Any suggestions about finding and establishing accounts with
suppliers for pearls, charms, etc. that are willing to
work with small custom jewelers that don’t have “retail storefronts”?
I just got rejected again, this time by Rembrandt Charms, because I
am not a retailer with “regular store hours”. I do have some accounts
established for diamonds and metals (Stuller, Hoover & Strong, etc),
but my prior experience in the industry is with traditional retail
operations and many of their suppliers won’t give me the time of day.
I would be willing to go meet with suppliers at “market”, but since I
don’t lease or own a storefront I don’t seem to qualify. I have a
consistent client base for commissioned custom fine jewelry with good
return for my efforts (low overhead has really helped), but the
supplier thing seems to be my largest stumbling block.
Thank you to all of the wonderful people on this forum that share
their expertise and ideas so willingly. I learn something new every
day!
It does not take much to establish a storefront. I have a “shop”, it
is located at Lakeshore Dr, Willow. I have a business license, a Made
in Alaska license, and an EIN#. Now very few wholesalers will ever
leave the comfort of their stores. Long gone are the days of the
salesman coming into the store. Sometimes we are just too honest. You
can conform your work area into a shop. I have 6 work stations set
up. My materials are neatly arranged and orderly. My floors are clean
and my personal work bench is overflowing. Eventually i will move my
shop to another address, but until then, i do business 5 days a week
via my cell phone. None of my suppliers really care where my shop is.
My rule of thumb is to make contact with one representative, whenever
possible do business with that person, after 8 years, my
representative at Shipwreck Beads knows my voice, has my account
number and i can send in a 2 item order to the largest bead company
in the US, and am on their preferred customer list.
Best of luck, and use your business name whenever possible. Go forth
and be the designer you want to be.
Tell the world who you are and what you do. Most of our shops
started out in a garage or a spare room. It is not important where
you are today, but where you are going tomorrow. Blessings pat
In Alaska where the leaves have fallen, the rain is pouring and any
day now it will turn to snow.
Dear Donna: We work with jewelers like yourself all the time. You can
go to our web site Dikra Gem, Inc. to see some
of what we carry. Any questions, please call 1-800-873-4572 and speak
with David or Diane.
sheepish. that’s what I was, sheepish. Up in the wild o’ Canada, I
resisted ordering from Rio Grande… then finally, I did. Perfectly,
incredibly happy. Excellent service, excellent products. I’m a
customer for life.
Small potatoes for many of you… but it was important to give ‘big
ups’ where deserved.
Thank you all for your input. I have had excellent support from both
Stuller, Rio Grande, and Hoover & Strong. I found a wonderful
diamond supplier through a referral. I am still exploring reasonably
priced nice quality gems (but I do have some good leads).
My latest primary frustration is finding charm type goods (needed
script letters/numbers for a project and kept running into
roadblocks) and pearls (various freshwater & saltwater). I do a lot
of custom work, so each project is a new adventure in design,
fabrication, and parts procurement.
I suppose I am just irritated because I know what is available out
there, from my many years of sales experience with customization,
and being rejected by those suppliers for whatever reason. One of
the few businesses I know of where you can be a legitimate retail
business (I have a license, EIN #, JBT #, etc), have to ask
permission to purchase from suppliers, and not be allowed to buy
from them because my studio is in my home, so I don’t fit the
traditional mold and choose to keep my overhead low and my profit
margin high. (And it is not a credit issue either)
Thank you for letting me vent, as I navigate my way through this
facet of our wonderful jewelry industry. (See what I did there?
hehehe) I am trying to learn to create the pieces I need, whenever
possible, but it is a process.
I first bought from Stachura back in the 90’s. Great people. I got
away from them not because of them but because of a change in
business. I have sent a few of my friends to them over the years
though. Wholesale Gemstones Supplier - Stachura Wholesale
I will say that if you want unique charm type goods then work with a
CAD person to develop your own style. The great thing about CAD is,
once you have a design you can make molds and cast it in everything
from Pewter to gold