit resin furniture
for instance cells on Etsy for hundreds to thousands of dollars,
of course furnitures a bit more intensive to make
but that just means you can stick a higher price tag on it on that note.
Let's get into the first step to starting a resin business choosing
what you'll actually be making I know that might seem obvious
but for something like resin art where you have
so many choices you need to narrow down your specialty after all of
this is what's going to establish your brand
and Give your business a unique angle,
which is so important. And if you're selling everything from coffee tables to crystals to dog tags.
Well, you know when you go to a restaurant
and the menu is like 90 pages long and they have everything from Mexican to Chinese to Italian.
It's hard to trust the quality of a restaurant that serves everything right?
Of course. This doesn't mean that you can't sell more than one kind of product.
It just means you need to find a focus to Center your brand on this
focus by the way should be Then you have the
resources to make furniture will be more expensive to create than earrings
for instance.
And if your resin art business is a side gig you won't want to trap yourself into a style.
That's super time-consuming. You also need to look at the market before you make a final decision.
You will want to find a corner of the resin art world that has high demand,
but little competition resin key chains are one of the more saturated markets,
so that will be a more competitive route to take now.
I'm not saying Saying you can't make a large profit in that niche
but it will just be more difficult housewares like silverware
coasters or dishes though are a less stepped market with high demand
still you'll want to pick something that interests.
You don't go designing cutting boards
just because it's less competitive
but also because that's something you really enjoy doing think about your own interests
and ask yourself.
If there's a market there are four themed resin art.
For example, if you're really into Bromance ask yourself.
What a Just based Market. Looks like how can you combine your interest with customer demand
while the whaling industry is huge right?
You could make sentimental gifts like flower resin bookmarks using a couple's wedding flowers
or heart-shaped resin dishes.
Once you know what you're going to make start building your inventory.
It's exciting to start a new business. So I get that a lot of artists want to dig in right away,
but you want to be careful about how much stock you start off with while you want.
Keep up with demand. You also want to get a good feel
for which of your products customers are actually buying
and a lot of the time it's not even the piece that you expected
that you made the most of in anticipation.
So start with 10 to 15 ready to sell pieces
and soon you have an idea of
what you should be making more of of course before you establish your inventory.
You got to practice right you need to be competitive.
So you need to have a quality products that you know customers will love
and the more you practice the better your heart.
Will be the better your art is the more customers you will draw in
and at better prices to really stand out in the resin
industry your work needs to be really top level.
So keep practicing until you've established a large enough
inventory at a high enough level to start selling.
Now. Let's talk supplies with resin.
Your specific supplies will depend on the niche you choose.
So if you choose furniture or flowers or 3D paintings,
you will require different materials,
but if you're just getting started
And you're still not exactly sure
what exactly you want to make there are some inexpensive resin starter kits
for making jewelry or 3D paintings
and you can find those on Amazon or at craft supply stores like Michaels.
These kits will give you a good feel
for what style of art you like the most but if a kit is not right for you,
you can collect the individual materials.
You need an art stores and even hardware stores regardless of the style you're making
pretty much every resin artist will need casting resin mixture.
In cups, stirring utensils wax paper molds and mold release before you get started.
You do need to make sure you have a flat surface to work
on and are wearing safety equipment like gloves
and protective glasses because remember resins are chemicals.
So you got to make sure you play safely, right?
The fumes can get intense.
And the last thing you want is to seriously hurt yourself
while you're trying to make some great art optional
but highly recommended supplies include a heat gun to remove bubbles
or if You're really a daredevil.
Then you can try a torch and resin colorants to make that bright and vibrant.
Look that makes resin Arts. So mesmerizing now because you'll be working with chemicals.
I highly recommend watching some tutorials about how to work with resin
and pick up some books on the subject before you begin.
This is as much a signs as it is an art.
So make sure you're just as prepared as possible before you get started.
So you've got your supplies you've done your research
and you've established a starter inventory that you are happy with now.
It's time to set up your shop. I recommend starting with Shopify
because on Shopify you will be in total control of your site instead of forcing your
shop within the confines of another marketplaces rules
and regulations on Shopify.
You'll have access to a very user-friendly site
for you and your customers a lot of really great features to
make sales to make making sales super easy
and other great resources aimed at helping your business Thrive not to mention
you won't have to share her percentage of Of your sales,
of course, Marketplace sites, like Etsy
and Amazon are popular among new artists
because they're easy to use and they have those you they have that built-in audience of customers.
So if this feels better to you go for it just know that as your business grows,
you will want to Branch out to your own site
when you get tired of sharing those profits
and being trapped in someone else's rules and regulations not to mention.
These sites are extremely competitive so it can be harder for your Product to rise in the ranks.
I highly recommend that if you do choose to go the Etsy route just make
sure you're selling your product on a site of your
own also that way you aren't solely relying on a third party Marketplace site
for your income.
Now, you want to Market your products
so you can actually start making sales
while marketing through social media posts is a popular way to promote your products.
I actually don't recommend them
as your primary source of marketing
when I started my shop I spent A long time trying to grow my business
through just social media organic postings alone.
And it was just moving really slowly and that is true today as well.
It wasn't until I started focusing on media outreach that I
really started seeing those sales start coming in
when you can get your product in front of a large audience,
you'll see that building a loyal customer base is easier than ever.
That's because when you're resin artists featured on a celebrities Instagram,
or even on a TV show or a magazine It becomes
so much more desirable right when a person sees someone they trust and admire using a product.
They've never heard of it becomes personal
and much more desirable than seeing a business owner post a regular Facebook
or Instagram post that they put on their Newsfeed.
If you're just starting out look out
for micro influencers that have around like 10,000 to 20,000 followers
and make sure they have good engagement of an average around a thousand likes and Omits,
combined / posts these micro influencers are far more approachable
and they love getting cool products.
Especially if it's something that's right up their alley.
So reach out and offer them a free product and maybe even a discount code in exchange for a feature.
This could lead to a ton of huge success.
If you do it, right and you do it consistently
because when that influencers followers start buying and spreading the word about your product,
you'll find that maybe even bigger influencers my might want to step in
and help promote your products as well.
This is how I establish my business and it really is like a domino effect.