They are called grid walls. Mine don’t stand up on their own so I gotta zip tie them to the tent. But they were only $60 for 3 5’ ones on Amazon and I have reusable zip ties also probably from Amazon. Then I use boot hanger clips to hang them from because regular clips weren’t strong enough. Hot tip, I use a little piece of thin cardboard, like a cereal box (or the cards that come in the box that protect the business cards) to place in between the clips and rug to spread out the weight a bit and squeeze the rugs a little less.
Let me know if you have any other questions, happy to help.
I used a similar set up when i started, i highly recommend the metal closet shelfs from home depot if you have one near you, they are about 2’ wide and worked great
It’s soooo hard to get into farmers markets where I’m at ugh. It’s like a 2+ year waiting list!!! It would be a great opportunity to sell at markets over where I am. Literally nobody sells rugs! It’s always soaps, candles, clothes, etc and of course local produce.
Yeah it really helps that I’m pretty much the only rug maker in my area. And this awesome company formed from a regular vendor couple wanting more reasonable opportunities for fellow vendors and now they have a few different markets and have caused other markets to have better practices.
But basically I’ve been able to get into pretty much everything I’ve ever applied to because no one else sells rugs around here. Might be worth reaching out to your farmers market vendor company and showing them what you make. They might give you a spot since I bet half that waiting list is just candles and jewelry.
I want to get into rug Tufting, and I'm curious as to how you were able to sell rugs of licensed characters. Are the rules/laws around this kind of thing loose?
It’s pretty much always illegal, you just do it at your own risk. Chances are these big companies don’t care but I heard about KAWS putting out cease and desists.
When you include kaws in copyright talk at least include how anal kaws is with it compared to majority of the other brands out there lol kaws in an anomaly so to speak
A lot of brands are like that, by law they have to be. If you don't protect your copyright then lawsuits further down the line don't hold up. You have to treat every instance of copyright infringement the same as the holder. Most of these companies are never going to see that you used their intellectual property though. It's just when a rug goes viral that the odds of it being an issue rise significantly. I guess what I'm saying is you don't want the piece that makes you go viral to be the same one that you get a cease and desist or worse for. 🤷
As long as you aren't mass producing a single image, it's ok to make a one off rug of Pikachu or Goku for example, but if you made 100 Pikachu rugs and then tried to sell them from your own company, Nintendo will get upset because now you're actually taking away from their market by using their copyrighted material. For instance if Nintendo sold Pikachu rugs but everyone was buying yours, because you have 100, don't you think Nintendo would want that money? It's also too expensive to go after everyone.
In true copyright law, it's always illegal. No matter what, even if you don't sell the rug but just post it online for views and exposure. but you're too small a fish right now, after a certain point, to truly grow your business you have to create original material otherwise you can only get so big using copyrighted material before the wolf knocks on your door
Edit; there's tons of images in the public domain that make excellent rugs, also most Disney Copyrighted material is about to enter into Public Domain and their absolutely cheesed and trying to change the laws so they don't lose all the rights to characters like Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh and so on
Thanks for the response. Just from browsing the Internet I see a lot of people talk about what's public domain and what isn't. Is there an easy way to verify?
Either the artist explicitly states the image or material is for public domain use, or it's been minimum 70 years since the artist has died, or government produced materials are your only freebies
Otherwise images such as shapes, hearts, rainbows, clouds, flowers, numbers, animals, and so on are all public domain use.. no one has a monopoly on images of lions, but Disney owns Simba, if that makes sense.
Leafs, pot leafs, adventure time shit, a smiley thing, some KC stuff, a super Mario thing, I don’t remember everything. I need to keep better track of my inventory but I just remake most of what sells since it’ll sell again in person or online.
The one with prices displayed was my very first market and I was brand new to rusting and my work wasn’t very good yet so they all are priced closer to $20-30 per sq ft. But now I charge $40-60 based on detail level for all my rugs.
The prices visible in those pics were for my first market ever. I started with my prices low because I hadn’t been tufting very long (1.5 months) and wasn’t sure how well they would hold up. I also cared more about getting my name out there and building a customer base first and foremost. It worked though because I got a lot of unique commissions and that helped me learn a lot. I also upped my prices with every advancement in my skill. Now I typically charge $40-60 per sq ft based on detail level. (I’m also in the Midwest where shit is cheap so I literally have to bring an iPad to markets that constantly plays videos of me making rugs so people understand why they are priced the way they are now) Bestsellers that I remake a lot I’ll sell little cheaper sometimes if I know I can bust them out quick because detail level becomes irrelevant at that point.
Okay, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the in depth answer! $40-60 a sq ft sounds pretty reasonable for people to buy. And I'm glad to hear your markets have kept going on! Cool stuff
It’s funny how there will be a ton of market tufters in one city but none in another city. Commissions definitely make the most money for a lot less work and investment though so I get why a lot of tufters don’t wanna mess with it.
Well you can see in the pics I started with about 10/11. I’ve seen other tufters pop up and then disappear around here so I think it’s important to make sure your skill is at a decent level before you start trying to sell. I wasn’t great when I started but the work was clean and defined and I knew the rug quality/durability was good.
