joy kruse-just looked over at your website, and I’m super impressed-
i’ve been a silversmith 30+ yrs. and have never seen stones mounted
quite that way with the irregular shaped borbers etc… wow! very
creative !
I no longer go into an Art show assuming anything. It seems no longer predictable. Keep on Keepin' on.....Make Beautiful things from Beautiful things.....it will turn around.....people have adorned themselves for thousands of years with precious metals.
I just grabbed Joy’s quote because I enjoyed her post… The
simpleminded answer is that the buyers are where they always were -
they haven’t gone anyplace. Of course the economy has changed. Last
month I had so much work I couldn’t see the end of it, and bordered
on exhaustion. Echoing David Phelps, a bit. Now I have a 35 ct.
aquamarine necklace happening (a beautiful, $9K stone, not ~just~
big), bridal, bridal, bridal and a cute happy face moonstone going
into an art/arty sort of thing. It just never stops coming.
Short term, I guess David Geller said it as well as anybody - go out
there and find the business wherever it is, or make it up for
yourself. (“If ya don’t like the news, go out and make some of yer
own!” Famous quote here in SF) Long term has also never changed -
get thee to the top of the food chain!
How about repurposing existing pieces? Melting down a family heirloom
to be made into a new ring, pendant, or brooch? An individual who has
a card tray may not find it as useful as, perhaps, a Christmas
ornament using family silver. Use THEIR metal and fashion something
they will cherish even more. There’s an untapped market out there,
just ask David Geller from jewelerprofit
Jeff Herman
Our customers do not forget us, as I recently found out. I took a
chance and had postcards printed, then spend several hours hand
writing and addressing cards and envelopes to each individual person.
Sending out around thirty cards cost me around thirty dollars and
that includes cards, envelopes, and postage. Reaching back ten years
into my job box has paid off tenfold and it cost me so little. It was
such a small investment to find out where the buyers are today. Plus
it was a good spark for creativity in the studio as my customers
reminded me of jobs that I’d done for them in the past that they
still talk about. Have some fun and spend a few hours doing hand
written cards. It’s rare to get one in the mail, and the mail may
disappear in the distant future. I used to do my open house
invitations the very same way.
Cheers! Margie Mersky
mmwaxmodels.com
Doom and Gloom?
I’m getting tired of reading about the doom and gloom over everyones
head. All I see are better days, where? Make your own projects on
this beginning of a New Year, get out and make a name for yourself.
Re-invent your skills, so what if someone is sending you all kinds
of “oh, woe is me, the sky is starting to fall” If one door is
closing in on you, then another door will open. Step back and look
around, find you little niche!
I have a list of doors to open, I’m aiming for the ultra best places
to contact. Your skill is the door-knocker, hit it hard! Make those
contacts wake up and you too can make a name for yourself.
If you feel you don’t have the sales confidence, well get a
sales-rep do the door-knocking for you. I have 6 sales-reps in 6
different countries. I can’t do the travelling, but they can, as they
all live in their own different areas of the world. Eventually you
will get a name out there! Don’t limit yourself to the basic simple
"rings and things". Make up a line of something that will open the
’contacts’ eyes and keep them open. It has to be the proverbial
"wow-effect" nothing less. It has to be the only “one-of-a kind” and
"never seen before" item…
Gerry!
Pay attention here Orchidians…
Margie did the right thing here. I have worked in so many store that
insisted that all sales people “Keep Good Book” Write down your
clients names, their children’s names, addresses, phone numbers,
birthdays anniversaries etc. Even if it’s on an old job envelope.
Reach out and touch them. They will respond. Folks like to be
remembered. They like to spend their money on the person who gives
them the best personalized service.
Tim and I are wholesale only, but we do have a few private clients.
We make a point of keeping info on them. We also pay attention to
our wholesale accounts. If someone sells a big piece for us, or has a
birthday, we give them a fancy chocolate bar. People remember these
small gestures.
