Starting Your Handmade Fashion Accessories Business

Making handmade fashion accessories can be a solid side business. But you should be really good at it for the business to gain traction and thrive. If you’re considering starting your own fashion accessories business, start with making them for your friends and family members. You would likely get appreciation and/or feedback. If the majority like what you’re making and want you to make some more, then it’s a clear indication that you can take your side hustle to the next level.

Making fashion accessories commercially is low-investment and doesn’t require major crafting skills. Irrespective of your skill or motivation level, launching a handmade fashion accessories business presents you with a unique set of complications and considerations. Kindly note, the industry is crowded to the extent of saturation. You can still make a mark and thrive, but your offerings should be novel.

The following are some tips that’ll get you started with your venture.

Find Your Angle

Your fashion accessories could be fine or trendy. You need to choose your path. Juggling between the two is possible, but you’ll then not be able to pay much attention to either. Trendy fashion accessories are made of inexpensive materials and metals. The materials typically used are beads, wires, plastic, plated metal, synthetic gems, etc. These accessories are ideal for trendsetting or everyday customers. ‘Fine’ accessories, on the other hand, are usually made with semi-precious and precious gems and metals. The craftsmanship is perceived to be excellent too. The price point, as a result, is higher.

Research Trends

Researching trends is a way to ascertain and confirm your choice of direction. Go through jewelry and fashion blogs to stay atop trends for every upcoming season. If you have a particular trend in mind or zeroed down on one through research, do some more digging. Alternately, you may come up with a customizable offering, cash in on pop culture references or memes, or take an ethical position. Research would help you learn how you could enhance your current focus, or it could help you discover a completely new trend.

Define Your Offering

Before collaborating with a designer for designing your pieces and developing your brand, define your signature. Clip inspiring ideas from jewelry and fashion blogs. Collect colors, images, and textures from architecture, nature, travel, or fashion to identify the emerging themes. Constantly look for inspiration so that your offerings don’t go stale after a certain period.