Recently I've been busy with setting up thumbforlego! There is so much into setting up a shop and taking proper product photos of which I feel that I've been failing spectacularly in. I recently appeared at MAAD at the Red Dot Museum! its the Market of Arts And Designers! It was quite an eye opener as I gathered feedback on the lego thumbdrive keychains that I make and test the market in terms of pricing as well as areas to improve and I've learnt a few things from this market! I will definitely do better the next time round and try to get a placing at the market!

From the price point of $42SGD for a 32gb Lego keychain thumbdrive, it comes off as really expensive and compared to the other items sold in the fair, you could very well buy 2/3 of their items when you buy one of my thumbdrives. Over the past month, I have been trying to keep prices as low as possible so that everyone can enjoy it while not short-changing the amount of effort I put into every piece. Currently for the amount of effort put in, I think that the price is reasonable? Whereas some of my friends think that I should increase the price further. Moreover, I am already selling it grossly lower than two other competitors. So far i've only seen 3 people in the world, including me, sell this handcrafted item. It was a tough decision to make when they told me to increase the prices so that I do not short-change myself and currently, I feel that this price is marginal. Which is good, my motive in this isn't to earn bucks but rather for the exposure and for people around me to enjoy this product.


Another great learning point is to provice namecards. It was too late by the time I've realized that I should have made namecards and resorted to a slew of "please follow me on instagram instead, I am new to this, I haven't gotten the namecards yet" scenarios. It was quite a bummer because it would have been so awesome if I could have provided them with a namecard! so lesson learnt, next month i will have namecards prepared!

Being at the market also gave me a wonderful opportunity to "test the market" and see what are the other concerns that people have and what do they want to see. Namecards is definitely top on my priority list, the next thing is setting up the Etsy store in terms of providing more product listings, more information about my product and what made me want to start up this store. As I furbished these aspects bit by bit over the past days, and am still on it, I was brought through memory lane to see how the very first one was produced, all the way down to the various designs that I have available now. Sourcing for cheaper resources without compromising on quality was a big challenge but i've managed to cut just a little bit, thus bringing cost savings, lowering my price! Sounds like Junior College economics all over again. Learning how to be allocative efficient: Saving time by crafting the products in a certain manner.


As I look back, I am really glad with how the product turned out, how it blends in with the standard LEGO keychain that you cannot really differentiate between the two. In fact, over at the fair, a lot of people thought that I was just selling Lego keychains! It is so much effort required to start off something like this and if this really kicks off well, I am wondering if this would turn from a hobby to a part-time job. I am really hoping that my passion for this would continue to stay strong, keeping this as a hobby and it not mould into a part-time job! Afterall, I am doing this only to gain exposure and to bless others with my crafts! A lot a lot of people have said that they really love the crafts but the price is major setback, but honestly I have no idea how to decrease the price any further without compromising on quality. In fact, I always work on them individually so that I can produce the best workmanship standard that I can provide and I hope that people can appreciate that the price they are paying is really for all the hard work involved! Nevertheless, MAAD fair was an eye opener for me as I looked around and learnt new things, how people market their crafts and most importantly I met really awesome people too!!! I am so so motivated by their crafts and talents, great stuff there! Talking to them really shed light on their journey towards the products that they are selling now and it is really cool to see how people develop their talents, not to mention find them for a start. Finding that talent has always intrigued me! It was so interesting to hear the stories of others on how they got there and see what they are doing, their inspirations. Some of them are just students but they are doing great things!!

I feel that Market of Arts and Designers showcase lots of local crafts as compared to the more "commercialized" items sold at other fairs or markets and everyone has a certain story to tell. It is just about really talking to them, knowing them does one realize how interesting life is and how diverse everyone's lives are! Some of them are really talented in drawing and make those into cards and stickers, some are good in painting and making beautifully decorated crafts some make really cute accessories like earrings. I don't know, but to me, it feels good to support local talent and support these creative minds to keep doing what they are doing :)