Every crafter has wondered whether they could sell their crafts. Most of us would love to craft all day and sell our items, have people like and enjoy our items. We’d love to make a living doing what we love – our crafts. With the explosion of online marketplaces, this dream is even closer to reality for many people today. In fact, arts and crafts are booming, both online and at crafts fairs. Handmade is hip. It’s green and frugal. Plus retro is the new modern, it seems to me.

Selling your crafts can begin simply, but hopefully will become big for you. If that’s your dream, then start out right to avoid problems later. The Craft Artist’s Legal Guide is an excellent resource to get you started and help you as you grow- expanding into new markets, hiring help, protecting your work, and more. While primarily a guide to how to wade through the legalities of selling creative work, it is also full of tips to run a smart and profitable business.

While a “legal guide” sounds dry and boring, I found it  interesting for a few reasons. First, it is written specifically for craftspeople – it speaks our language. This book covers the things you need to know about copyrights and trademarks for decorative arts, consigning items, selling at fairs, renting a studio, contractors and more. The chapters are full of real-life examples that make the ideas come alive. It’s more fun to remember that Sister Hummel wasn’t doing “work-for-hire.” She owned the copyrights to her famous figurines, not the convent she worked for because it wasn’t part of the work she did for them. It was her personal business that she ran herself.

This book may save you money just in the legal forms included on the CD. Fifteen or so forms are provided in a word-processing format. Open them up and add your details to have those pesky written agreements at your fingertips. This book is a worthwhile purchase for a crafts-business person, and it’s deductible!