Got a life?

Jewelry Discussion
21

An added thought on the note about ‘taking in’ all but the simplest
repairs. No matter how much I try to explain to our store manager
(who is in control of such things), I cannot seem to convince her of
the importance of taking stuff in for things like tighening stone,
refinishing, estimating larger repairs, etc. She is as bad as the
customers in wanting SO many things done on the spot. Many of these
pieces are not adequately dealt with that way. A 30 second estimate
may take care of the missing stone and the prong that goes with it,
but doesn’t find all of the other weak prongs, maybe cracks in the
undergallery or other problems. Without thorough cleaning, we might
miss many loose stones that are held tight by the crud. Plus, the
constant interuptions take a toll on productivity. Trying to change
things, though, just gets me frustrated and wastes even more time.

When I had a trade shop, we did 99% of our business by mail, so I
could better organize my day. I would block off a bit of time each
day to work up estimates. That way I could clean pieces as
necessary, and have all of my appropriate tools and catalogs
available to properly estimate each job. Other work was similarly
organized so that things could be cleaning in preparation for work
while I was doing something else, etc. Jim

22

Hi again all, I guess this thread just ‘flipped a switch’ for me,
because I seem to have more to say on this one than about any of the
other threads. Anyway, I ‘got a life’ outside of my store, and I’m
constantly working on various projects, schemes, plans, etc…
usually with some kind of artistic direction, just for my own
personal entertainment. I will soon be starting my main winter
project. Some might think its kinda bizarre, but thats ok with me. I
have thousands and thousands of dead watch batteries(a wastebasket so
full you can’t pick it up), after several years of repair work, and
I am going to make a mosaic picture with them, attached to a piece of
concrete board. They are all different sizes, so I should have
adequate ‘colors’, so to speak. But I have been at a loss as to what
picture I should ‘paint’. Any suggestions?

I try to have at least one large project for each season.
Obviously, the summer warrants an outside project. If you click on
these links, you’ll see " How I Spent My Summer Vacation" this year.

http://img.ranchoweb.com/images/rkreation/hottub1.jpg
http://img.ranchoweb.com/images/rkreation/flowers.jpg

Its nearly finished now, and we hope to use it all winter long! The
20’ jog from the patio door to the tub can be a little brisk though!
LOL ! Ed

23 
            By keeping these simple little concepts in mind, I
have managed to create so much profitable repair business, that I
haven't spent a dime on advertising in over 10 years... I'm the
luckiest guy in the world, because everyday, I get to do what I
love, and send the bad stuff packin'.

Hi Ed;

You are my hero. Thanks for an excellent post. If one is to make a
living fixing this crap, and I do lots of it, you’ve got the plan.
Your post is going to go on the wall in my shop. Of course, the
beautiful, expensive, one of a kind stuff I do will still be what I
am most proud of, even as, in this town, it sits in my safe gathering
dust. There’s no reason why we should give away our live when people
want to throw good money after bad.

David L. Huffman

24

Jim, Your manager must not want to make lotsa money then, does she?
Or is it possible that she manages by crisis, rather than by plan?
And besides, if she is afraid that ‘taking in’ will decrease impulse
sales while a customer is waitng, she should consider that with
take-in, the customer is now coming in to the store at least twice as
much, and the likelyhood of impulse sales is now twice as likely too.
Also, often when a customer leaves an item, comes back to pick up,
they will bring in other items for repair,service, remount, etc…
and then you make even more money yet. She needs to realize that your
services should not be so convenient to the customer, that profits
are not maximized first. After all, are we there for their
fulfillment,… or ours? Ed

25 
 I haven't linked to anyone, maybe because I'm not comfortable yet
with "endorsing" anyone else.  Maybe all of us on Orchid would
benefit from linking with each other because there is a strong
incentive to maintain certain ethical standards when one is the
member of a group of peers.

I think I’ll jump in here on the topic of online marketing. When I
first started my web site, I did not link to any other sites. It
then became apparent that linking might help me with my search engine
placement, or, at least, provide more traffic to my web site. I
have to admit, that I have yet to see that “swarm” of traffic, but I
do believe it has helped a little. Then again, so have my magazine
ads, my trade show, and my other marketing endeavors. There is no
single way to succeed, rather it’s best to spend ones’ time marketing
every logical way until the “magic pill” has been discovered.

