Pricing is often a huge question among crafters. Many of us get stuck because we feel that what we have made was easy for us to make, so we can be shy or even feel guilty asking appropriate prices for our work.
I was thinking about this recently and came to an important realization. I can go to just about any store and find jewelry that was likely made in China for prices such as $20 /earrings and $40 / necklace, and those pieces are not only cheaply made and imported but were created en masse and will be worn by thousands, if not millions.
Then you have those who create handmade work but will create a limited or unlimited number of the same design, so while that design is handmade and unique to that artist, there are still anywhere from a dozen to a few hundred of the same item out there.
And finally, you have the artist who creates just one of any of their designs, so that one piece stands alone, and cannot be sold to multiple customers.
These are important factors to think about when pricing handmade goods. I am sure that a particular pair of earrings I created and priced at $50 could have a imitation mass produced and offered at Claire's for all of $7.00. The mass produced earrings wouldn't take as long, as much care, or as much detail as the earrings I had made, but they would have a similar look.
What it really boils down to is who you want to sell your jewelry to. If it is anyone and everyone, and as many pieces as possible, then your best bet is to set competitive prices with what people can find at the mall.
If you want to sell to someone, who like me, believes that special handmade pieces have a life and soul all their own, perpetuated by the love of those who make them and those who buy them, then what you make will be worthy of more than any department store piece could hope to achieve.
A matter of perception comes into play in the pricing of jewelry (or any handmade items) as well.
Your perception has a huge impact on the customer's perception. For example:
If you use the cheapest materials you can find, do fine handwork in making your items, then present, display, price and sell them for relatively low prices, your customer will view your items as worth what you are asking. In other words, you'll cheapen them. This not only makes each piece worth less but also gives the impression that they are less desirable.
People do not think to themselves that they'd like to save up for a $20 item that is presented as if it belongs in a yard sale.
On the other hand, if you select quality materials for your work, present it in a professional manner (but still warm, fun or quirky, we are artists after all!), and ask a price that genuinely reflects the time, love and thought put into your item as well as the rarity of it, this will be conveyed to the public. They will see your work as something special, something that has a value beyond its materials because of what went into it and the artistic mind behind its creation. Then people are no longer buying a simple object but instead are connecting with another human being by taking something created by one hands and passing on the message it carries by themselves wearing it, allowing for further connections with everyone who sees and admires the piece.
If you present yourself in the right manner, potential customers will instinctively know that they aren't just buying a piece of jewelry but are in fact investing in the vision of an artist.
This is all food for thought and there is no single pricing scheme that works for every person or every craft. It is many factors woven together that equal the value of your work in the eye of the public.
I happen to be the jewelry designer who makes the bulk of my designs only once. For me it is because my ideas for jewelry are just like my ideas for paintings - once it is created, it is out of my mind and I often couldn't force myself to make the same thing again. Not only that, many of my jewelry designs are not repeatable, because I allow flow and randomness to dictate aspects of the design. In my case, attempting to competitively price my jewelry against a manufacturer would make absolutely no sense at all.
Here is a list of factors that can cause consumers to view your work as worth more than average prices or less than average prices. This isn't to say that everyone agrees, but in general these factors have an impact on perceived value.
-Are your items handmade? Yes - higher No - lower
-Are your items one of a kind? Yes - higher No - lower
-Do you use semi precious stones and metals? Yes - higher No - lower
-Are your photographs or displays professional looking? Yes - higher No - lower
-Do your designs tend to follow current market trends? Yes - lower No - higher
-When you search handmade jewelry on Etsy, are there many other items of a similar style / technique to yours? Yes - lower No - higher
-When you search similar handmade items, does it appear most use higher quality materials? Yes - lower No - higher
-Do retail stores offer jewelry which in the eyes of a customer is comparable in design / overall style? Yes - lower No - higher
Do you believe in yourself and your artistic vision? Chances are if the answer is yes, you're already charging prices comparable to what you put into creating your jewelry. If not, you're likely underselling yourself.
Also, keep in mind that every designer makes some pieces that have more intrinsic value than others. I make dozens of earrings that are pretty basic assemblage - albeit with my unique perspective on color combinations and shapes and styles of beads. I sell these for much less than my sculptural necklaces that are one of a kind because of factors in the above list. It is good to have a range of prices, but also to try to keep the bulk of your stock near the middle of that price range. Often, people subconsciously select items that fall about halfway between your most expensive and least expensive pieces.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Art/Craft Shows: Making Your Own Displays
Making your own displays is one of the best ways to get the features you want and lower the cost of setting up your booth.
