Most of my jewellery - I'd say 90% of it - is handcrafted.
And I've bought it at every conceivable location: At music and art festivals, at booths from the crafters themselves. At craft shows, in gift shops. On holiday across the continent in the US or Canada, or just up the street from where I live.
Why I choose handcrafted is a no-brainer. It's original art, often stunning enough to just hang and look at.
Who wants to be adorned with accessories that everybody else is wearing? Custom clothing is pricey, but simple clothing can be accessorized with an outstanding piece of one-off jewellery, even if it's made with simple, inexpensive, even industrial materials.
Handcrafted jewellery is a terrific way to make your own style statement. And here are some tips:
Once you have found a piece you really like, look for more pieces like it. Look for what item of jewellery works for you - necklace, ring, brooch, bracelet, earrings. Not all of us get away with all of these pieces. Drop the ones that don't work for you and focus ones that do.
Then, for instance, if bracelets are your thing, what kind of bracelets? Clunky? Multiple? Metallic or wooden? Don't buy up the world supply of what works, but stick to your best style.
Myself, for instance, I've discovered that gold just isn't for me. It makes me look cheap, ill and goes with nothing I wear. Silver is my colour, and dark woods.
My wristbones are big, so no delicate, clingy bracelets for me (may as well wear elastic bands).
I buy jewellery for myself, because no one knows my style better than I do. Face it, I'm the one that falls in love with a piece and can't walk out of the store without it.
Interestingly, the handcrafted jewellery I've bought has been priced all over the board. If I love it, I'll pay for it. I must admit, though, the attraction to a lot of it is the reasonable pricing I've found for most of it.
Some of it has come from the Philippines, handcrafted by villagers, designed by an ex-pat who has returned to that country and works with a woman here. The two women discuss what works, what sells.
That's something every artist should be paying attention to.
Occasionally, a piece of jewellery has fallen apart. Not well glued together that day?
But that's happened with commercial stuff too. With the commercial piece, however, I know exactly where to return the piece and exchange it or get a refund. Not always possible with a jewellery artist.
Another tip: be available. Don't disappear into the woodwork. Where are you if I want another piece? What's your e-mail?
Too often I ask for business cards and I don't get one and if I do, no website, no email. Aargh, in this day and age!!!
Another tip: Be unique. Too many copycats. Too much of the same stuff. And then people wonder why they don't sell. You see the grimace of bitterness on their face as people pass by the booth. Why not pass by? Seen that, bought that.
The other sin is creating stuff that's too funky/bizarre and in the process too pricey. Be one, not the other. Know your customer!
The biggest mistake most artists make is forgetting that It's About the Customer, not you. That is, if you want to make sales.
Helen Walter,
Partner, Senior Designer
http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com/
And I've bought it at every conceivable location: At music and art festivals, at booths from the crafters themselves. At craft shows, in gift shops. On holiday across the continent in the US or Canada, or just up the street from where I live.
Why I choose handcrafted is a no-brainer. It's original art, often stunning enough to just hang and look at.
Who wants to be adorned with accessories that everybody else is wearing? Custom clothing is pricey, but simple clothing can be accessorized with an outstanding piece of one-off jewellery, even if it's made with simple, inexpensive, even industrial materials.
Handcrafted jewellery is a terrific way to make your own style statement. And here are some tips:
Once you have found a piece you really like, look for more pieces like it. Look for what item of jewellery works for you - necklace, ring, brooch, bracelet, earrings. Not all of us get away with all of these pieces. Drop the ones that don't work for you and focus ones that do.
Then, for instance, if bracelets are your thing, what kind of bracelets? Clunky? Multiple? Metallic or wooden? Don't buy up the world supply of what works, but stick to your best style.
Myself, for instance, I've discovered that gold just isn't for me. It makes me look cheap, ill and goes with nothing I wear. Silver is my colour, and dark woods.
My wristbones are big, so no delicate, clingy bracelets for me (may as well wear elastic bands).
I buy jewellery for myself, because no one knows my style better than I do. Face it, I'm the one that falls in love with a piece and can't walk out of the store without it.
Interestingly, the handcrafted jewellery I've bought has been priced all over the board. If I love it, I'll pay for it. I must admit, though, the attraction to a lot of it is the reasonable pricing I've found for most of it.
Some of it has come from the Philippines, handcrafted by villagers, designed by an ex-pat who has returned to that country and works with a woman here. The two women discuss what works, what sells.
That's something every artist should be paying attention to.
Occasionally, a piece of jewellery has fallen apart. Not well glued together that day?
But that's happened with commercial stuff too. With the commercial piece, however, I know exactly where to return the piece and exchange it or get a refund. Not always possible with a jewellery artist.
Another tip: be available. Don't disappear into the woodwork. Where are you if I want another piece? What's your e-mail?
Too often I ask for business cards and I don't get one and if I do, no website, no email. Aargh, in this day and age!!!
Another tip: Be unique. Too many copycats. Too much of the same stuff. And then people wonder why they don't sell. You see the grimace of bitterness on their face as people pass by the booth. Why not pass by? Seen that, bought that.
The other sin is creating stuff that's too funky/bizarre and in the process too pricey. Be one, not the other. Know your customer!
The biggest mistake most artists make is forgetting that It's About the Customer, not you. That is, if you want to make sales.
Helen Walter,
Partner, Senior Designer
http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com/
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