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Smart Art and Craft HOW TO START A CRAFT CLUB |
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Starting a craft club is a great idea for you to catch up with friends, but takes a lot of responsibility. That's why I've made this website; so you can run a craft club without having to stress and worry about what to do next.
If you would like a print-out on the basics of starting a craft club click here.
The first thing you'll need to know about starting a craft club is that you will need a list of the crafts you're going to make and the materials before you start anything else. This is very important because if you don't know what you're going to make ahead of time, you won't have the materials, so you'll have to rush out and get them. Or you won't have any clue of what to make and your next craft session would be coming up in a few days and you'll do a quick search on the internet and not find anything (that's where this website comes in handy), and you'll get really stressed and find something really boring to do.
So, step one, write down in a notebook the kind of ideas you have in mind for your craft club to do (there are a few very simple crafts on our website in the Crafts section that are great for a group). But remember not to go into too much detail because you still have to invite all your friends and if none of them can make it (quite unlikely) you don't want to have just wasted your time.
Next, decide what day you'd like your sessions to be on; whether you want it on a Monday, Thursday, etc., and if it'd take place every week, fortnight, or month.
Now make sure your Mum, dad, guardian, (or yourself!) will allow you to have capital. The capital is money that you will need to start the club with, so you can buy the first set of materials.
Once you have established all this information you can start making an invitation. This is one of the fun bits!
Click here for an example of an invitation. You can use this invitation outline and just fill in the places with the purple writing, or you can make up your very own invitation. You don't even have to do it on the computer.
Print out an invitation for each friend you're going to invite and complete putting them in an envelope with their details on the front and your details on the back. You might want your mum, dad, or guardian to put in a little note for the parents just to say that your friends will be looked after or something, but if you and the friends you are going to invite are very close, and you go to each others' houses all the time, then you probably don't need to add this note.
Next time you're out and about get some stamps and post these letters. All you have to do now is wait for a reply. When someone contacts you, write in your notebook whether they can or cannot come, otherwise you're probably going to forget and buy the wrong amount of materials. Also write down their phone number, if you can, in case you have to contact them.
There are a few bits and pieces you will need for your craft club. Not all of these are necessary, but they are nice things to have anyway. 1. Capital (money to start your club with). 2. Logo (example). 3. Attendance List design (example). 4. An Excel spreadsheet for all the products you buy (example). 5. A timetable design to give to your friends (example). 6. An email account so you can keep your friends up to date on the details of the next get together. 7. A place to keep all the extra crafts you don't use. (You might be surprised at how many things there are that your group hasn't used and if you don't have anywhere to put them, your bedroom will become a junk yard).
At the beginning or the end of your first class give a piece of paper to each of your friends, ask them to write their name, email address, phone number and mobile number, and any other important information so, no matter what, you can contact them when you need to.
About 4 or 5 days before each session it is important to send your friends a reminder email. It should say when the next session is, when it starts and when it finishes (you'll be surprised how many people forget) and what you're going to be doing.
Every time you buy something for the club, you must write down all the required details in the Excel spreadsheet. It helps you to know how much you use of things and how long it is until you need to get some more materials.
Also remember that you must set a maximum amount of money every time you go out shopping so you don't buy so much that you can't pay for it (even though some craft materials are rather addictive!).
That is basically all you need to know about starting a craft club. If you have any questions, please contact me at lila at smartartcraft.com (remove spaces and add email sign). |