One of my favorite methods is to find an appropriate unpainted wood piece available at most craft stores, paint it to the color I need and add any easel stand pieces I need to.
Paint is very important when working on display pieces, as the wrong kind of paint can ruin both the project and the jewelry that later is on it. Stay away from using artist's acrylic - even when dried it tends to remain very flexible and can easily be marked or adhere to something laid on top of it, causing stacked displays to stick together or paint to come off on your jewelry - the worst nightmare of all!
One of the big things to remember with any paint is that even after 24 hours when you can touch it and it feels dry, it's still soft inside. There are paints (like artist's acrylic) which can actually take months to dry and shrink completely but seem dry within an hour or two of painting. Because of this, all paints can be scratched, lifted and hold an impression until they fully cure. This is why I always recommend putting painted objects in a protected place, shielded from dust, for at least a week. Two weeks is better, or as long as possible.
I also recommend using at least two coats of your chosen paint. Wood is porous and will absorb some of your first layer of paint, occasionally it will even absorb some of the second layer. It is a good idea to sand the bare wood, put down your first coat, and then sand again to remove any rough fibers that were raised by the absorption process. Then add your second coat and if it does not dry smooth sand lightly again and recoat. This won't be an issue with metal assuming you use a smooth piece of metal, but it's a good idea to clean and sand metal before painting to help it hang onto the paint.
For wood, interior/exterior latex - IE paint you'd use on your walls - is what I always use. It's awesome because it's as easy to use as acrylics and washes with water, and it dries pretty tough. This is the kind of paint you'd use to paint furniture, and so it does the best job of tolerating things being placed on top of it without marring the surface. You can get it in gloss, semigloss, eggshell, etc, and they have small sample jars that you can have mixed with any of the bajillion colors available for wall paints, so you can match it precisely to your overall color theme. There are also pint and quart cans of pre-mixed colors that are usually in the basic colors and sometimes a variety of sheen's. These usually run less than $10 per color, and a single can will go pretty far.
For metal, I prefer Rustoleum. It is strong enough to stand up to outdoor conditions, but it is an oil based paint and will require paint thinner to clean the brushes and you should paint outdoors or use ventilation.
Another note is depending on humidity, paint can take longer or shorter amounts of time to dry and fully cure. The paint you choose should tell you how the humidity will affect the paint.
Once you've painted your display piece and allowed it to dry thoroughly, you can proceed with making it function the way you want. Some options are adding an easel back (or placing it in a free-standing easel), drilling holes and inserting posts or wires to support or adjust the display, or gluing a few pieces together to change the overall shape or function of your piece.
I enjoy taking old photo frames, painting them and attaching fabric mesh or perforated plastic to the back and then adding an easel back to it to help it to stand. These are perfect for hanging earrings on or adding hooks and hanging necklaces.
One last piece of advice would be to paint all of your displays the same color in order to give your booth a very cohesive feeling that won't overwhelm the lovely colors of your jewelry.
Remember - a cute display will leave an impression as a cute display, but it's your jewelry that should leave the impression, the display should disappear!
One of my favorite methods is to find an appropriate unpainted wood piece available at most craft stores, paint it to the color I need and add any easel stand pieces I need to.
Paint is very important when working on display pieces, as the wrong kind of paint can ruin both the project and the jewelry that later is on it. Stay away from using artist's acrylic - even when dried it tends to remain very flexible and can easily be marked or adhere to something laid on top of it, causing stacked displays to stick together or paint to come off on your jewelry - the worst nightmare of all!
One of the big things to remember with any paint is that even after 24 hours when you can touch it and it feels dry, it's still soft inside. There are paints (like artist's acrylic) which can actually take months to dry and shrink completely but seem dry within an hour or two of painting. Because of this, all paints can be scratched, lifted and hold an impression until they fully cure. This is why I always recommend putting painted objects in a protected place, shielded from dust, for at least a week. Two weeks is better, or as long as possible.
I also recommend using at least two coats of your chosen paint. Wood is porous and will absorb some of your first layer of paint, occasionally it will even absorb some of the second layer. It is a good idea to sand the bare wood, put down your first coat, and then sand again to remove any rough fibers that were raised by the absorption process. Then add your second coat and if it does not dry smooth sand lightly again and recoat. This won't be an issue with metal assuming you use a smooth piece of metal, but it's a good idea to clean and sand metal before painting to help it hang onto the paint.
