Page 80 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

Free Training in Handicrafts

If you have tried to make things and have given up, feeling that you could
never acquire the necessary skill to turn out a good product, perhaps you just
lack a few pointers in handling your tools properly or selecting the right
designs. In most of the larger cities, the public schools give free courses in
handicrafts. The Young Men’s Christian Association also holds classes in the
applied and fine arts. Students of either sex, of any age, may enroll in these
classes for a small fee. There are several magazines on the newsstands which
cater to the craftsman, and the U. S. government publishes bulletins which
will give you exact plans and instructions in making many things for use on
the farm or in the home. The public library in your city has dozens and
dozens of books that tell how to make things. Manufacturers will send you
instructions for the use of their products. There is plenty of help for the man
or woman who is eager to acquire skill in his work.

With a few good books or other material to guide you and plenty of practice,
you can develop skill in practically any type of work you really like. When
you have reached the point where your work begins to look professional, then
you must start thinking of ways and means of marketing your product. For no
matter how well you make a thing, you will not make a profit from your labor
until you find a market for it. Even before you begin making things, it is a
good idea to find out what your community needs and likes. A walk through
the department stores, the gift shops, the woman’s exchange, and other sales
outlets will give you some idea of what the public is buying.

The trend today leans toward the “streamline” effect in practically everything
—from automobiles to kitchen knives. Keep away from the outmoded
designs. Look through the women’s magazines and the periodicals on interior
decoration and furnishings to find out what is in good taste today. The
present trend toward the “classic modern” in furniture suggests that you omit
excessive ornament from any cabinet work, but it means that your work must
be superior in design and execution in order to achieve that clean streamlined
effect. Linens, rugs, glassware, china, jewelry, lamps, picture frames, ash
trays, kitchen implements and equipment, as well as furniture, all have more
or less of a tendency toward the modern in design. This does not mean the