Starting a Production Line

Jewelry Discussion
21 
Working by yourself with just your two hands it is hard to earn
more than 30000 bucks a year unless you go to work for some one
then they can pay you more because they have more help with other
employees.

I may be making a mistake by wading in here, but I have a lot of
trouble seeing the logic here. If someone can pay you more, add
their own cut on it and sell your work at a profit, then you should,
it would seem, be able to add those same markups to your own work
and make the extra dough yourself. Of course, whoever is selling
your work gets their share, be it a gallery, store, or yourself if
you do retail. If you’re killing yourself to keep your accounts
supplied, classic economic theory says it’s time to raise prices.

That said, I’ll add that I lost a lot of faith in economics when,
some years ago, I heard a discussion on NPR for which they had
gathered three of the nation’s most respected economists to discuss
the results of Reagan’s “trickle-down” economic policy. Several
years after the fact, when there was virtually unlimited data on the
events and plenty of time to analyse it, they could still not agree
on what had actually happened, and who had been helped or harmed.
Not very reassuring as to their ability to understand economics, let
alone predict the future.

–Noel

22 
       Don Friedlich gave an amazing presentation on the various
industrial methods that can be used to create a production line

I heard Don give a variation of that speech here in Chicago, it was
sponsored by the Chicago Metal Arts Guild,
http://www.chicagometalartsguild.com, and it was great. He was
really informative and specific.

The main idea was to design the pieces from the start to be
efficient to make. As opposed to the way most people do it –
starting with a design and then trying to improve or sped up the
methods of manufacture.

Elaine
Elaine Luther
Metalsmith, Certified PMC Instructor
http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com
Hard to Find Tools for Metal Clay

23 
I seemed to spend the whole time explaining what the heck I did
and that yes, this was a legitimate career choice, and yes, other
people really do make a living at craft fairs.

The guy teaching the “Write Your Business Plan” class has what I’d
call a fairly traditional construction/contracting business
background but I think he’ll be able to tailor the class to the
needs of his students – of which there are two, me and a guy who
wants to provide some kind of business service (training maybe). As
the instructor was talking, and I heard business-y terms like
“return on investment,” I found that I had to keep reminding myself
that “the basics apply to any business endeavor” and not get hung up
on the specifics of handcraft. It definitely requires a different
kind of mind set.

I’m optimistic that this class will be very helpful. I will have a
business plan at the end.

Christine in Littleton, Massachusetts

24

Thanks Lisa, I’m glad that you found my presentation useful. For
me, the most important lesson that I’ve learned has been to have
several irons in the fire. Production (limited), repair, custom/
commission, one of a kind gallery oriented work (both high and lower
end) and teaching-- the slices-- all complete the economic pie for
me. Not only as a diversified survival strategy, but also because it
is so much more interesting to switch back and forth. Some might
find this distracting but it works for me.

Take care, Andy

25 
 If someone can pay you more, add their own cut on it and sell your
work at a profit, then you should, it would seem, be able to add
those same markups to your own work and make the extra dough
yourself.

Hi Noel,

Yeah, logic would indicate that; but the time spent selling and
advertising is why the gallery, store, or reseller is able to market
the work for more. If you were able to spend all of your focus and
resources on merely marketing the work, then you would have no time
to make the work.

I used to know a very talented guy who made everything (he was an
excellent designer and craftsman) – he made precious metal jewelry,
turned wooden bowls, jewelry boxes, furniture, stained glass,
slumped glass, and a bunch of other things I can’t even remember.
He made an enormous amount of inventory, and then opened a
store/gallery of his work. His store was a hit from the start –
people told their friends, and he sold most of his inventory very
quickly.

The problem came when he had to replenish his stock. He’d work
selling at his store/gallery for about ten hours a day. He had a
studio in the back of his store (sounds like a dream, doesn’t it?
), and would work on pieces between customers, at night, and
on weekends.

Oh my goodness…it became a nightmare for him. He almost never
got any sleep, and was always working – like 18 hours a day, seven
days a week. After a couple of serious months at this pace, the
poor guy had a nervous breakdown.vHe had to close his store (no one
to run it, no one to make the art).

This happened before I knew him.vIt was a high-end store/gallery in
the Valley (next to LA).vHe made a bundle of money, but it cost him
physically quite dearly.

I suppose this is why really good artists stick to making the work,
and let others mark it up to sell the heck out of it – it lets them
stay healthy.

–Terri

26

Great point-being a one-man band definitely has a major
downside-usually with disastrous results. It must be terrifying to
be so driven that you become a shooting star.

As much as some of us feel we can ‘do it all’, there is a fork in
the road where we have to sometimes take the road less travelled.

Dinah.

27

Amanda

As soon as I saw your original post I followed closely on all
replies. I decided not to post my own thoughts until I got the
general ‘gist’ of the advice given. Somehow I think that most of the
posts are within the general atmosphere of what it is you need to
hear but there are no specifics. Yes writing down a business plan is
a good idea but before that, I think you must decide EXACTLY what it
is you want to do and how to do it. From your original post it seems
to me that you have a general idea about where and how to go about
this.

