Every now and then I make something just for me, an idea I have or
a stone I can't resist.
That sounds familiar! I went to a trade show a couple of weeks ago
with the intention of buying lots of cabs in order to make jewellery
to sell. What I actually ended up with were beautiful cabs and slabs
of rhodochrosite, ocean jasper and boulder opal for myself - stones
I couldn’t resist!
I did end up buying some beautiful pearls and a couple of strings of
flat beads that I can set as cabs, but not quite the outcome I’d
hoped for. However, if the circumstances that have happened recently
are anything to go by, me wearing these pieces may well turn into
business. I’m finding myself in the position where I am going to
have to start selling, as I am getting orders from people and being
asked to provide quotations for pieces. I have had so many people ask
me for my website address too but as yet, it doesn’t exist so I’m
losing business before I’ve even begun. I’ve had my second definite
order and a request for a quotation for some corporate cufflinks made
with the company’s logo!
For me, this is a business that come 5:30, I don’t wanna think about
it anymore. Except for the occasional cathartic war story over
cocktails.
Making jewelry is something I do for other people for pay. Besides,
as incongruous as it may sound, jewelry isn’t personally important to
me. I don’t wear a watch or even own a tie tac. Yeah, walking fashion
plate I am.
But, give me a project I can sink my teeth into and it can consume
me, but its always about the next deal, never the last one.
I don’t wear my jewellery for the purpose of advertising it and
didn’t mean to imply that. Advertising it and having people comment
on it is a byproduct of wearing it. I too wear it because I love it
and it gives me pleasure and I was interested to see if others felt
the same, so thanks for your reply. I reckon if we are passionate
about what we make and wear, then others will feel that enthusiasm
and love it too.
I agree with you that guy jewellery has come a long way and that
there is much more choice now. At one time it was really difficult
to choose jewellery based presents for men but now that there is so
much choice and more men are wearing jewellery, it’s easier to come
up with things to make for the males of this world.
BTW I luuuurve two of your rings: slash cut band ring and the peener
ring. They are cool and I love the chunkiness of them.
I do wear other jewellery too, other than what I make and I enjoy
buying jewellery that I like and wearing it. I work in sterling
silver so the jewellery I tend to buy is usually gold as I can’t
afford to work with gold yet. I will probably continue to buy and
wear jewellery until and maybe even after I have learned to set
stones via methods other than the simple bezel settings I do at
present.
I wear my work. Every day I wear the first ring I ever cast (when I
was 18) and on my other hand I wear my favorite fabricated ring
(hollow married metals with a small ruby cab). Occasionally I wear
a pendant or earrings. I have sold many pieces this way!
I make jewelry that I myself would like to wear, and I feel like this
is one of the benefits of doing what I do.
Thanks everyone for sharing! I always love hearing how other jewelers
feel about stuff like that.
Yep, I almost exclusively wear cuff bracelets. Ive got two of my own
creations, a stainless steel bracelet with black leather inlay, and
a new titanium machined bracelet (First one made, so it had to be
mine )
Other than those two, I have a small collection of other bracelets by
Cody Sanderson, Kenneth Johnson, Aaron Brokeshoulder, Sunshine
Reeves, Michael Slim, and a couple of others that I wear from time
to time. For me, the best type of advertising is wearing your own
work, and the work of others that you respect, plus when I see other
jewelrs wearing my work, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
For me, the best type of advertising is wearing your own work, and
the work of others that you respect, plus when I see other jewelrs
wearing my work, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Absolutely! Very interesting thread.
I always wear one of my own pieces (wedding ring), and at shows I’ll
wear my own work. But, usually you’ll see me wearing the work of
other jewelers (students, mentors, jewelry heroes) who I respect and
admire. I know I get a case of the warm fuzzies when I see other
jewelers wear my work, so I’ve always just felt like it’s good juju.
Yes, I wear mine. One bracelet at least all the time. Pretty much all
my earrings were made by me, a little diamond pendant I made - my
first one. Plus rings that were given to me by my Nana and my father
for sentimental value. A bracelet a friend made for me - I actually
wear all this all the time and then some. I love jewelry, that’s
what got me in this business in the first place. Whenever I have a
new design I make a prototype and wear it all the time. If it
survives me it will last for others too, it gets customers excited
that they will be able to purchase it and they give me feedback I can
use for production. It has to be durable, comfortable and beautiful
or I won’t sell it.
Oh, yes, and I collect and sell Estate and Vintage jewelry too
besides my own so occasionally there is something I just have to
keep.
I try to always wear my jewelry, if I’m wearing any at all. I always
have my wedding band on (not my creation) and a couple simple silver
stud earrings (also not mine, but they make sure my holes don’t close
up), but if I’m really “wearing jewelry”, it’s usually always mine.
Or at least some of the pieces are mine. I have two little ones, so
twice I’ve had to stop wearing jewelry (except when I’m out without
them), but my youngest (2-year-old) seems more interested now in just
looking at it than tugging on it, so I’ve started to wear it again
now.
I used to always wear gold jewelry. When I started making jewelry I
naturally made it in silver, so then I started wearing all silver
since I always wanted to wear MINE. Especially if I knew I’d be
around people I hadn’t met before or at least didn’t see very often.