As a bead vendor, I love to link to finished jewelry web sites.
There is no direct competition from them, and sometimes the site
owners buy my beads or my customers see their work and it gets their
creative juices going, and they buy my beads to complete their newly
envisioned project. So, I see it as a very complimentary
relationship.

However, one very important thing that I do now with linking is to
evaluate each link request on the basis of my criteria for
selection. Of course, I can’t know whether the other sites are
honest, truthful, legal, or whatever. But, I think people who see
links on a web site don’t expect the originating site to be
responsible for the other sites. That would be pretty ridiculous.
Some of the criteria that I use are (1) only family-friendly sites
(2) no errors on the front page (3) the appearance of quality and
active site maintenance - hate those “last updated April 1998”
indicators . . . you get the idea. You’ve got to be selective about
links.

One thing I’m noticing is that a lot of jewelers (in fact one even
told me this face-to-face) don’t have web sites because they think
their work will be copied if they post it on the Internet. I say. .
. oh well. . . somebody else will have your business. Good work is
always copied, and it is certainly not a reason to keep your
beautiful creations hidden. (Just my personal opinion.)

I also don’t think that the Internet is the best venue for jewelry
sales, but it is one of many. It might be the best venue for that
jeweler working in Podunk, NM and not the best for the guy in New
York City. There are probably better opportunities in the “Big
Apple” than Podunk. (I made up the town of Podunk, NM - did not want
to offend anybody.)

So, I’d like to receive link requests from Orchid folks with web
sites. There is so much knowledge in this group, it’s just wonderful.
I’m even starting to save the helpful hints for future use, just in
case I decide to take a more “hands on” approach to my beads. Right
now, I’m working on learning the accounting and marketing side of the
business. Linking is one of those marketing things - not magic, but
full of possibilities.

Susan
Sun Country Gems
www.suncountrygems.com

26 
    Maybe all of us on Orchid would benefit from linking with each
other Or maybe we're all too individualistic and would rather just
do our own thing!

Well one available thing from this site, as far as selling or
advertising, is the gallery. There you can show some pics and your
web. This is an excellent opportunity to be linked to something as
big as this site, but orchid isn’t openly put out there to the public
as a sales oriented site, like say guild.com or something, it is a
forum for opinions and learning. If the gallery section was
expanded(more pics per person), and advertised as a links (site)??
(jewelry search engine)??, to buying customers, not much would have
to be changed about the site, but there would be many more in the
gallery with web sites. Got to admit, orchid always comes up on
many searches, so it’s got big pull from the getgo! Is there a reason
this all can’t happen??dp

27 
Something that all lot of web experts emphasize is the importance
of linking one's site to related sites as a way of generating
higher placements in seach engines' results. I haven't linked to
anyone, maybe because I'm not comfortable yet with "endorsing"
anyone else. Maybe all of us on Orchid would benefit from linking
with each other because there is a strong incentive to maintain
certain ethical standards when one is the member of a group of
peers.

What a great idea!! I’m currently designing my very first web site,
and worry that no one but friends will ever see it. How can we do
this?

Tas

28

I work between fifty and sixty hours a week at my regular job, in
the aerospace industry, and then I come home and do anywhere from one
to five hours a day, tying knots, depending on whether I have a
commission or just want to experiment on something.

I had an abrupt wake-up call a few months ago, and have been taking
more time off to do other fun things, which frequently turn out to be
related to jewelry or knots anyway, but they also involve socializing
and relaxing along the way.

I’m too lazy to work myself to death, actually, but I do get rather
narrowly focused on my particular interests, and it’s nice to take a
break and experience other forms of fun now and then. :wink:

Loren

29

My husband and I both work at home, I in my studio and he in his.
He’s a writer, artist, and digital photo restorer.

I put in about four or five hours a day in the studio, plus filing,
stringing, or other lap projects on the sofa in front of the
television in the evening. It varies a lot. From August through
December is my busiest season. Right now I’m just barely keeping up
with the work. But after the new year I take about a month off and
let my creativity recharge while I do home improvement projects.
This year I plan to build in bookcases in the living room. By
February, design ideas will be seething in the back of my mind, and
I’ll be eager to get back to the bench again.

