Many of you may already know that I have been involved in arts and crafts ever since I was a kid. I shared my crafting with my children, and now with my grandchildren. Although I often make crafts just for fun, I have also made and sold crafts to help supplement my income. The Craft Report Magazine is not a magazine for beginning crafters, but rather a magazine that is geared toward people who make crafts for profit. It is in fact, a magazine that can help guide serious crafters toward a successful crafting business.

The Craft Report Magazine is available as individual issues or as a monthly subscription for $29.95 for 12 issues, or you can purchase an online subscription for even more savings. Each issue contains loads of great information designed to get your business up and running, time management techniques, how to promote your business, crafting news and trends, and much more. One thing I really like about this magazine though is that even though there are many in-depth articles with lots of great information, it is written in an easy to read and understand way that is not overly technical. It kept my interest without making things more complicated than they needed to be.

You will find an abundance of practical advice, as well as articles and a variety of columns of interest to those who hope to make a living or at least supplement their income in the crafting business. Some of the areas covered are things like laws and rules, crafting techniques, photographing and displaying your crafts for the best results, pricing and marketing your products, selling venues, where to purchase crafting supplies, what products are in demand, and other relevant topics. The full color, glossy pages contain lots of detailed photographs in addition to the many columns and articles. 

I have only read a few borrowed issues of this magazine so far, but have been impressed with the quality of this publication. These issues covered a variety of topics including woodworking, rug making, fabric crafts, jewelry making, glass and clay crafts and more. They showed some beautiful pictures, as well as giving some valuable guidance on such things as taxes, partnerships, setting up a studio, pricing, using blogs and social marketing to market your products, where to find trade shows and how to display your products for best results, and lots more.

The Crafts Report Magazine has around 50 pages per issue, and although there are quite a few advertisements, they all seemed relevent to crafting professionals and were interspersed amongst lots of useful information. The February issue for example features articles on the secrets of business success, an inspired handmade product previews, and tips for recession-proofing your business. It has departments including a publisher's letter, listings for shows and fairs, calls for entry, market central, marketplace and advertiser index, and columns such as beginning business, business psychology, craft photography, craft matters and more. One feature I especially liked was the question and answer section where readers asked a variety of questions. I learned a lot from reading this section.

This is not your typical crafter's magazine, as it contains no crafting patterns or general how-to advice on actually making the crafts. Instead, this magazine focuses on the business end of marketing your crafts. Although there were some parts of the magazine that may not have been particularly relevent to my needs, the magazine in general has given me insite on several matters of interest, and has provided information on making the most of my time and efforts to obtain higher sales.

I recommend this magazine for craft professionals, or anyone who hopes to earn money from their crafts. Even though I am not a full time crafting professional, I have found this magazine to be extremely interesting and useful.

Publisher: Jones Publishing, Inc.
Website: http://www.craftsreport.com/

Recommended: Yes