Sharing Time - Why Tutorials?

I made a tutorial for my Felt Poppy Flowers last Week and I bet many of you were wondering why she would give away instructions on how to make her flowers.

I did "invent" the process I use and no one out there is making felt flowers the way I do. The process is also really only successful for handmade. The flowers couldn't be mass produced on a conveyor belt, but they could be handmade in a third world country by craftspeople. I have seen this kind of work done by hand in Asia.

So why would I share my "secret"? Sellers who are afraid to post tutorials assume that the population that read your posts are even capable of making what you make. The non crafting population of the world, wouldn't even begin to know how, or is capable of recreating what we make. You are more talented than that.

I saw some gift tags on Pinterest that were labeled DIY salt dough.  I clicked through to the blog. It was a seller who makes earthenware clay tags. She was flattered by the popularity, but irked at the constant contact questions on how hers turn out so nice and theirs didn't. See Marley and Lockyer

I guess my point is that giving instructions to a non crafter, will only show them why they need to buy from us, and anyone who really crafts will be able to just look at what you sell and make it themselves without a tutorial. There are very few things on Artfire, Etsy or other sites that I can't look at and figure out the materials and processes and reproduce them for myself. I often do this for gifts, but never for resale. I try to be original, and at least use my own patterns on my fabric shop.

If any of you artists or crafters have tutorials you want to share. Contact me and I will post them here. Even older ones. Lets help our friends make gifts and our potential customers find their way to our shops.