When starting a handmade business, one of your top questions is most likely, 'What are the most profitable crafts to sell?' I mean, let's not beat around the bush here...your main goal here is to build a profitable craft business and make money! (while of course doing something you love, it's the icing on the cake) :)

However, not all crafts are created equal, and at the end of the day, it's important to make something that people WANT! By making well researched and strategic choices from Day 1 and positioning yourself favorably in the market, it can only increase your odds of wildly succeeding (and also making more money doing what you love!)

So what ARE those magical crafts that will bring the dough rolling in? It's not a magic bullet, but here's a good place to start. Let's go through some of the most highly purchased crafts you could possibly sell below.

The Most Profitable Crafts to Sell in 2024

1. Jewelry: High-Demand Accessories

Handmade jewelry is going to top our profitable craft list for the very obvious reason that, well, pretty much most people in the world wear some kind of jewelry at some point in their lives.

Obviously, jewelry comes in an enormous amount of styles and mediums. Pricing can vary drastically as well, but in general, there is a pretty high profit margin in the jewelry industry. Perceived value has a lot to do with that too (if you don't know what perceived value is, make sure to go read my post on pricing handmade items next)!

In addition to this, there are specific types of jewelry that are even more profitable, particularly resin jewelry because the supplies involved are extremely inexpensive, while it still remains a very popular and trendy style. Repurposed and upcycled jewelry also fall into this category, mainly because you are working with pieces that already exist.

As a bonus, jewelry is generally a very lightweight product to ship. We all have had that anxious moment at the post office when dropping off a heavy package and waiting to hear what it costs. With jewelry, your shipping costs will likely be very low!

And last but not least, (not profit related), but another nice thing about selling jewelry as a craft is that it doesn't take up too much space. You can use any nearby tabletop for many jewelry projects or even take your work on the go a lot of the time.

When deciding what crafts to make and sell, consider jewelry as a competitive option!

2. Home Decor: Beautify Spaces

Our next profitable craft category is home decor. Simply put, most people that have a home are wanting to decorate it and make it their own in some way, shape or form. Decorating could mean a lot of things, but wall art is a great option to start with.

You can create any type of hangable wall art out of pretty much any medium! Just think of the types of art you see around you when you are at friend's homes, or out and about. Think about what you see in magazines or on tv networks like HGTV.

You'll see simple watercolor paintings, macrame weavings, hanging tapestries, mobiles, oil paintings, cut paper collage...you can really appeal to anyone when it comes to home decor. That's why focusing your efforts on creating beautiful wall art or other decor for around the house can easily lead to a profitable craft business.

3. Bath and Body Products: Personal Care in Demand

Next we have a different type of product, and it can be a very lucrative market. Bath and body products are consumable products that get used up and need to be re-purchased regularly. This makes it easy to create repeat buyers (as long as they love your product the first time they try it!) On top of that, you're in the popular self-care category too.

The self care industry is booming! Wellness and self-care products are always going to be in demand. Items like bath bombs, handmade soap, and body products are relatively inexpensive products that help improve your customers lives! So if you're able to create something that your target market loves to repurchase to improve their personal care routine, you'll easily become profitable.

4. Seasonal Crafts: Year-Round Income

Who's ready for Christmas in July?? There's a reason that sale is popular, and not only because people want to celebrate Christmas 2x per year. The summer months, including July, are a notoriously slow season for product sales! To fix that, brilliant marketers came up with the idea of injecting a second holiday season into the middle of the year where normally, many shops would be struggling.

Seasonal crafts are the next type of craft that can be extremely profitable. With Christmas being one of the most shopped for holidays, it's easy to create and sell handmade Christmas ornaments, gift tags, and holiday decor in your shop to further your sales during the season.

But once it's over, you can pivot your shop into next season's product line, Valentine's Day table decor, banners, cards, and stickers. If you focus your shop on only selling seasonal products, your inventory will always be in demand, year round! You'll have no problem having consistent sales opportunities throughout the year.

5. Digital Products: Low Overhead, High Profit

Imagine a product that you can sell over and over, with no extra work, and no shipping involved. Sound like a dream? It's time to talk about digital products!

Although they don't fall exactly into the handmade crafts category, these products can still be an amazing way to not only make some 'passive' income, but also to provide great value to your customers.

I say 'passive' because no product is ever compleeeetely passive, you'll always have to drive traffic to it, but if you already have some traction, then it's on it's way to becoming a nice little supplemental income stream that requires very little effort.

Examples of digital products might include digital printables (stickers, patterns, tutorials), planner printables, or even social media templates for planning out your next product launch.

My favorite type of digital product (and a popular one to create) is creating an online course teaching your craft process. Make it short and sweet with just the necessary steps to help your followers start and finish a project, then sell it forever!