For wood, interior/exterior latex - IE paint you'd use on your walls - is what I always use. It's awesome because it's as easy to use as acrylics and washes with water, and it dries pretty tough. This is the kind of paint you'd use to paint furniture, and so it does the best job of tolerating things being placed on top of it without marring the surface. You can get it in gloss, semigloss, eggshell, etc, and they have small sample jars that you can have mixed with any of the bajillion colors available for wall paints, so you can match it precisely to your overall color theme. There are also pint and quart cans of pre-mixed colors that are usually in the basic colors and sometimes a variety of sheen's. These usually run less than $10 per color, and a single can will go pretty far.
For metal, I prefer Rustoleum. It is strong enough to stand up to outdoor conditions, but it is an oil based paint and will require paint thinner to clean the brushes and you should paint outdoors or use ventilation.
Another note is depending on humidity, paint can take longer or shorter amounts of time to dry and fully cure. The paint you choose should tell you how the humidity will affect the paint.
Once you've painted your display piece and allowed it to dry thoroughly, you can proceed with making it function the way you want. Some options are adding an easel back (or placing it in a free-standing easel), drilling holes and inserting posts or wires to support or adjust the display, or gluing a few pieces together to change the overall shape or function of your piece.
I enjoy taking old photo frames, painting them and attaching fabric mesh or perforated plastic to the back and then adding an easel back to it to help it to stand. These are perfect for hanging earrings on or adding hooks and hanging necklaces.
One last piece of advice would be to paint all of your displays the same color in order to give your booth a very cohesive feeling that won't overwhelm the lovely colors of your jewelry.
Remember - a cute display will leave an impression as a cute display, but it's your jewelry that should leave the impression, the display should disappear!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Art / Craft Shows: Displays
In the world of craft shows, there are some big do's and dont's when it comes to displays for jewelry. I try to carefully consider every aspect of my displays when I'm working on putting them together, and my main points of concern are as follows:
-color palette
It is important that the display not overwhelm the jewelry itself, and I've had a few displays that got far more compliments than the jewelry on it. I've even had people ask to purchase my homemade displays, or ask me to make one for them. (which in and of itself wasn't a bad thing, it was a lot of fun designing one for someone else!) Nonetheless, the most important part of your display is that the jewelry looks stunning and the display itself is not attention getting.
-height
Laying jewelry (and many other products) flat on a table has to big negative effects - it makes it far to easy to walk right on past your table without noticing a thing, and it can give the appearance of a yard sale table. Neither of these are good, so using vertical displays and risers as well as taller tables can help push your display into eye contact range.
-weight
My back doesn't appreciate heavy displays, so I have to make sure that everything I use is as light as possible. Fortunately the jewelry I sell isn't heavy at all, but some of the ceramic trays I use are!
-uniqueness
When I'm at a craft show shopping, I am looking for quirky, unique, handmade things that each have their own special story and are hopefully one of a kind. When I see a display that utilizes jeweler's trays heavily or otherwise looks kind of like something you'd see in a mall, I almost invariably ignore that stand. It's not to be mean, it's because I know from experience booths like that rarely have anything I'd be interested in. In fact, I'm usually more interested in the table with a few things carefully laid out even if it breaks all the other rules. The idea is somewhere in the middle - a display that looks professional but doesn't look like it could have come from any store in your city.
-expense
We're all trying to earn money from shows rather than break the bank setting up for it. I usually have a pretty firm budget about what I'll pay for the items I need. I know that as I earn money I can buy an expensive piece here or there that will improve my display - and simple, inexpensive things can make gorgeous displays with a little effort and know how.
-durability
Once upon a time I thought it would be fun to use origami to display jewelry... it looked pretty cool when initially set up, but as people handled it, some pieces came unfolded and others weren't solid or heavy enough to continue standing up properly. I learned that displays need to be durable in the way that they will withstand people walking by and touching them without falling over, collapsing, or coming undone halfway through the day. This usually isn't a problem with purchased displays, more so with the ones I make. When I make them, the fewer moving parts there are, the better!
-how well it shows the jewelry off
Of course this is the most important part. Sure you can find a cheap piece of something to sit your earrings on but will it play them up to their best? Probably not. Some earrings look best on cards, others look best freely hanging. Bangles can look great in just about any setting, but chain bracelets can look limp and less inviting if not displayed right. It is important to have a variety of types of displays and I like to have more than I need. Since my jewelry is handmade and each piece is unique, the same setup won't work each time as my stock constantly changes.
With all of this in mind, here are some of my favorite ways to display jewelry.
