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Welcome to Craft Talk

© Barbara Massie

I've been a crafter forever - I remember my Mother showing me how to color Queen Ann's Lace for bouquets by leaving the stems in washing blueing until the flowers turned blue. O.K., so, I'm a little older - but that spells experience to me! Experiences I want to share with those who click into Suite 101.

Experiences have taken me from crafting with my young children to doing craft shows years later. Several years were spent keeping leased spaces in craft malls clean, attractive and full. This lead to becoming a remote vendor one who sends product to rented booths around the country. This was a pleasant experience because they did the stocking and dusting. Through all these years of learning, writing about crafts and teaching others has been important. The articles published, books written and classes taught are about how to do business for crafters. The topics range from starting a business and doing the bookkeeping, to learning to make gift baskets and ribbon bowmaking. If I can't help with a particular facet of crafting, I find an expert who can.

Here is an example of information you will find in each Craft Talk article. They will vary from Q&A to essays to sermons from my soapbox. The following question was asked by a crafter in a seminar. Perhaps some of the same thoughts have crossed your mind? Questions and Answers

Q. I get upset when I go to a craft show, buy items from two different booths without being charged sales tax, then go to a third and have them add sales tax to my bill. How can some charge tax and not all?

A. People in the craft business, in most states, must collect sales tax on items they sell. Particularly at craft shows, the show organizers ask the crafters for tax identification numbers.

The first two booth vendors you bought from had the tax "hidden" in the price, the third let you see the tax was being paid. In all three cases, the crafter will have to pay the state sales tax collected on all items sold.

I have collected sales tax using both methods. Before I do a show, I talk to the show promoters to determine if the vendors hide the sales tax in the price. If told they do, I do the same. If they charge the tax above the marked price, I do that.

How it works:

Suppose you buy a wreath for $18.50 and I add the sales tax at 8% or $1.48. You will pay me $19.98.

The copyright of the article Welcome to Craft Talk in Crafts is owned by Barbara Massie. Permission to republish Welcome to Craft Talk in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.