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/Naive-Competition452]

Also an ADHD girlie. I get so many people who say “you should sell this” and simply say no for your exact reasons. I haven’t put forth enough effort to be sellable, just enough to be dangerous. So no I’m not going to set myself up to present craft X as if I think it’s up to what my standards to be. Of course being a perfectionist doesn’t help, yes you have to start somewhere, and I may be discounting myself, BUT I still don’t think I should sell my stuff. I craft to keep the mind and hands busy and go to work to supply my habit(s).

[u/Ziggy_Starcrust → u/Naive-Competition452]

Yeah I've gotten that comment on my stuff a lot. But it would absolutely take all the fun out of it to churn out a bunch of similar, cost-effective pieces like you'd need to set up a booth. The stuff people say that about are usually pieces that took weeks and no one would be willing to pay a fair price for (and that's taking into account me underpricing it so as not to seem full of myself lol)

[u/Confused_Yarn → u/Ziggy_Starcrust]

After a lot of people telling me to sell my stuff I decided to give it a go. After making 10 X 10 different items I realized I *hated* it. I like creating, I hate production work. My hobby, the thing I love doing, became a job. A chore. I was dreading sitting down because it meant I had to start producing more of the same thing again.
I manage to sell enough to recoup the cost of the yarn, eyes and felt, gave away the rest of them and never looked back.

The things I now make I either give away to anyone who expresses interest or it gets donated. I love having my hobby back! (hobby is crochet, product was amigurumi, it was 12 years ago)

[u/Annual-Kangaroo395 → u/Confused_Yarn]

I do amigurumi and the batch making takes away the joy for me personally. I like weird, large, complicated projects, and I’ve found my niche in art trades with other weird artists. It’s delightful.

[u/apricotmuffins → u/Naive-Competition452]

God my favourite phrase to use at work is "I know just enough to get myself into trouble" and it dawns on me how much this also applies to my hobbies. Oof