Learning from the Amish,,, Keep it simple stupid!!

Greetings!!

Ha!  I thought that title might catch your eye!

Regarding crafts and business what can I learn from the Amish that will benefit my business?

As you know the primary thing I make and sell is ceramics.  All other crafts are just an add-on.  So, I have been thinking about this very thing this morning as I plan on putting my ceramics and crafts in a rented booth in the heart of Illinois Amish Country, Arthur, IL.  I want to offer items that not only will attract the local buyer but also the tourist who come through Arthur each year.  So I have been doing a lot of reading up on it.

I have found, the Amish have no reservations about buying useful items for their homes as long as they are not overly decorated.  For example,,,, those nice painted items I posted yesterday, would not fare well in Arthur.  They are too fancy.  Keep it simple stupid!!  Because of their religious beliefs Amish would not own such fancy things.

Take for example the little green table with the roses painted on it.  The Amish might have use for a table of that size but would never buy it with the roses on it.  They would pay the same price for a plain green table, with no roses.  So things like that, which I enjoy painting, need to be sold in another venue away from Amish country.

But you are thinking, "yeah, but what about the tourist trade in that area"?  Well, I believe when tourist come into an Amish area, for shopping, they tend to want what the Amish want or what the Amish themselves made, either way.  They look for the simple things that the Amish would have in their own homes rather than the fancier items.  They can find those items else where.

So, on my list of items to sell in Arthur are plain, basic ceramics with solid colors and not a lot of decoration.  Hand made pure soaps without fragrances, and hand dipped beeswax candles.  I might make some other candles as well but not necessarily with a lot of fragrances.  Keeping things as simple and basic as possible will allow me to pull sales from the Amish as well as the tourists in that area.

Another thing that keeping things simple is it is less labor intensive and therefore I can charge a little less for the same piece that I might have put more decoration and design work on.  A lower price will attract more buyers.  More buyers, more sales.  You can't make a living on one piece!!

I'm liking the idea of "keep it simple stupid" so much that I might just carry that into a couple of my other venues as well.  I also plan on selling at the 3rd Sunday Market in Bloomington, IL next year.  3rd Sunday Market runs once a month, on the third Sunday of the month, from May through October.  It is like a giant antique and crafts fair.  They get thousands and thousands of people coming through each market.  Not only could I sell my wares there but I can promote my booth in Arthur.  I think dressing "plain" and selling "plain" wares just might be the ticket.  Hmmm, I should think about this some more.

I also plan to have a web site up and running by early spring.  I might just have one page of the fancier items but keep the rest along the same lines as what I would have in Amish country.  Again I can promote the booth in Arthur as well as 3rd Sunday Market on my web site as well as facebook and here.

Sounds like I am coming up with a pretty good business plan.  What do you think?

I would love to hear your comments and suggestions.

Until next time,,,,, many blessings!