You know it is very funny because I myself have recently started my
own production line too. The reasons for this are quite simple. I
started out in handmade one-of-a-kind pieces but unfortunately apart
from the occasional wedding there wasn=92t much of a market for it. I
live in Greece and in a small suburban place so it is very difficult
to market this kind of work. I therefore decided that I needed a
larger audience. So what I decided to do was learn wax carving and
start my own production line(s) without actually abandoning my
handmade pieces (on the contrary wax carving opened up more creative
opportunities for me).

So my opinion is this.

First of all you need to see what your own capabilities are. What is
the extent of your technical knowledge and expertise. Secondly you
need to see what the demands (both in technical terms as well as in
terms of finance, time etc.) are going to be for starting your own
production line. Taking your own designs to a company to produce
from start to finish will probably be a costly endeavor. And it is
also not certain that these designs will sell.

Secondly =96 one thing production line jewelry has taught me =96 you
need to see how you can make your production more efficient. What I
mean is that you will need to have certain parts cast or make master
pieces in order to save time.

One of the differences between one-of-a-kind pieces and production
line jewelry is that in the first case you make the piece from
scratch and you go through the whole process beginning to end.
Whereas production line jewelry has the advantage of casting certain
parts or pieces and thus you save time in the construction process.

I think what you need to do after you see what you are capable of
making yourself and what not, is to decide whether to invest in the
machinery and knowledge in order to do this yourself or to
subcontract the work entirely to someone else. Now both options have
their costs but it all depends on how you want to go about this.

If you decide to invest in the machinery I don=92t think you=92ll need
to spend a lot of cash. I do my entire production by using a
vulcanizer and a wax injector machine. The actual casting is done by
a high standard professional caster =96 I had to search around a bit
and reject the first one because of poor casting results. Therefore
since I don=92t have to get into the job of casting my pieces I can
pour more money into the equipment I have and need, as well as the
materials and tools. My vulcanizer and wax injector are very high
quality machines and that ensures the highest standards in every
phase of production. The other, and perhaps more important, thing
you need to do is expand your knowledge. You are very lucky in the
fact that in the States you=92ve got some truly excellent wax carving
teachers and instructors. My recommendation would be to go and learn
wax carving. It will open many more creative doors for you. It might
be a bit costly as far as the tuition goes but believe me it is well
worth the cost. The next best thing, if you are not willing to go
through the process of learning wax carving, would be to hire a
professional wax carver and work closely with him/her. I don=92t know
what other emails you=92ve received as far as offers are concerned but
I noticed that Ms Mersky made you an offer. Check out her site. She
does brilliant work. Once you get the master models ready then you
can make any kind of modifications on them in metal =96 even to the
extent of making an entirely different looking piece from the
original. Depending on the arrangement you=92ve got with your wax
carver you could probably keep the molds, make the wax copies and
send them off to the caster. It would probably be a good idea to
have several wax copies stored in stock so when the need arises
pieces can be sent immediately off to the caster with minimum delay.

As far as your handmade pieces are concerned, it would be a good
idea to have certain parts of them standardized (i.e. the findings
or any other parts that can be modified in metal) and make molds out
of them. Believe me the time you=92ll save on these little things will
be a great help to you.

Well that=92s it for now. I=92m sorry for rambling on and probably
tiring you and other Orchidians but because your case is so similar
to mine I feel for you and understand the dilemma you=92re in.

I hope everything goes well for you and the best of luck with your
endeavors.

Lee Lyssimachou
Lee Feenix Art Workshop
Greece

28

One person working by themselves probably cannot make enough work to
keep a store stocked if they have to sell it and handle all the
other aspects of business. My business was doing real well until my
wife and I decided to have childeren. Having childeren means you
need health insurance which cost an absolute fortune if you have any
medical problems I have asthma so when we asked to get quotes on our
own we got bids of 900-1300 per month. Since I am pretty much
unemployable and most jewery stores dont offer health insurance my
wife got a job and then our business was cut by 75 percent I was not
able to keep up with all the day to day tasks as well as make new
inventory. Having kids is the best though and would recomend it to
any one I dont regret it for a second.

Kevin

29

Hi - I was inspired by Lee’s post - I too was a one-of-a-kind
jewelry designer selling to private clients and at parties and
decided to learn wax carving and make a production line so I could go
wholesale. I studied with Fred DeVos in NYC, learned wax carving and
I love it and Fred is a tremendous teacher - I also love being able
to make what ever I want to when I want to. I work with people to
cast and finish my work and I do wholesale and retail shows and I
still do make one-of-a-kind orders and sell privately in my area. I
do have a lot of machinery so I can finish a piece if I am in a pinch
but for the most part the part I enjoy most is making the original
models; closing myself in my workshop for long lengths of time and
creating … I know many designers receive the same enjoyment from
drawing and working in metal.

Best,
Jennifer Benusis
Rural NY State

30

Dear Orchidians:

I am in need of some casting advice. I have reached the point in my
business where my production lines need to be cast so I can
concentrate on enamelling and granulating. With this in mind, I need
to find a good caster who is reputable and reasonable. I also have
lots of questions of how I should go about the process of having
this done. What should the prototype be made of? How “finished” are
the cast pieces? What will I need to do to finish them? What is a
reasonable time allowance? How many pieces should be done at one
time?

You get the picture. Please feel free to contact me offline since
this is such an intricate list of questions. Also, I’m located in
Missouri and would like to work with someone nearby if possible. I
should also mention I want items cast in sterling and 14KYG.

Thanks!
Tammy Kirks
tammy@digistar.com