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Maggie Whitley

joy in motherhood, homemaking, faith & simple living

You are here: Home / blog & handmade advice / 31 days / {Handmade Business in 31 Days — Day 28, How to creatively package an order.}

{Handmade Business in 31 Days — Day 28, How to creatively package an order.}

October 29, 2012 · 10 Comments
Filed Under: 31 days, blog & handmade advice

Day 28// When you shop online from a handmade boutique, receiving an adorably packaged gift in the mail is half the fun! At least I think so, and t’s one of my favorite things about shopping handmade. Just recently we received a package from Barn Owl Primitives and Kristi’s use of kraft paper + twine was the perfect compliment to the colorful artwork we found inside.

As a shop owner, creatively packaging your wares is just one way to continue your branding. Your brand is an extension of what your business represents and the emotions + experiences you work so hard to cultivate to each customer.

Here are a few different styles for packaging your handmade wares, ranging in price + aesthetic…

If you sell small items, such as jewelry, supplies or candy {yum!}, use these fiber egg boxes to create a darling package for customer to open. And… let’s take a second to talk about that bright, turquoise-y green color? Do you love it or what? Add a sprinkling of confetti, ribbon/bow closure, and a business card nestled under the bow to polish it off:

via Torie Jayne

Or maybe it’s better to go with a box that’s a little more neutral? Get creative with color from washi tape {or bows, tags, twine, stamps} and let this simple embellishment take center stage, instead of the outside container. As holidays + seasons come around, adjusting the color palette or design through appropriate colors/images is super fun — all the while you’re able to maintain the brand you’ve worked so hard to create:

via Chykalophia; purchase brown boxes [style 1; style 2], pillow boxes, paper bags or washi tape

Maybe you like to package your items a bit more like we like to do? If the products you sell are colorful totally on their own, use clear poly bags as the outside container, then embellish with ribbon, washi tape or another fun “closure” to seal ’em up before you send them out.

WANT A FEW MORE PACKAGING IDEAS?

  • Get creative with drawstring muslin bags. Stamp your logo or a fun message/print onto each bag; learn to make your own with this tutorial

via Something Turquoise

  • Have you seen these chevron gift bags or red striped gift bags? Talk about CUTE {and colorful}
  • Include a handwritten note or gift tag with each order. They take a handful seconds to write and are so meaningful

via Pen and Paint

Lastly, when deciding on your product packaging it’s important to know the cost of all materials used. For example, if you buy a 12 pack of note cards and include one card with every order, divide the note card price by 12 to determine the individual price. Repeat this simple formula across every material you use to package an order to determine the individual price, including business cards, ribbon, tissue, boxes/bags and/or confetti.

You can add the total packaging material costs to the shipping price, product cost {the item that sold}, or you can split the material costs between the two. Either way, make sure you also include what it costs your business to package the product and of course all postage expenses/fees.

Homework// Review your list of packaging materials, everything you use to creatively package an order should be accounted for. Then breakdown all individual material costs to determine your packaging costs. The next step is to add the material costs to the cost of postage/insurance. Lastly add in the cost in labor {determine your hourly rate and divide by the amount of time it takes (from start to finish) to package it}. If you need to, revise your shipping prices and/or product costs to reflect your packaging costs. Not including an accurate cost of all individual materials, postage + labor means your business is losing money.

click to read all 28 posts — yeow!

 

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10 Comments
Filed Under: 31 days, blog & handmade advice

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« {Handmade Business in 31 Days — Day 27, Holiday Tips.}
{Handmade Business in 31 Days — Day 29, Traveling to conferences.} »

Comments

  1. Heather says

    November 24, 2013 at 4:39 am

    Hey there. I love these ideas! Thanks for sharing!

    I have a question about shipping. Since your business (like mine) is out of your home, what return address do you use on your packages? A PO box? I don’t think I want my home address on my packages.

    Thanks in advance for your help!

    Heather

    Reply

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ABOUT MAGGIE WHITLEY DESIGNS:
Maggie Whitley weaves her writings around joy in motherhood, homemaking, faith, and simple living. She homeschools her children, enjoys a quiet room while reading, and roars with laughter over the challenges & delights of motherhood. Maggie and her husband, along with their four young children, live in metro-Detroit. She has been writing online since 2008.
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“We are preparing to wind down for the school ye “We are preparing to wind down for the school year with just a few more weeks of intentional table lessons. We will then transition to a lighter learning schedule during the summer months. Today I am grateful for the books and resources I’ve read that have helped keep me in my own lane. (Visit my blog to see a personal favorite.)

Even now, three years in, I appreciate the reminder to stay on the path that was designed with intentional thought just for me.”

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We came home and I made “the best dinner ever”. Max specifically announced, “it’s so great you’re launching new meals to the world”. LOL— kids! 🤣👏🏻💓
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So, hello! As you can gather, my name is Maggie ;) 

I started writing online (almost 13 years ago) to share the handmade products I was sewing. My shop was called Gussy Sews. ✂️👛I love the community that has grown from sewing & sharing online.

Let’s FFW to today: Zack and I live in Michigan and have four young children (2 boys & 2 girls). I slowly left the handmade industry and walked right into homemaking, homeschooling, and encouraging women through writing. 💕📝

Motherhood has been very hard on me. (And not just because of how close in age our four children are.) It’s been hard for me because I fought for years to accept that *it’s supposed to be hard*. 

I mean, how do you effectively teach another person to know and love the Lord? Bc that’s how I think of motherhood: a calling to nurture others by studying the One who nurtures me. So I gotta make the first move: study the Bible and seek Him first. As my friend Autumn reminded me, vulnerability births transformation. 

(I’ve had to be really vulnerable!)

So, yes motherhood has fully transformed me. But even more so, Christ has fully transformed me. My list of “all that He’s done for me” is off to a beautifully long start.

Something else I want you to know about me: I stalled for years before acknowledging I have anxiety and depression. It’s hard to talk about this because of course this isn’t forever “my hardship”, but rather because acknowledging this means to heal I have to work through some really difficult things. ✨

But my friend Jesus walks alongside me. He’s already done a mighty work in my heart, including helping me process my anger in healthier ways. I’ve also adopted a heart for sisterhood, mothering, and Titus 2 mentorship.

Sometimes our greatest losses are our greatest gains? That’s what I’m clinging to!

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