Have fun and make lots of jewelry.
Jo Haemer
timothywgreen.com
When I had my store we sent a hand written note to any customer with
ANY SALE (a repair is a sale too) over $250. Hand written.All other
sales we sent pre printed postcards. Therefore 90% of all customers
got a thank you note. I have a client in California that the wife
buys funny and somewhat “risque” birthday and anniversary cards and
every Sunday night hand addresses and adds a personal note inside to
everyone having a celebration that week. They do about 3+ million a
year. With email taking over and the post office dying, getting
almost any directmail is a new occurrence today for folks. and a
hand written note or card, OMG! You’d stand out in the crowd.
David S. Geller
JewelerProfit
Dave, I’ll echo what you’ve said. I’m small potatoes compared to
you, but the shows I’ve done this year have been successful. Much
better then last year’s figures. I love it when someone passing by my
booth stops, looks harder, and then says “I’ll take that.” Not even
interested in asking the price.
I can’t pin down a specific reason sales have been up, but I think
it’s a combination of better displays and new designs that look
unique - especially compared to the “resale” stuff I see more and
more of now. It used to “chap my rear” to see the resalers allowed to
have a booth at a show advertised to be hand made by the artist. NOW
I welcome the comparison and my sales show the difference.
Judy in Kansas, where a very welcome rain has brought the mums into
gorgeous bloom. I don’t recall ever seeing such bountiful color.
recession, where?
“Hublot Watches” has made a very simple, slightly ornate, men’s watch
for only $5,000,000.00 up from last years watch for $3,000,000.00.
That little bauble was SOLD! So now they are introducing this little
time-piece for $2mill more. With 300 Carats of finely-cut
"invisibly-set" baguettes. Who says there is a recession going
on?..:)…Gerry!
As my wise grandmother used to say - for some people, their entire
life was a recession; for others, they were at the top the entire
time. Karma? Make interesting jewelry for unique people. Or vice
versa.
Barbara
“Aim high!”
In our New Year I resolved not to create ANYTHING in 14 karat! Even
18 karat is a now a just a possibility. Aim and think 22 karat, it’s
there if you want. It will truly cost you more per casting gram, but
think of how it’s going to appear as “a rare art form”. In England
they are still using 9 karat. What I am doing is building many
prototypes of items in Brass and gold plating them to simulate the
22karat version. Saving you money and it’s lots cheaper, then
photograph in all of its glory.
Let the multitude of folks make their light-weight jewellery in 14
karat. We are all above them, here on Orchid. Try and aim for that
1% we are hearing these days. They are listening and watching whats
going on. They have their pockets waiting for something rare to be
bought!! Trust me! I’ve been researching many luxury web-sites, and
those buyers are there! Imagine creating a $5,000,000 man’s watch or
items worth over $1m. These are the very same folks, I am going to
be creating these items for. One day in the very near future, I’ll
shown them to you. Mind boggling creations!!:)…
Gerry!
I have never heard better advice!!! This goes for every art form but
especially jewelry.
Sharron
I have been reading this thread for the past couple weeks. Selling
jewelry is just like any other business. You can’t sell 50 inch flat
screen TVs to people who don’t have any money. You have to make what
people can afford.
There are a lot of people who can afford to buy jewelry that costs
$25 and it is easy to sell that type of jewelry. When you get to
work that costs $500, you are now at the point where it would
require the average American worker’s entire week’s pay. When you
get to $2,000 you are now talking about a person who earns $100,000
per year. Only a small percentage of America earns $100,000 a year.
You can be the best salesman in the world, you can have all the
customer service, but if people don’t have the money, they can’t
spend it with you. You can check government statistics to find out
what the average income in your area. I live in Tucson, AZ. The
average income is $26,000 per year. Only about 2% of Tucsonans earn
$100,000 per year. So if I want to sell to them, I need to compete
with every single jeweler in town and every jeweler on the internet
and I need to offer a higher quality product, better service, and
sometimes, but not always, a lower price. the past 30 years were the
most prosperous in US history. So, many of us who were jewelers
during this time felt that it was easy to make and sell jewelry,
because there were lots of potential customers. Our potential
customer base has been slashed by more than 50%, so all of us are
fighting over the same customers.
