WAHM who do handicraft?

[Eternalbear]

Hi I am starting out as a WAHM doing handicraft and fabric design. I am just wondering how other WAHM's get their client base?
I am probably going to focus on the fabric at the moment because Quinn is getting too active to get quality sewing time
Whould love some tips and ideas!

Thanks

[Livinthedream]

I dont know whether you would class me as a handicraft or a trade. (I class myself as a trade as I completed an apprenticeship) I am a WAHM (or will be in 4 mths )
I am a saddler.
My job is full time, in fact it is not uncommon for me to work up to 60 hrs p/w.
I did my apprenticeship in victoria with a very reputable saddler which def gave me the heads up.
I did however move to QLD by myself as a relative unknown. The difficult part, i found was to convince people to pay a very large sum of money to someone who was a bit of a nobody for a product that certainly looked that part but wasnt 'proven'
I did alot of trade shows,and ALOT of talking and I made sure I kept up with the trends and only ever used materials that I knew would stand up to the task. I dont like the idea of experimenting with new materials at the clients expense.
TBH, 2 years is what it took for me to be able to relax a little and finally make a decent wage. Prior to that, I spent alot of long weekends standing around at shows doing nothing but smiling and answering inane questions
Basically, it took that long for people to realise that I wasnt going to grab their money and run and that I would be around to fix any problems they had.
So my advice? Put in the hard yards, pay attention to what people want, let them see you are serious and dont give up.
My life is awesome, I have met some of the most wonderful people, I work when I want. I love what I do and I do it all from home. People tell me all the time they wish they had my job
Good luck xx