So now I have lots of beautiful gold jewelry that hardly ever gets
worn. One reason I’ve started trying to make some in gold is so that
I can wear it along with the other pieces that don’t get worn very
often! But yes, I agree with you. I make jewelry that I love, and I
make jewelry because I’ve always loved jewelry (and making things),
so naturally I’d want to wear the pieces I make. Plus, it’s great
advertising! Unfortuantely most of them get tagged for sale, so I
don’t wear them, but every now & then something is made to be MINE.
I wear my own jewellery primarily to display my work. It would look
better on a nice young, unlined neck-wrist-hand- but hey I am the age
I am. For my daughter’s wedding I made an ear decoration in 18 and
22ct gold, and I wear it as often as I can. It attracts a lot of
interest and it has given me a number of leads. The same with my
pendants which feature bold pieces of fused glass from an artist in
Florida, set into my own designs. Talking points.
I work mainly in silver but I make gold jewellery for myself when I
can afford the raw materials. I buy scrap gold bands for Birthday,
Christmas presents, melt them down and re-work them. I like high
carat gold and it provokes interest but my customers usually opt for
silver.
I am currently recovering from my 2nd hip replacement and I can now
sit (carefully) at the bench. Can’t bend yet so the ‘grabber’ comes
in very handy. Here’s looking at a a better life in terms of
mobility.
I make jewelry that I’d like to wear myself…so I do. It seems the
best way to test market the pieces. If I get a lot of favorable
comments that’s a good indicator of it’s salability. I once had an
idea for a silver piece, but decided to prototype it in copper
first. The first day I wore it, a woman on an elevator with me
stopped the elevator between floors and wouldn’t start it until I
sold her the piece. It was copper, but she paid a good price for it.
I’ve since made and sold a good number of them in copper, and have
yet to make one in silver…go figure.
I usually wear my own jewelry and enjoy any attention that it
garners. However, I had several interesting encounters while at the
Rio display in Tucson. I had on earrings that I had made and am very
proud of. One person asked about them and I took them off, showed
them to him, and enjoyed the encounter. On the other hand, more than
once someone came up very close to me, peered closely and at length
at my earrings, and never said a thing. It was unsettling and I felt
that my personal space had been violated however complementary it
might have been. It made me wonder about the wisdom of wearing
original designs around a bunch of jewelry makers. Comments?
Just for contrast I thought I’d comment on something Neil said the
other day, and I think we share it, along with others. I could care
less about jewelry on a personal level. I have no use for it beyond
utility - a tie tack holds down a tie, for instance. That doesn’t
mean I don’t appreciate it, I just don’t like to wear it. What I do
like is making things, and jewelry lets us make things out of some
of the finest materials, to the highest standards. I’ve also made
many other things (Furniture, lamps, clocks, machines…). I think
there are a lot of jewelry makers like that - we don’t make it
because we love jewelry so much as we are tinkerers, designers and
craftspeople. Just a point of view…
It made me wonder about the wisdom of wearing original designs
around a bunch of jewelry makers. Comments?
As it happens, one person told me that she did not wear her designs
to “vendor functions” because in the past the design had been
imitated and the resulting piece had won a prestigious award for
someone else.
I certainly do wear my own jewelery creations - especially to shows
and other events where it is likely to be noticed. My daughters enjoy
being “guinea pigs” to test out new ideas and designs. They always
give me great feedback and even generate some sales!
That said, I also enjoy and wear pieces made by others. If I admire
the work, I want to wear it.
Judy in Kansas, where the basketball teams are lookin’ pretty good.
I just posted saying this topic has thrown up some interesting views
but I meant to add something extra. A few have mentioned that the
reason they got into jewellery making in the first place was because
they love jewellery. The same is true of myself.
Well it got me thinking. The women jewellers on the list seem to
love jewellery and that is why they make jewellery. Well some of the
men folk on the list also like jewellery and like to wear it but
others like to make it but don’t like to wear it, and some don’t even
like jewellery and don’t like to have anything to do with it outside
work hours.
So I’m wondering, for those who don’t particularly like jewellery,
how did you come to making jewellery for a career? Or perhaps better
put would be to ask of those who didn’t go into a jewellery making
career because they love jewellery - what was your motivation in
choosing such a career?
I wear one chain I have made. My wife will wear pieces I have made
for her. On some occasions she will wear a piece that will be put up
for sale but for the most part what I make is sold as new and unworn.
It made me wonder about the wisdom of wearing original designs
around a bunch of jewelry makers."
There are times that ogle from another jeweler has me pondering the
wheels turning in his/her head!!!
I always wear my creations. I love jewelry and when I worked (at a
paying job before I retired) would pick out the ensemble (usually
pen/pendant earrings and ring - sometimes even a matching bracelet)
and then decide what to wear for the day. It is great advertisement,
besides I am a Leo and guess how far that takes me!!! I had a
commission several years ago for a counterpart and finally made
myself one similar. I even made miniatures for several ladies who
had the same occupation in several cities in the USA. Mine are all
basically single originals. I hesitate to put things on a web.
for the most part what I make is sold as new and unworn.
Just to clarify, speaking for myself, I wear some of my own work,
but I then keep it as my jewellery and I do not sell those pieces.
Everything I sell as new, is new.
)