I’m an avid scourer of Folksy (vintage apron designs are my current crush), a site that’s bursting at its online seams with all the craft and creative talent out there. Every time I see something I want to buy, I also think ‘I wish I could make that.’ And I’m not the only one! There’s a big and exciting boom in craft courses, and if you’re passionate about the craft you do, there are plenty of people who would like to learn from you. So could you run some informal classes and make money from your craft?

When I’m not pouring over Folksy, my day job finds me at Ooh.com, a new site where anyone who runs courses and workshops can list them for free, and where 45,000 people a month are visiting the site to find new things to do and learn. We’re thrilled that craft courses are the most popular ones on the site, with people listing over 600 already – from painting techniques and enamelling, to candle making, screenprinting wallpaper, amigurumi and knitting. So if you’d like to earn some extra money and think you could teach others your craft, why not set up an informal workshop from home?

Here are some hints and ideas that could help you get started:

What

What exactly are you going to teach people? People like to complete a small and manageable project when they’re learning, so if you sew and make a variety of handmade items, pick one item and run this as a session. For example, ‘Sewing for fun: make your own apron’ would appeal to a wide range of people and skills, and making an apron gives your workshop a clear structure. Don’t forget to tap into seasonal trends too, November and December are great months for running courses in which people can make Christmas gifts.

Where
Decide where you’re going to run your workshop. You don’t need to hire a venue, a kitchen table makes a fun and friendly place to sit and work around. How many can you seat? A small group of 4 to 6 people works really well and gives everyone the chance to chat to each other.

How

Decide on your timings: will you run your workshop for a morning, afternoon or full day? Plan the time so that the course has a clear beginning (introduction), middle (everyone is well on the way to making their apron) and end (people are finishing their apron and asking any final questions). Allow for breaks too.  How much will you charge? You’ll need to cost in the materials to make the apron as well as any refreshments you offer. It’s nice to offer people tea or coffee and soft drinks (and a homemade biscuit is a real treat and costs little to make!), but if you’re running a full day you can ask people to bring a packed lunch with them.

Materials

Provide people with everything they need to make an apron, and pre-prepare as much as you can. If you can, give people a choice of materials or trimmings so they can personalize their apron.

People can share equipment, but do make sure you’ve got enough so that the class doesn’t grind to a halt while everyone waits to use the only pair of scissors! It can be useful to provide people with notes they can take home, including an equipment list and any suppliers you recommend.

Your work

If you sell craft items yourself, make an appealing display (with clear prices) for people to see and buy when they attend your workshop. This is a great opportunity to promote and sell your own work.

Selling places on your course

Now you’ve decided on the details of the course you can start selling places on it. Listing your course on Ooh.com is easy. Just go to the site, register and you’ll be taken through the steps to create your listing. You can include details of your course, photos, dates, prices and information about yourself. Once your listing is up on the site, we’ll then work hard to help promote it using social media resources such as Facebook and Twitter, and if you have your own accounts do use these too. Social media is a great and free way of promoting classes.

And remember…

Your enthusiasm and passion for your craft is what people will enjoy most, so make the workshop fun and friendly and you’re sure to have people booking to come back for the next one!

If you’d like some help and ideas about setting up a course, get in touch with me and I’ll be really happy to help. You can contact me at emma@ooh.com.