Janet Kofoed

30 
        I have thousands and thousands of dead watch batteries(a
wastebasket so full you can't pick it up), after several years  of
repair work, and I am going to make a mosaic picture with them.  
Any suggestions?

Hi Ed; Can’t you still send those in to the refinery? I mean, you
might have a few pounds of silver on your hands.

David L. Huffman

31

Dave, I know what you mean about the nice stuff gathering dust, but
we’ve all got to move on, and make money, or happiness, or whatever
it is that turns us on. I’ve had people walk in my door and ask if I
will match the percentage off of the mass merchandiser down the
street, they will buy it, yet my smaller percentage off of a smaller
list price already beats the dollars and cents of the big guy. Its
hard to beat that kind of mentality, but if you can’t beat 'em,
outsmart 'em! In the immortal words of my deceased brother,Greg, “If
you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle them with bullshit!” Ed

32

Hi Ed; Actually, I think her problem is 2-fold. She is too much like
the majority of our customers, so she thinks that she sees things the
way they would want them. Empathy can have advantages in selling,
but can also have shortcomings when expectations are skewed. A
bigger problem is the famous phrase, ‘well, this is the way we have
done it for xxx years’. My predecessor at the bench was always
running 2 - 3 months behind with his volume. I am running nearly
twice the volume through, doing far more custom jobs and still
keeping most work on time with a 2-3 day schedule. No, he wasn’t
lazy, but spent way too much time talking at the counter and
schmoozling with buddies. I want to work, get the store stuff done
so I can get on with my own stuff, then get out and go home to my
other life. Also, my predecessors wife was a high salary CPA, so he
wasn’t really trying to support a family on his work. I am. My wife
works part time as a ski/snowboard instructor during the relatively
short season in NC, and sometimes a bit of part time waitressing in
the summer. So, productivity, for me, equals income and survival.
Constant interuption for low cost/no cost friendly fixes really
screws up my day, and she won’t hear of changes, unless I am the one
doing the changing, of course. Getting more problematical as life
goes on, but the alternative at this point is moving away from a
place I love to some great unknown, disrupting family again to do
that, or worse, taking a job at Walmart or something like that. I
have considered taking something out of the field and setting up at
home, but that isn’t possible in this home. Thanks for providing a
sounding board, Ed, and Hanuman. Jim

33

Yes, I could sell them to a refinery for a few hundred bucks, but I
would rather keep them for a project. I 'm not hurting for money,and
I would get a great deal of personal enjoyment creating a unique
artwork. I’ll probably hang it in my store, if it turns out
decent,alongside my mini photography gallery. I love 'object de art’
type items, especially of my own creation. I made a solid 18k
Monopoly set, just to say its the only one in the world, only to find
out its the second in the world(late 1930’s-Henry Dunhill Co-
London). But the 1st’s whereabouts is now unknown. And it was only
14k, whereas mine is 18k. My kid’s friends say that my wife and I are
very eccentric, but we just think we’re happy with our lives. Ed

34

Hey Orchidland, Diamondeddy is right on the money with take-ins when
he says,

“…with take-in, the customer is now coming in to the store at
least twice as much, and the likelyhood of impulse sales is now
twice as likely too. Also, often when a customer leaves an item,
comes back to pick up, they will bring in other items for
repair,service, remount, etc…”

I do a lot of costume jewelry and sterling repairs (local jewelers
won’t touch silver repairs) and I’ve found that people usually bring
in something else when they pick up their completed piece. Judy in
Kansas, where the campus is beautiful with fall flowers and foliage.
It’s great to be alive!

Judy M. Willingham, R.S.
B.A.E. 237 Seaton Hall
Kansas State University
Manhatttan KS 66506
(785) 532-2936 FAX (785) 532-6944

35

Hmmmm… Good question. If you call having a wife and 2 young
daughters, trying to go back to college to finish a degree in fine
arts, dealing with chronic back pain after 4 spinal surgeries,
trying to practice the trade, a never ending remodeling project of
our 100 year old home, and never getting more than a couple hours
of sleep on a good night , then Yup I have not only a life, but a
full one. Not always fun, but always fulfilling and worth every
single up and down in it. Well, except for the pain and sleep part,
I would gladly give that up.

Daniel Hamilton
St Louis Mo