We have recently been excited to learn about a new online Handmade marketplace due to launch very soon. We love the concept and can’t wait to see the store live. Here is a little chat with the owners of www.hand-made.com.au.

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What is www.hand-made.com.au about?
Hand-Made.com.au has been created, from the ground up, to cater for Australia’s great hand-makers to sell on, for smart shoppers to buy quality items through and for anyone to learn more about the ‘hand-made’ industry. While it is a brand-spanking new website we are hoping to see it be embraced, for the reasons mentioned above, by everyone who loves hand-made. To start with we hope this is especially true for Australia’s great hand-makers looking for a means to promote their business and, of course, to sell their wonderful items through.

What are you hoping to achieve with the website?
We would really love for the website to be a central meeting place for all stakeholders in the hand-made industry; from the amazing people who make the items to the people who just love the quality and beauty of hand-made items and of course businesses who supply to those who create.

How will you cover your costs and make money with the site?
While everyone involved is hoping to be able to get to the point of making a living by building up a great website, we are more concerned with creating an easy to use website that is also a great means for hand-makers to promote their business and items they have created. If we can do this, along with building a place for people to meet and converse, we feel pretty sure that the rest will follow positively.

How did the idea for the website come to you?
Well, as best as I can recall a couple of us had been for a drive to a Sunday market and had really enjoyed seeing a number of stalls with gorgeous hand-made items for sale. At the market these stall-holders had told me about how hard it could be to get to the markets and how on some days it just wasn’t worth it, as so few sales were made it was a real waste of time and money. Then of course came the discussion about the weather and it’s impact on trying to sell items at the markets.

This got us thinking about there having to be a better way for this talented group to get their lovingly created works in front of people who know the value in purchasing quality, hand-made, items… instead of just the mass imported goods that are pumped out, with little care, from factories overseas. Discussing this issue for a while lead us to come up with an online marketplace – aimed solely at our wonderful Australian hand-makers. What is really funny here, especially looking back, is that I didn’t even know this kind of site was already out there, albeit predominately in America.

Is there anything you would like to add?
I suppose the only thing would be to say… please go and have a look at the website*, at www.hand-made.com.au, and let us know what you think. We hope you love it and use it lots and lots with great success, both professionally and on a personal level.
*The website is in the final stages of being completed and may not be ‘live’ by the time this is. If this is the case please register your interest, and we will let you know as soon as it is live, or give it 1-2 days and it will be all done and ready to go.

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So please register your interest at www.hand-made.com.au and join their Facebook page to keep up to date with launch details.