Craftwerk originated in Wellington and after 5 successful years has spread to Auckland and Christchurch. For details of upcoming events, keep an eye on the Craftwerk site.

• Try to use a clean background, preferably a uniform colour. A sheet hung on a line, a plain curtain or a white wall are good backdrops.

• Include multiple photos from varying angles if possible.

• Make sure you have reasonable lighting. A flash or direct sunlight can distort colours and create harsh shadows and bright highlights, so are best avoided. Short of studio lighting, bright natural light on an overcast day is the easiest way to get a good result.

• Use one of your photos to show an item in context (like a serving suggestion) – ie. if you’re selling an item of clothing, include a photo of someone modelling it. Or if you’re selling a coffee cup you might show it on a shelf or mug hook, or on a coffee table with a magazine. If you do use props, make sure it’s clear in your description that the props are not included!

• Include a close-up if possible, to show texture or details.

With the Felt allowance of four photos per listing, here’s a good rule of thumb:

1. standalone item against plain backdrop
2. same as 1, but from a different angle
3. close-up or detail
4. item in context

See Photo Formats for more information.

As well as the written description of your product, Felt allows 10 keywords or tags for each listing which are used by the search function.

Coming up with keywords is not always as easy as it sounds. Use a thesaurus. Use a dictionary. If your product has an alternative name or if there’s a common typo or mis-spelling of the name of your product, include it as a keyword.

Think about:

• Colours – what’s the dominant colour of your product? Does it have secondary colours?

• Style – funky, elegant, techno, emo, classy, casual, sporty…

• Texture or pattern – rough, smooth, soft or grainy… stripy, spotty, floral…

• Materials – wool, paper, cotton, wood, metal…

• Properties – warm, strong, durable, delicate…

• Size/volume/quantity

• Potential uses

• Occasions – Valentine’s Day, house-warming, Mother’s Day, wedding or 21st…

• Who would it appeal to? Gardeners? Sports fans? Movie buffs? Kids?

To make the most of your keyword allowance, use a selection of ideas from the list above – ie. maybe keywords 1 and 2 are colours, 3 is style, 4 is textures, 6 and 7 are materials, 8 is an occasion it could be appropriate for and 9 and 10 are people it might appeal to.

Devise a system that works for your product and use it to keep your shop consistent and speed up your listing process.

• The most difficult thing about selling on the internet is that your potential buyer can’t touch the product – include a tactile description.

• Imagine you are buying the product without ever seeing it before – what would you want to know? Put yourself in your customer’s shoes.

• Use plenty of accurate descriptive language to help your customer feel more comfortable about what they’re buying; eg. instead of “green scarf”, add in a few more adjectives – “lime green lacy crocheted scarf”.

• Offering a refund if the product is not what your customer expected also helps increase buyer confidence.

• Include suggestions of how the product could be used or displayed.

• Tell the story behind your product – the inspiration, the creative process, what it means to you.

• Above all, be honest.

From the moment you pick up Debbie Stoller’s third book Stitch ‘n Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker, it’s pretty clear that this is no traditional approach to crochet. Full of puns and double-entendres (”voulez-vous crochet avec moi?”), The Happy Hooker is an engaging and well-designed instruction manual for your crochet hook.

Candidly written and easy to follow, The Happy Hooker is ideal for beginners. Unlike many instructional books, Stoller dispenses with difficulty ratings, suggesting instead that it’s more rewarding to work on something that you actually like, rather than getting hung up on whether you can do it. And amongst the 40 original patterns, the temptation to take on a challenging project is definitely there.

Each of the patterns is accompanied by a paragraph about the inspiration behind the project and a mini biography of its creator.

• include your Felt address on your business card and stationery

• add a Felt link to your emails as a signature

• link to your Felt shop from your website or blog

• link to your Felt shop from your best mate’s website or blog

• list your Felt shop in online directories