That’s my take on it.
Kevin Potter
There are a lot of people who can afford to buy jewelry that costs $25 and it is easy to sell that type of jewelry. When you get to work that costs $500, you are now at the point where it would require the average American worker's entire week's pay. When you get to $2,000 you are now talking about a person who earns $100,000 per year. Only a small percentage of America earns $100,000 a year.
Let’s look at it from another hand. The size of telecommunication
bill of family of four is $500 on monthly basis. The size of cellular
market in USA is 160 billions. People camp to for days to buy an
iphone, total cost for 2 years 3,000 and up.
You see, it is a perceived value of an item. The actual price does
not matter. It is easier to sell something for 10,000 than 200. That
is how things are.
Leonid Surpin
Let's look at it from another hand. The size of telecommunication bill of family of four is $500 on monthly basis.
WHAT? That’s crazy-high, what are you including in that?
Further on the subject of making jewelry people can afford: it seems
a lot of people are using copper and brass. the conventional wisdom
has been that copper ( and thus, brass) and skin contact are not a
good thing. Nobody seems to be saying this any more. It certainly
isn’t mentioned by those selling copper/brass findings, etc.
Hi Guys,
I understand where you’re coming from Leonid, but jewellery is
perceived as a luxury item, technology is perceived as a "must have"
otherwise you fall behind.
People care more if they are thought of as stupid, as opposed to
being wealthy.
Regards Charles A.
I recommend two books for everyone interested in this topic.
“Marketing to the affluent” and the followup “Selling to the
affluent”. They are both by Dr. Thomas J. Stanley. His bestseller,
“The millionaire next door” was for me a let down as far as jewelry
marketing is concerned, but the other two are must reads for anyone
who wants to sell high end jewelry.
Stanley would say that Kevin’s points are valid in the classic
"shotgun" marketing technique, that is, you fire a product into the
marketplace and hope that a few of the of the pellets reach their
mark. The difficulty with this method of hunting is that if your
shotgun is pointed at a flock of geese, you’ll never bag an
elephant. Someday this approach may indeed bring down a prize goose,
but it’s more likely to get an average one, instead.
Taking the shotgun approach in an average local market means that
you do increase your success by firing a lower cost product, but
Stanley argues that the most successful sellers and marketers to the
affluent take a different approach. He argues for the rifle method of
marketing and selling. It takes more time and quite honestly it can
be psychologically stressful if you are uncomfortable with social or
class hierarchy. He also argues that high income buyers are more
motivated by personal contact with sellers and aren’t as influenced
by advertising and mass marketing as lower income buyers. Of course,
the trick is getting in contact with the individual affluent buyers.
In one of Stanley’s books, I can’t remember which one, he profiles
the top athletic shoe salesman in the country. This guy doesn’t sell
to people off the street, have a shoe superstore in a mega-rich
suburb, but instead specializes in selling the extra large sizes that
the highly paid, professional basketball players wear. He goes to
games and sells multiple pairs of the most expensive, high end shoes
directly to the players. He has taken the rifle approach rather than
the shotgun approach. I don’t think he is hurt by the economic
downturn (though he is probably a little concerned about the NBA
lock-out).
Good reading!
Larry
We are a family of two and oours including two cell phones and
internet (no land line) is only 75. But if you have four people on
individual cell phones and teenagers with text messaging, I could see
it approaching that – if you don’t put some king of controls on the
texting that is.
Charles-
People care more if they are thought of as stupid, as opposed to being wealthy.
Tell that to the cast members of Real Housewives and Jersey Shore:)
Jo Haemer
timothywgreen.com