Consider adding a simple yet relevant digital product into your online shop so that you can create a new source of easy revenue for your business.

6. Block Printed Fabrics and Art: A Niche with Rich Traditions

I'm not trying to be biased here or anything, but block printed products are a great option when it comes to profitable crafts! By adapting a traditional technique and adding your own twist, it's easy to create a look of all your own.

In fashion and home decor, we are seeing more and more more personalized fabrics, and printmaking is one excellent way to do that in your own designs. You might also consider batik, screenprinting, or natural dyeing as other fabric art mediums.

To learn more about the art and technique of block printing on fabric, check out my block printing on fabric post which will walk you through all the tools and inks you'll need to get started creating beautiful handmade fabrics from scratch. You can also see a lot of examples that I've made in the past on my Block Printing Bootcamp page.

Strategies for Maximizing Craft Sales Profitability

When it comes to the most profitable crafts to sell, picking WHAT you're going to sell is not the only factor you should take into consideration. You'll also need to think about your pricing strategy, where you should be selling, whether you want to sell online or at craft fairs, and what strategies you can use to reach a wider audience.

In order to be profitable, you need to make sure you're setting yourself up for success. That means covering ALL your expenses in addition to making a profit on every item. Otherwise, you're bound to be in a financial mess later down the line. And as much as we love crafting, we're here to make money, right? ;)

When it comes to WHERE you should be selling your crafts, there's a whole range of options. This is where it pays to know your ideal customer profile. You'll already know the best place to sell because you'll know where they hang out.

Think about where your customer would likely be shopping, and what type of environment they would prefer. Start there!

To reach an even wider audience, you can use marketing material like flyers, stickers, and business cards to help spread the word about your products and get them in front of new people.

Creating a flyer for your next show might not seem that ground breaking, but it might make the difference between your ideal customer showing up to buy, vs. staying home that day. You need to make sure that your people know where you are and be loud about it!

These are just a few simple ways you can start maximizing your profitability in your business. There really is a fine line between the artist struggling to make sales, and the artist with consistent income, and these are the types of simple strategies that a more successful artist is implementing.

most profitable crafts — Photo: The Wooly Cauldron

Crafting Your Success: Case Studies and Real-Life Examples

Sometimes it's hard to know what's possible in our handmade business until we see someone else achieve success. I've worked with many artists selling art throughout the years, and every single one has an incredibly unique business. But at the same time, there are a lot of repeat patterns and obstacles that pop up.

I generally see two main sticking points when it comes to artists and their craft business. One big one occurs at the very beginning when they are just starting out. There are so many decisions to be made and each one seems insanely important. It can get overwhelming fast.

The second instance is when an artist has been selling for a few years and things have been going 'ok', but then they get stuck. This is usually due to poor planning or decisions that were made at the initial start of their handmade business...and now it's coming back to haunt them.

One example of the former scenario would be my client, Caitlin. She came to me completely overwhelmed and unsure of where to start with her hand dyed yarn business. Yet she had a ton of drive and ideas. Once we decided that working together was the next step, we dug through all her ideas, and the next thing I know she had created an incredible brand and product in just a few weeks.

With a little guidance, she was able to make clear decisions from the start, like pricing for profit, getting clear on her customer, and knowing where to sell to those customers. During her first year, she was able to build up a small but motivated customer base that would gladly make repeat purchases from her, month after month.

Another example would be my client Apryl. Apryl started out selling handmade soap to friends and family and it had slowly grown into a small income stream. She loved selling the soap, but she was experimenting with printmaking methods for fashion.

It took a bit of time for her to completely detach from the soap idea because it was bringing in money, however once she decided to go in on her urban street wear idea, it took off fast! She was selling at street fairs nonstop, and at each show she learned something new and made more.

Next, we worked on ideas on how to incorporate her in person shows with her online sales so she could nurture those customers online and also spread the word. Now Apryl has customers online and offline, and has created a totally unique, successful brand.

Getting your craft biz off the ground is NOT easy! You have to work very hard, especially for the first year (or 3). You'll face many mental hurdles, but if you set yourself up for success from the beginning, you love the crafts you make, and you refuse to give up, you will succeed.

CHOOSING A PROFITABLE CRAFT

As you've learned here, there are many profitable crafts to sell. Many types of crafts can make you money...but some are more likely to help you make money more quickly and easily! No matter what type of product you choose to sell, you'll also need to consider: where you're selling, your pricing tiers, and any additional tactics to reach your audience and sell to them.

Making a decision on what to sell is not the easiest, but by doing your research and following your gut to choose something that really excites you will lead you to the most profitable crafts to sell...for you. :)

Top Profitable Crafts to Sell in 2024: A Creative Entrepreneur’s Guide