As both a web designer and crafter, It’s surprising that there are few active directories. Let’s change that! and create one together!
The whole journey of the Craft-Directory began as my own life as a baker. It’s a very tricky world to navigate between choosing events to commit to and generating sales and orders.
The internet is a fantastic tool to allow crafters to advertise and sell their wares. But quiet often there is a lot of competition, often from overseas. As a baker these sites did not allow local people to find me unless I had a friend of a friend or answered a multitude of requests for bakers or cake makers in an area knowing full well only one of us will get the order.
The Craft-Directory concept was born after hours of trawling the internet for a solution. Many directory based sites out there are out dated, and offer very limited functionality or require additional contact or websites etc to allow contact. Many lacked ability to be searchable at all, whether it was by category or location.
The Craft-Directory removes the need to run a separate website or Facebook page, or they can be used to complement the information stored as another means of contact. The gallery of Photos will allow customers to view your wares before initiating contact with you.
There is no intention at this point to make the Craft directory a selling site.
The focus is to allow customers to search for crafters or bakers near to them and contact them for orders or sales.
This concept also applies to craft shops, fairs, exhibitions and workshops.
I’m a self-employed single parent, There is a chance that this will be an amazing opportunity and challenge for me. I’m not in a position to employ staff members to speed up development. I am ensuring wherever possible that you as the backers have control over the information that is entered and can be access and edited by you safely.
There is always a risk that this project may not get the level of presence I’m hoping for; which I why I have kept the costs low to keep the risks as low as possible for potential project backers.
I already have a private web server for my Web design business so I have the means to create and support the project. I am only accountable to myself and to my backers, I have no one else to report to as this is solely my idea and research. Regular updates and communications will help me ensure I am heading in the right direction.
Some Design and implementation is already underway at www.craft-directory.co.uk (which currently has an under construction page) and I have a facebook page www.facebook.com/craftdirectory2017.