Hamilton has a busy creative scene: galleries and studios along James Street North and its monthly Art Crawl, independent shops on streets like Ottawa Street and Locke Street, and makers selling at markets and pop-ups across the city. Plenty of those makers have loyal customers in person and nothing for the people who find them on Instagram at 11pm. An online store fixes that, as long as it doesn’t take over your making time.
This guide is for artists, crafters, jewellers, ceramicists, printmakers and small-batch makers thinking about moving online. It covers when to start, how to set up a store you can actually run, and how to keep in-person and online sales working together.
Are you ready to sell online?
You’re probably ready if:
- People regularly ask “do you have a website?” or “can I order this?”
- You have repeatable products, not only one-off pieces, or a steady flow of new one-offs.
- You can photograph products consistently.
- You can commit a few hours a week to orders, packing and messages.
If you’re not there yet, a simple page with your story, where to find you next and an email sign-up is a good first step.
Start smaller than you think
The most common mistake is launching with everything: every product, every app, every feature. Start with:
- Your best-selling or most representative products, photographed well.
- Clear shipping, pickup and returns information.
- An about page with your story and a photo of you or your studio.
- An email sign-up.
Add products in batches. A store with fifteen beautifully presented products sells better than one with eighty rushed listings.
Photographs are your shop window
Online, the photo is the product. Customers can’t pick up your ceramic mug or feel your fabric.
- Shoot in consistent natural light against the same simple background.
- Show scale: the piece in a hand, on a table, being worn.
- Show detail: texture, glaze, stitching, edges.
- Keep image files a sensible size. Very large photos slow your store down; our Core Web Vitals guide explains why that matters.
Handling one-of-a-kind pieces
- Set inventory to one so a piece can’t sell twice.
- Decide what happens when it sells: hide it, or keep it visible as “sold” to show your range, with a link to similar work or a commission enquiry.
- Group work into collections customers recognise: by medium, colour, collection or price.
Markets, pop-ups and online, all in one inventory
This is where Shopify suits makers well. Shopify’s point-of-sale app lets you take payments at a market stall or pop-up from the same system as your online store, so inventory stays in sync. Sell the last print at the Art Crawl and it disappears from the website automatically. A few practical tips:
- Offer local pickup for Hamilton customers, from your studio or at your next market, so they save on shipping.
- Put a small card with your web address in every bag.
- Collect email addresses at the stall, with clear consent; our CASL email guide explains the rules.
- Announce your next market dates on the website so online fans can come and see the work in person.
Shipping without losing money
- Weigh products in their packaging and set up your common box sizes.
- Compare carriers. Shopify supports buying labels from Canadian carriers in the admin.
- Price fragile items to cover proper protective packaging.
- Consider a free-shipping threshold that encourages a second item.
Our guide to setting up Shopify in Canada covers shipping rates, HST and payments in detail.
Packaging and brand
When a customer opens your parcel, that’s the in-person moment. Consistent labels, tissue, a thank-you note or care instructions make an online order feel as personal as buying at your stall. Your brand doesn’t need to be elaborate, just consistent: the same name, colours and tone on your stall banner, labels, social profiles and store.
We care about this part. Our Plankz case study shows product graphics and packaging designed as one system so the product sells on the shelf and in use, and our branding service builds brand systems that hold together across every place they appear.
Wholesale and commissions
Once you’re online, shops and galleries may ask about stocking your work. A simple wholesale enquiry page with minimums and lead times saves back-and-forth. Commission enquiries work the same way: a short form asking for budget, timeline and what they have in mind.
Keeping it manageable
- Install apps only when they solve a real problem; each one adds monthly cost and can slow the store.
- Batch your admin: pack and ship on set days, and say so on the site.
- Use simple, honest policies for returns and custom work.
Shopify or something else?
For most makers who sell in person as well as online, Shopify is a strong fit because of the shared inventory and point of sale. If your work is deeply content-led (tutorials, a blog at the heart of the business), WordPress may suit better. Our comparison of Shopify and WooCommerce covers the trade-offs.
A first-month plan
- Week 1: choose your launch products (start with 10 to 20), photograph them consistently and write short descriptions with sizes, materials and care.
- Week 2: set up the store: payments, shipping rates, local pickup, taxes, policies and your about page.
- Week 3: place test orders, including a pickup and a shipped order. Ask a friend to buy something and tell you what confused them.
- Week 4: launch to your existing customers first: your email list, your social followers and a card at your next market. Then add products in small batches.
Keep a simple note of what sells online versus in person. The two audiences often prefer different pieces, and that tells you what to make next.
Food makers and producers
If you make food or drink, there are extra considerations around labelling, licensing and delivery. Our guide to selling food products online in Ontario covers them.
How we can help
We design and build Shopify stores around how your customers browse and buy, with a fast theme, a tidy catalogue and only the apps you genuinely need. If you already have a store, run the free Shopify check to see what’s slowing it down. Tell us about your work through Start a project; we’ll recommend a starting point that fits a maker’s budget, which might be smaller than you expect.
Written by the CHRISPS studio in Cambridge, Ontario.