I recently completed a custom piece for a friend of mine from college.
It was a gift for her grandmother’s birthday. After she gave her grandmother the gift, she sent me a picture of her grandmother’s reaction upon opening it and a bit of a story about why she asked me to make the piece and what her grandmother shared with her after receiving the piece. It was a truly personal and memorable story and it really made me so happy to think I had a small role in that.
Notice how I didn’t have any connection to the piece until after I heard the story?
I do custom pieces all the time, and I love them. But most of the time I don’t get to hear the story behind them. This piece was just another custom until I heard the story.
This connection to the piece through the story works both ways.
Storytelling can help buyers feel a connection to your pieces as well – and that can promote an atmosphere for buying.
I have seen this discussed at length in the past three years: the idea that sharing a story can make your handmade item more enticing to buyers. It’s a simple idea that can go a long way.
My friend Kristin and I had a gallery showing together a couple of years ago where my wishbone stitch embroideries were paired with her colourful paintings.
We each gave out pieces what I like to call “story titles.” We each sold a handful of our pieces at the opening of our show and people repeatedly made comments to us about how they could relate to the pieces or connect with them somehow based on the story in the title and the memories that evoked for them. We were both extremely happy that people were able to find connections to our pieces and felt compelled to buy them. It was a really awesome thing.
There are lots of ways to “add story” to your products.
Here are some helpful articles to get you headed in the right direction!
- Pixar’s 22 rules of storytelling
- 3 simple storytelling methods that can do your selling for you
- Tell your story
{image from the Merriweather Council}
