For information about made4aid donations to charity, see About made4aid

1. What items can be donated?

made4aid can accept donations of items that you have made yourself, if they are hand-made, good quality and easy and safe to post, and meet our guidelines (see below). 

Items handmade by someone else can be donated as vintage items, but only if they are at least 20 years old. We can also accept donations of commercial or handmade supplies for art and crafts. We are very happy to accept donations from anywhere in the world – so long as they are in good saleable condition, and you are able to post them securely to the buyer. We do not accept items made of ivory or real animal fur.

If your work is hand-made or can be used for hand-made art or crafts,  and meets the guidance on this website, you are very welcome to contact us if you wish to donate something, or if you have any queries. The photos on this website are all items donated to made4aid, and may help give you some ideas.

Items you could donate include a range of textiles -(e.g. knitting, sewing, crochet, weaving, felting); jewellery; paper arts and crafts; clothing; home accessories; artwork – paintings or prints for example; quilts or throws; ornaments; hats; purses and bags; patterns if they are your own designs.

PLEASE NOTE: we are unable to sell any items for babies and children, including blankets or clothing, or any items which a child might see as having ‘play value’ (eg. some art dolls and soft sculptures) unless you are able to : i. safety test and label the item you donate as certified safe for children, meeting the UK CE requirements; ii) provide us with the required paperwork to evidence the safety testing process. If you have queries about this, do contact made4aid.

Thinking of de-stashing? You might be able to donate materials – yarn, threads, paper, inks, fabrics, buttons – or (physical) patterns and kits.

We are also able to accept and sell vintage or antique arts and crafts  – so, remember us if you find something fabulous and hand-made at a car-boot or yard or garage sale, or in charity or thrift shops or if you are de-stashing or downsizing.  To meet Etsy requirements any vintage items must be at least 20 years old – please bear this in mind.

The most suitable items are those which are fairly easy to post.  Ceramics, china or glass may not be suitable though ceramic or glass jewellery, beads and small light items which can be packaged safely may be fine. 

We do not sell any food or drink items, perishables or consumables, or beauty/body products.

It is not important that every item is a totally unique and artistically-creative masterpiece. Everyday and more ‘ordinary’ handmade art and crafts are also just as valued and important and buyers are looking for these.

It is important that all items we have to sell are of good quality, well made and durable and that they match the description given.  Made4aid may be liable to compensate buyers, if an item is significantly unlike its descripton.

Copyright and Trademarks. The made4aid donations guide (see below) has some important information about copyright and trademarks, more information available here, and there are suggestions for finding copyright-free patterns here.

2. Donating to made4aid – an overview

Rather than shipping your actual item/s to us, details of donated items are usually sent to us by email, so that we can list your item in the Etsy shop. Then you will post the item to the buyer once it is sold. Unless you want to pay the cost of shipping as part of your donation, we will refund your shipping costs via paypal, once the item has been sent. The process is outlined below; if this process is not manageable for you, please contact us – we do want to make it possible for you to donate and we may be able to make other arrangements for you, for example you may be able to post items to me.

The donation process:

• You email details of your donation to us at made4aid@yahoo.co.uk  – a description and information about the item, photographs and shipping information, together with the item price you suggest – and we list your item in the made4aid Etsy shop. Please check the donations guide to find out what information and details we need. 
• If you have an item/s to donate but are not able to manage the listing details and photos, please contact us.
• If you want to donate a percentage of the selling price, rather than the total price, to cover your costs, please let us know.
• When your item is bought and paid for, we email you the buyer’s address, and you ship the item directly to them. We refund the cost of shipping to you, via Paypal,  unless you are paying this yourself as part of your giving.

Further information about donations: please read our donations guide below and do contact us if you have any questions at made4aid@yahoo.co.uk, or via the made4aid facebook page.