- Most earrings go on cards and are then hung from some type of rack. Currently, I am using a metal grid display with Christmas ornament hooks to hang them and in the past I used converted lamps. The lamps were great, but I learned to keep them as plain as possible to keep the focus on the jewelry. The deconstructed lamp shades can also be sat on a lazy susan so that they can be turned. (I had the finial's on somewhat loosely so that the lampshades turned freely) Other earrings are laid down or hung without cards from bars or little wire displays
- The craft stores is a great place to get displays - check the unfinished wood items for a treasure trove of ideas. It is there that I got two different sizes of wooden trays intended to have mosaic added to them. They kind of look like mini serving trays, and I will be sanding and painting them, and adding a fixture to the back so that they can hold a necklace and stand up like easels. There are also items that can be painted and used as risers like trays and crates, and a multitude of other fun things. (I've decided to make using these options a post of their own... I could post several paragraphs just on painting!)
- I do use a few busts for necklaces, simply because there are necklaces I make that cannot have justice done to them by laying down or hanging flat. They have to be displayed on a neck in order to convey that they are indeed necklaces and not just sculptures. Most of my necklaces are on chains or cords, and can be hung in picture frames or on the aforementioned mini trays, or laid out flat.
- For the jewelry I'm laying out flat, I like to take some sort of dish and fill it with something that is visually attractive but also not too busy. I'd use sand, except that it would get all over my jewelry and be a mess to use. Sand just happens to be the ideal in non busy because the particles are so small. I know many people use beans or rice, but for me it's too "off" white and busy of a backdrop for my jewelry. I'm going to try out some little glass pebbles (about rice size) and see how that works. Other options are putting a piece of fabric in the bowl on top of a filler of your choice, not using any filler at all, or using dried moss as a filler. It retains its gorgeous green color and provides a lovely backdrop especially for metal or light colored jewelry.
- For rings and bracelets, I have yet to figure out what I prefer as a display. The bracelets will probably end up laid out flat in one of my trays or draped over something. Rings do seem to work best in trays or individual boxes, but I will have to come up with a solution for them as I have quite a few to display.
These are the fairly inexpensive displays I've come up with for my table, feel free to share in the comments any ideas you've had!!
-color palette
It is important that the display not overwhelm the jewelry itself, and I've had a few displays that got far more compliments than the jewelry on it. I've even had people ask to purchase my homemade displays, or ask me to make one for them. (which in and of itself wasn't a bad thing, it was a lot of fun designing one for someone else!) Nonetheless, the most important part of your display is that the jewelry looks stunning and the display itself is not attention getting.
-height
Laying jewelry (and many other products) flat on a table has to big negative effects - it makes it far to easy to walk right on past your table without noticing a thing, and it can give the appearance of a yard sale table. Neither of these are good, so using vertical displays and risers as well as taller tables can help push your display into eye contact range.
-weight
My back doesn't appreciate heavy displays, so I have to make sure that everything I use is as light as possible. Fortunately the jewelry I sell isn't heavy at all, but some of the ceramic trays I use are!
-uniqueness
When I'm at a craft show shopping, I am looking for quirky, unique, handmade things that each have their own special story and are hopefully one of a kind. When I see a display that utilizes jeweler's trays heavily or otherwise looks kind of like something you'd see in a mall, I almost invariably ignore that stand. It's not to be mean, it's because I know from experience booths like that rarely have anything I'd be interested in. In fact, I'm usually more interested in the table with a few things carefully laid out even if it breaks all the other rules. The idea is somewhere in the middle - a display that looks professional but doesn't look like it could have come from any store in your city.
-expense
We're all trying to earn money from shows rather than break the bank setting up for it. I usually have a pretty firm budget about what I'll pay for the items I need. I know that as I earn money I can buy an expensive piece here or there that will improve my display - and simple, inexpensive things can make gorgeous displays with a little effort and know how.
-durability
Once upon a time I thought it would be fun to use origami to display jewelry... it looked pretty cool when initially set up, but as people handled it, some pieces came unfolded and others weren't solid or heavy enough to continue standing up properly. I learned that displays need to be durable in the way that they will withstand people walking by and touching them without falling over, collapsing, or coming undone halfway through the day. This usually isn't a problem with purchased displays, more so with the ones I make. When I make them, the fewer moving parts there are, the better!
-how well it shows the jewelry off
Of course this is the most important part. Sure you can find a cheap piece of something to sit your earrings on but will it play them up to their best? Probably not. Some earrings look best on cards, others look best freely hanging. Bangles can look great in just about any setting, but chain bracelets can look limp and less inviting if not displayed right. It is important to have a variety of types of displays and I like to have more than I need. Since my jewelry is handmade and each piece is unique, the same setup won't work each time as my stock constantly changes.
With all of this in mind, here are some of my favorite ways to display jewelry.
