Craft Supplies for Your Business

The most expensive part of creating any craft project is the craft supplies and tools you need to buy in advance. At some point most serious crafters begin to take a good hard look at the money they're making with craft fairs and craft sales and start comparing it to their expenses and quickly realize that the one item the most money is spent on is the craft supplies themselves. This means, of course, that it makes sense to try to get your craft supplies at the lowest cost available.

That's where buying paper, paints, wood pieces, ribbon and lots of other arts and crafts supplies "wholesale" can really help a professional craftsman or women or even a small craft store owner who is starting out. But you can't just walk into any arts and crafts supply store or visit any craft supply website and really buy things wholesale. It's all a little more complicated than that.

The word "wholesale" is thrown around a lot these days and is often used as a substitute for "cheap" but that's not really the true meaning of the word. Normally when you buy wire or beads or ribbon or anything from a craft supply store you're buying small quantities from the store.

If you are making lamps or decorating lampshades, LampsPlus has white and off white Lampshades in sets of 8 far cheaper than you could get around town. Delphi Glass has a wide variety of craft supplies priced for wholesale accouts and retail buyers.

Most "true" wholesale establishments will only sell to you if you have a store or you're serious about buying a lot of arts and craft supplies at once. Most have minimum order amounts. Most require that you have a real registered business with your state commerce department as well as a "wholesaler's license" which can usually also be obtained through your state. A wholesaler's license basically allows you to buy items from wholesale centers without paying sales tax.