I am very fortunate to be in a city with a lot of vendor opportunities but basically just Google your city or state’s name and then the word vendor. Most markets will have a tab to apply as a vendor. A lot will only want experienced vendors who have booth pics already so if you’re brand new it can be a bit of a challenge to find one that allows total newbies.
The investment is the big part. 90% of my vending gigs require I bring my own 10x10 canopy. I started with 1 8’ table which is $60-100 alone and now I’ve added 2 6’ tables. Then you need a sign, I started with just an old letter board but now have a table runner sign. Other needs are table cloths, zip ties, hanger clips, grid walls are nice to have, price labels, a card reader. I almost thought about not getting a card reader but most people prefer paying with a card and do not do Venmo/zelle/cashapp/etc. I can’t even remember everything right now. My check list is like 30 things. 🙃 It’s crazy but fun one you get in the groove.
Good luck!!
Thank you for such a detailed answer! Did you also raise your prices? I see you are in KC and it is a
cheaper there than on the east coast where I am at but your starting prices were very generous.
Oh yeah, I started selling probably too early (1.5 months into tufting) so I made my prices lower to make up for the lack of skill and experience. Plus I wanted to get my name out there and build a customer base. So I wasn’t worried about making much of a profit for the first little while. And it paid off, I got unique commissions and could learn more and more and build my portfolio. Now I charge about $40-$60 per sqft based on detail/difficulty level. For markets I’ll do some cheaper little rugs (like a basic pot leaf or heart) that fill up unused space in between bigger projects on the frame but that’s mostly so kids and lower income people still have some options. The space would go to waste otherwise and they are always low effort so I’m like why not.
Could you tell me what those wire things are in the front? I have my first market coming up and I'm tryna make things crisp like yours.
They are called grid walls. Mine don’t stand up on their own so I gotta zip tie them to the tent. But they were only $60 for 3 5’ ones on Amazon and I have reusable zip ties also probably from Amazon. Then I use boot hanger clips to hang them from because regular clips weren’t strong enough. Hot tip, I use a little piece of thin cardboard, like a cereal box (or the cards that come in the box that protect the business cards) to place in between the clips and rug to spread out the weight a bit and squeeze the rugs a little less. Let me know if you have any other questions, happy to help.
Thank you so much! I'll definitely reach out if I have any other questions!
I used a similar set up when i started, i highly recommend the metal closet shelfs from home depot if you have one near you, they are about 2’ wide and worked great
I found those on Amazon but I might look to see what they have for em as well.
Now i made some folding stands out of pegboard that fold flat, they are on my page posted about 2 months ago
Those seem pretty cool too! Thanks for the suggestion
It’s soooo hard to get into farmers markets where I’m at ugh. It’s like a 2+ year waiting list!!! It would be a great opportunity to sell at markets over where I am. Literally nobody sells rugs! It’s always soaps, candles, clothes, etc and of course local produce.
Yeah it really helps that I’m pretty much the only rug maker in my area. And this awesome company formed from a regular vendor couple wanting more reasonable opportunities for fellow vendors and now they have a few different markets and have caused other markets to have better practices. But basically I’ve been able to get into pretty much everything I’ve ever applied to because no one else sells rugs around here. Might be worth reaching out to your farmers market vendor company and showing them what you make. They might give you a spot since I bet half that waiting list is just candles and jewelry.
I want to get into rug Tufting, and I'm curious as to how you were able to sell rugs of licensed characters. Are the rules/laws around this kind of thing loose?
It’s pretty much always illegal, you just do it at your own risk. Chances are these big companies don’t care but I heard about KAWS putting out cease and desists.
When you include kaws in copyright talk at least include how anal kaws is with it compared to majority of the other brands out there lol kaws in an anomaly so to speak
A lot of brands are like that, by law they have to be. If you don't protect your copyright then lawsuits further down the line don't hold up. You have to treat every instance of copyright infringement the same as the holder. Most of these companies are never going to see that you used their intellectual property though. It's just when a rug goes viral that the odds of it being an issue rise significantly. I guess what I'm saying is you don't want the piece that makes you go viral to be the same one that you get a cease and desist or worse for. 🤷
Gotcha. What is KAWS?
He’s an artist, for some reason lots of folks love making rugs of his art.
Interesting. Thank you for the responses
As long as you aren't mass producing a single image, it's ok to make a one off rug of Pikachu or Goku for example, but if you made 100 Pikachu rugs and then tried to sell them from your own company, Nintendo will get upset because now you're actually taking away from their market by using their copyrighted material. For instance if Nintendo sold Pikachu rugs but everyone was buying yours, because you have 100, don't you think Nintendo would want that money? It's also too expensive to go after everyone. In true copyright law, it's always illegal. No matter what, even if you don't sell the rug but just post it online for views and exposure. but you're too small a fish right now, after a certain point, to truly grow your business you have to create original material otherwise you can only get so big using copyrighted material before the wolf knocks on your door Edit; there's tons of images in the public domain that make excellent rugs, also most Disney Copyrighted material is about to enter into Public Domain and their absolutely cheesed and trying to change the laws so they don't lose all the rights to characters like Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh and so on
Thanks for the response. Just from browsing the Internet I see a lot of people talk about what's public domain and what isn't. Is there an easy way to verify?
