With a new year comes new resolutions! And with new resolutions comes…well, new ways of breaking those resolutions. We all do it…after all, setting that “finally start a business” resolution is a great idea that quickly sounds too ambitious to actually tackle. But instead of breaking resolutions in 2017, we want to break that trend by helping you achieve your new year’s resolution goals. And the first resolution we’re focusing on? How to start a home decor business.
Starting your own decorating business isn’t just a great new year’s resolution to achieve this year: one of the most popular resolutions is to get organized which, inevitably, leads to a little redecorating…and what better time to start selling home decor online than when people are shopping for new ways to spruce up their space? Here are a few tips on how to start a home decor business for a fresh start in 2017.
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USE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
Like I mentioned before, one of the most popular resolutions is to get organized which, inevitably, leads to a little redecorating. In other words, people are going to be looking for new items to add to their space to fulfill their own new year’s resolutions this time o’ year. This is a good thing to keep in mind when pushing your products on social media and for content marketing!
WHAT TO OFFER.
Sometimes an item might not be the best seller, but might result in the highest revenue. For example, over the holidays at Threadless, our number one selling product was tote bags – an accessory. But the product that resulted in the highest revenue? Fleece blankets. Blankets weren’t even in our top three best selling products, and yet they brought in the most revenue. Who knew! The takeaway? You never know what might bring in the most earnings, so offer something for every room! This gives your customers variety.
Here are some suggestions as far as what to offer your products on:
Deck the walls: art prints & tapestries
Fun fact: art prints were actually the first non-apparel product Threadless offered through Artist Shops. They’re a basic home decor essential and are a little easier for customers to buy as gifts than other home goods. Not to mention, offering wall art prints also opens you up to gallery opportunities and they’re convenient to sell IRL. And tapestries are a timeless wall decor trend.
Get Cozy: Fleece blankets & duvet covers
A soft fleece blanket is a versatile apartment essential that works everywhere from the living room to the bedroom. And a duvet cover is a great way for people to change up their bed decor without dropping $300 on a brand new quilt.
Accessorize your space: Shower curtains, pillows, and rugs
Home decor like shower curtains, throw pillows, and rugs are where people get to have a little fun and can get artsy with their space. These are home items (especially shower curtains and rugs) that don’t often get enough creative love, and that customers might really appreciate some fun options for!
Photography
Setting up a shop full of your designs on home decor is great, but it won’t get you anywhere fast unless you have a great way of showing off that home decor. This is where lifestyle photography comes in. When someone’s buying clothes, it’s a little easier to impulse buy or try something new. But when someone’s shopping for their home, they’re looking for something they’re going to spend money on to use for a good while, something that adds to their personal cave. Here are a few tips to nail that lifestyle photography for your home decor products (using examples from one of my favorite artist’s Instagram, Sasa Elebea):
Presentation and staging are key
While with tees and apparel you pretty much get what you see, home decor can be a little harder to actually picture in a space. When you create lifestyle photography for home goods, you need to show customers that your product will look good in a room and, more importantly, will make your room look good. Create and sell a space you’d want to live in. Stage a room with a few of your home decor products in it, but make sure it’s a room/couch/bookshelf/etc. that adds to your product rather than takes away from it. If your friend has an amazing living room, see if they’d let you take over their space for a bit with your throw pillows and blankets. Or if your parents have a great exposed brick wall in their home, bring over a few of your framed prints, lean them up against the wall, and get some great photos.
Lighting is key
(This is when it helps to have friends with lighting experience!) Nobody wants to buy a product in a room that looks dark and dingy, or has grainy, yellowish night-lighting. Hell, I don’t even like my own room as much when it’s not filled with natural, outside light. Make sure the lighting for your product shots is beautiful and shows off your product.
Accessorize (but not too much)
When staging your products, don’t be afraid to accessorize a little. Throw a plant into the mix, put your favorite book on a throw blanket on a couch, use your own cool frames to frame your art prints and present them in a cool way. Just don’t over-accessorize the photo. You want your product to be the focus – anything else added into the mix should only be there to add focus to your product and enhance the style and lifestyle/decor you want to associate it with.
Offer your designs on multiple products
Someone might see a design of yours and may not like it on a pillow, but might love it as a print. Being specific about what types of products you offer and offering some level of product exclusivity makes sense…but at the same time, you don’t want to limit your customer base if they love a design on one item but can’t buy it on what they’re really looking for.
Provide collections of home decor
When people go looking for home decor, they’re looking for something that will fit their space and gives off the vibe they want their home to give off. And if they’re trying to put together an art wall or trying to theme a room, offering them a collection of designs and items that go well together or share a similar theme/style can help introduce them to similar designs they might love! You can do this by content marketing (ex. a post all about how to theme a room, or make a cohesive art wall using your product), but now you can also easily categorize your products into collections with Artist Shops; try it out now!
Make it easy on yourself
Artist Shops make it easier (and cheaper!) than ever before to start a home decor business. And if you haven’t heard the news, Artist Shops now offers a full lineup of home decor (*hint hint* all of the items mentioned above!) to sell your designs on! Actually achieve your new year’s resolution this year by letting Threadless Artist Shops make it easy on you to start a home decor business!
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We’re an artist community built on the power of helping each other succeed — if you’re reading this and have tips of your own to share, please let us know in the comments! Thank you!
Illustrations done by the amazing Katie Lukes
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