Is your homelearner in love with art? A craft wizard? If you have a child who just adores creating things, then he may eventually want to show or sell some of this art. Just as a working adult artist uses shows, web sites, and other media to show off his work, your homelearner may wish to do the same. Luckily, the internet has opened up venues for everyone to share what they can create and even offer it up for sale.
Etsy is the well-loved pocketbook drainer of the internet. It’s a site for all things homemade, including crafts, visual art, and even food. Your thrift store goddess can sell repurposed pants there, while your small abstract painter can put up his wares for sale. Your child will need to promote the web site and think about what niche to fill and how to promote his wares.
If your child is in the mood for an art contest, Threadless is a fun place to apply. Create a design for a shirt, and people from the Threadless community rate it and determine whether it will be published as a mass print run.
To create amazing garments, art cards, and more, the internet also has a wealth of web sites that allow kids and adults alike to upload graphics and create amazing objects with them. Love fabric, sewing, and design? Spoonflower allows your child to upload his own art and print it onto fabric. Your beginning fashion designer can create garments or bags with his own art printed right on the fabric. Cafepress allows you to upload a single graphic onto bags, shirts, mugs, and much more. To create items like art cards and magnets, go to Vistaprint and create a print run. Just make sure that you choose the option to remove the Vistaprint logo for the extra charge to make your cards look professional.
What have you done to encourage your child’s artistic, crafty, and businesslike streak?
Image courtesy of Billy Alexander at Stock Exchange.