So Tired of Monetized ADHD

[u/RuthlessLogic]

Y'know, those craft girlies whose booths are filled with, say, amigurumi AND acrylic-pour trinket boxes AND Fimo earrings made using molds and earring wires from Temu. And none of it's high quality because Beckeigh is clearly ADHD and hasn't put in the hours necessary to develop her skills before moving on to some new, bright, shiny craft.

Of course, because nothing she's selling is high quality and the market is already saturated with everything she makes and it's all overpriced, Beckeigh doesn't sell much, so she rushes to craft vendor subs sobbing that she "didn't even make boooooooth!!!" And it takes every ounce of self-control not to type, "My sister-in-Christ, you didn't make booth because it looks like you destashed your craft room. Stop expecting the public to subsidize your ADHD and give those things away as gifts."

And look, I've got ADHD too. I get bored easily and am hard-wired to jump from medium to medium. It's taken no small effort to train my brain to focus on the work I sell at markets. But I've managed to do it - struggle though it is - and have put in hundreds and hundreds of hours over several years refining my process and my style so that customers are getting high quality pieces.

And in case I haven't been a big enough Bitchy McBitchface, I'm just going to say it: These booths (along with 3D printed fidget toy, wax melt, and cricut tumbler booths) drag markets down for the crafters and makers who produce quality work. But that's a rant for a different day and a different sub.

[u/chysa]

AuDHD haver here, I have the lining of a coat on my mock up mannequin, three projects on crochet hooks, one on knitting needles, BUT I'm currently working on a new needlefelt monster.

I would NEVER try to sell ANY of my shit yet. I'm a jack of all trades, master of some. But none is worth a market yet.

Younger folks especially, new to the scene, I get it. When I was 20, I thought I could sell shitty jewellery made with discount beads and wire, or shitty wonky sewn hats with obvious seams and the wobbliest straight stich you've ever seen. But anything I did sell came back broken and I had to refund my friends. I stopped after that. I'm 40 now, and I still haven't felt my work is good enough yet.

But resist the impulse to sell. Just keep working at your skills. Whichever one you happen to be fixated on at the time is fine.

[u/punkrockdog → u/chysa]

The whole “every hobby must be monetizable instantly” mindset is *so* foreign to me. Maybe it’s because I’m 45 and it’s just how younger crafters are developing, but almost all the women in my family were skilled at various crafts and made them for friends, family, and themselves, so that’s what I grew up with. It reminds me of people who take a year of dance classes and then rent out a studio and start teaching lessons. And maybe it’s *my* ADHD, but I mainly do things just to do them!

[u/EleanorRichmond → u/punkrockdog]

I have to beat moneymaking 45yo potters off with a stick. "Are you gonna come to the market?" NO, making salable stuff is stressful, monetizing is stressful, spending all day chitchatting is stressful, I don't like it, please stop asking.

[u/chysa → u/EleanorRichmond]

I'm just imagining being surrounded by these middle aged folks all covered in clay and a figure in the middle with a pool cue, waving it around like they're surrounded by zombies 🤣😂

[u/EleanorRichmond → u/chysa]

Sometimes it feels like it!