- Most earrings go on cards and are then hung from some type of rack. Currently, I am using a metal grid display with Christmas ornament hooks to hang them and in the past I used converted lamps. The lamps were great, but I learned to keep them as plain as possible to keep the focus on the jewelry. The deconstructed lamp shades can also be sat on a lazy susan so that they can be turned. (I had the finial's on somewhat loosely so that the lampshades turned freely) Other earrings are laid down or hung without cards from bars or little wire displays
- The craft stores is a great place to get displays - check the unfinished wood items for a treasure trove of ideas. It is there that I got two different sizes of wooden trays intended to have mosaic added to them. They kind of look like mini serving trays, and I will be sanding and painting them, and adding a fixture to the back so that they can hold a necklace and stand up like easels. There are also items that can be painted and used as risers like trays and crates, and a multitude of other fun things. (I've decided to make using these options a post of their own... I could post several paragraphs just on painting!)
- I do use a few busts for necklaces, simply because there are necklaces I make that cannot have justice done to them by laying down or hanging flat. They have to be displayed on a neck in order to convey that they are indeed necklaces and not just sculptures. Most of my necklaces are on chains or cords, and can be hung in picture frames or on the aforementioned mini trays, or laid out flat.
- For the jewelry I'm laying out flat, I like to take some sort of dish and fill it with something that is visually attractive but also not too busy. I'd use sand, except that it would get all over my jewelry and be a mess to use. Sand just happens to be the ideal in non busy because the particles are so small. I know many people use beans or rice, but for me it's too "off" white and busy of a backdrop for my jewelry. I'm going to try out some little glass pebbles (about rice size) and see how that works. Other options are putting a piece of fabric in the bowl on top of a filler of your choice, not using any filler at all, or using dried moss as a filler. It retains its gorgeous green color and provides a lovely backdrop especially for metal or light colored jewelry.
- For rings and bracelets, I have yet to figure out what I prefer as a display. The bracelets will probably end up laid out flat in one of my trays or draped over something. Rings do seem to work best in trays or individual boxes, but I will have to come up with a solution for them as I have quite a few to display.
These are the fairly inexpensive displays I've come up with for my table, feel free to share in the comments any ideas you've had!!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Art / Craft Show Setup: Lighting
As you know, I am a jewelry designer in addition to making JellyPins. I have decided to get back into the craft show circuit to further my goal of spending most of my time on my creative pursuits and leaving my full time job in export or possibly dropping to part time.
Planning for first few shows has me running into several walls, and I thought it may be helpful to you if I were to share my solutions here as I know these are common questions and problems that others run into.
The first, biggest bear for me to wrestle was lighting. I know it is extremely important in selling jewelry, and I have witnessed customers flock to booths that are well lit while bypassing those that have no lighting.
I have some very strict qualifications for my lighting, other people are probably able to be more flexible in this department.
Here are the rules that lighting needed to fit:
-Battery Powered
-Small / easy to transport
-Bright spotlight style lights
-Can sit on table or be clipped or hung somewhere
-Inexpensive: my goal was to spend $5 or less per small spotlight (including shipping)
-Silver or White in color to go with my display
-At least 4 available for purchase (ran into this on Ebay)
I think I may have found just the right lights, I'll know for sure when I get them and I'll post an update on how awesome they are (or aren't!) AND they qualify for free shipping on Amazon.
Rite Lite Battery Powered Spotlights
Feel free to share in the comments any lighting you've found that works well. It took me quite a lot of searching to find these, and I'm sure there are other people out there looking for help finding the right lights too!
Next post: Displays
Planning for first few shows has me running into several walls, and I thought it may be helpful to you if I were to share my solutions here as I know these are common questions and problems that others run into.
The first, biggest bear for me to wrestle was lighting. I know it is extremely important in selling jewelry, and I have witnessed customers flock to booths that are well lit while bypassing those that have no lighting.
I have some very strict qualifications for my lighting, other people are probably able to be more flexible in this department.
Here are the rules that lighting needed to fit:
-Battery Powered
-Small / easy to transport
-Bright spotlight style lights
-Can sit on table or be clipped or hung somewhere
-Inexpensive: my goal was to spend $5 or less per small spotlight (including shipping)
-Silver or White in color to go with my display
-At least 4 available for purchase (ran into this on Ebay)
I think I may have found just the right lights, I'll know for sure when I get them and I'll post an update on how awesome they are (or aren't!) AND they qualify for free shipping on Amazon.
Rite Lite Battery Powered Spotlights
Feel free to share in the comments any lighting you've found that works well. It took me quite a lot of searching to find these, and I'm sure there are other people out there looking for help finding the right lights too!
Next post: Displays
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