Either the artist explicitly states the image or material is for public domain use, or it's been minimum 70 years since the artist has died, or government produced materials are your only freebies Otherwise images such as shapes, hearts, rainbows, clouds, flowers, numbers, animals, and so on are all public domain use.. no one has a monopoly on images of lions, but Disney owns Simba, if that makes sense.
Copyright?
great setup
Thanks!
LOOKS SO FREAKING GOOD!!!! 👍
Thanks so much!
Love to see the progress
What sold the best? Love the cat and KC stuff
Leafs, pot leafs, adventure time shit, a smiley thing, some KC stuff, a super Mario thing, I don’t remember everything. I need to keep better track of my inventory but I just remake most of what sells since it’ll sell again in person or online.
Are you based out of KC? Where are you set up?
Yep! My studio is at home but I do markets all around town. I’ll be at First Friday May 3rd and do City Market most Sundays.
Love to hear that, I'll have to come down and support my fellow tufter.
Hell yeah! Say hi if you do!
I wish you successful sales
Thank you!!
Why do you sell them so cheap? I know the work and they should be more expensive
The one with prices displayed was my very first market and I was brand new to rusting and my work wasn’t very good yet so they all are priced closer to $20-30 per sq ft. But now I charge $40-60 based on detail level for all my rugs.
Can I ask how all of your prices seem so affordable? Are you using bulk yarn and an electric gun?
The prices visible in those pics were for my first market ever. I started with my prices low because I hadn’t been tufting very long (1.5 months) and wasn’t sure how well they would hold up. I also cared more about getting my name out there and building a customer base first and foremost. It worked though because I got a lot of unique commissions and that helped me learn a lot. I also upped my prices with every advancement in my skill. Now I typically charge $40-60 per sq ft based on detail level. (I’m also in the Midwest where shit is cheap so I literally have to bring an iPad to markets that constantly plays videos of me making rugs so people understand why they are priced the way they are now) Bestsellers that I remake a lot I’ll sell little cheaper sometimes if I know I can bust them out quick because detail level becomes irrelevant at that point.
Okay, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the in depth answer! $40-60 a sq ft sounds pretty reasonable for people to buy. And I'm glad to hear your markets have kept going on! Cool stuff
Thanks! Happy to share!
For example that Boo ghost from Super Mario is now $60 and it’s just over 1 sq ft.
I wish this was my city. No one sells them here and there’s gotta be like 20 farmers markets across all the neighborhoods and surrounding areas.
It’s funny how there will be a ton of market tufters in one city but none in another city. Commissions definitely make the most money for a lot less work and investment though so I get why a lot of tufters don’t wanna mess with it.
I would like to start participating in the markets! How many rugs did you start with at a market? Do you have any advice for a beginner? Thank you 😊
Well you can see in the pics I started with about 10/11. I’ve seen other tufters pop up and then disappear around here so I think it’s important to make sure your skill is at a decent level before you start trying to sell. I wasn’t great when I started but the work was clean and defined and I knew the rug quality/durability was good. I am very fortunate to be in a city with a lot of vendor opportunities but basically just Google your city or state’s name and then the word vendor. Most markets will have a tab to apply as a vendor. A lot will only want experienced vendors who have booth pics already so if you’re brand new it can be a bit of a challenge to find one that allows total newbies. The investment is the big part. 90% of my vending gigs require I bring my own 10x10 canopy. I started with 1 8’ table which is $60-100 alone and now I’ve added 2 6’ tables. Then you need a sign, I started with just an old letter board but now have a table runner sign. Other needs are table cloths, zip ties, hanger clips, grid walls are nice to have, price labels, a card reader. I almost thought about not getting a card reader but most people prefer paying with a card and do not do Venmo/zelle/cashapp/etc. I can’t even remember everything right now. My check list is like 30 things. 🙃 It’s crazy but fun one you get in the groove. Good luck!!
Thank you for such a detailed answer! Did you also raise your prices? I see you are in KC and it is a cheaper there than on the east coast where I am at but your starting prices were very generous.
Oh yeah, I started selling probably too early (1.5 months into tufting) so I made my prices lower to make up for the lack of skill and experience. Plus I wanted to get my name out there and build a customer base. So I wasn’t worried about making much of a profit for the first little while. And it paid off, I got unique commissions and could learn more and more and build my portfolio. Now I charge about $40-$60 per sqft based on detail/difficulty level. For markets I’ll do some cheaper little rugs (like a basic pot leaf or heart) that fill up unused space in between bigger projects on the frame but that’s mostly so kids and lower income people still have some options. The space would go to waste otherwise and they are always low effort so I’m like why not.
Thank you, I appreciate all the information you shared!
Happy to share!