Rena s Jewelry Business Black Book, v 1.3

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Russell Reed
5 years ago
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2 2 See lots more creative ideas for making and selling jewelry, here on my websites: Jewelry Making Journal Rena Klingenberg s Blog

3 3 About My Black Book of Jewelry Strategies Over the years I ve done a lot of experimenting in my handmade jewelry business. I ve tested all kinds of new ideas and strategies, fine-tuned the things that worked well for me, and dropped the things that didn t. And out of everything I ve done for my jewelry business, here are the top 6 things that have brought me the most customers, opportunities, and earnings. They re simple and very do-able - and they all brought me big returns for relatively little effort. I hope this little black book of my top jewelry strategies helps your jewelry business take off like a rocket! I d love to hear your success stories after you ve experimented with these tips! Strategy #1: Taking My Jewelry Everywhere with Me A few years into my jewelry business, I realized that often when I was getting ready to go somewhere, people were asking me to bring a selection of my jewelry with me for them to shop from. I got this request from all kinds of people - the teachers and staff at my son s school where I volunteered, the gals in my Bunko group, my friends, the bank teller, the waitress at a breakfast café I frequented, etc. So I developed the habit of carrying a small selection of my jewelry wherever I went. For a container, I usually used a soft fabric jewelry roll (you can get them pretty cheaply from most jewelry display suppliers) that was easy to toss into the small backpack I often used as a day bag. And when I reached my destination and brought out my jewelry for the person who had asked me to bring it... I discovered that showing one person the contents of a jewelry roll quickly draws a crowd (and multiple sales). Just by always having a selection of my jewelry with me, I wound up making loads of unplanned jewelry sales at schools, workplaces, social gatherings, banks, restaurants, playgrounds, etc. - nearly anywhere I went. But I never had to push my jewelry on anyone.

4 4 Even when no one had asked me to bring it, someone would nearly always wind up asking me what kind of work I did (if they hadn t met me before), or asking how my jewelry business was going (if they already knew me). So I d mention the latest piece I d been working on - and then inevitably someone would wind up saying, I d love to see some of your jewelry! And I could say that actually I just happened to have some of it with me that day - and retrieve my jewelry roll from my little backpack. Everyone in my acquaintance got used to the fact that I was nearly always toting some jewelry around with me, and they often purchased emergency gifts of earrings, etc. while we watched our children on the playground, did lunch, or volunteered at school. In addition to making a steady stream of impromptu sales of my jewelry, this technique also landed me several opportunities to do profitable jewelry parties and jewelry fundraisers, as well as jewelry making workshops. This strategy is so easy, basically free (once you ve purchased your jewelry roll or other container), and helps you capture impulse sales immediately, while people s interest is piqued. It can also open doors for other jewelry opportunities. Strategy #2: Getting to Know Influential People in the Local Art Scene One of the first places I tried selling my jewelry was in the gift case in our small local museum. Although the museum only wound up selling a couple of pairs of my earrings per month, it turned out to be the stepping stone to one of my best opportunities. It was there in the museum gift case that my earrings happened to be seen by two ladies who run an important art gallery in our area. After discovering from my earring cards that I was a local artist, one of the gallery ladies phoned me to invite me to show and sell my work at their upcoming gallery event. And for me that was the beginning of several years of participating in all the various shows held by the gallery. I sold loads of jewelry to the art patrons and general public who attended the gallery s shows.

5 5 The gallery owners gave me the same spot at every show, so returning customers could easily find me. Through the gallery s events, I made fantastic connections with new and potential customers, as well as with other local artists. But getting to know the two ladies who owned the gallery also opened other doors for me. Gallery owners often know just about everyone related to art - both in your area and farther afield. And these lovely gallery ladies hooked me up with all kinds of good opportunities that would never have come my way otherwise. I wound up getting my jewelry into several shops and boutiques, teaching jewelry workshops, and doing some wonderful collaborations with other artists - all from connections that came through the gallery ladies. Although both of these ladies are oil painters and their gallery features mainly wall art, they are committed to promoting all kinds of art and artists. I highly recommend that you explore the art gallery scene in your area. Get listings of the various galleries events, and start attending some of them. When you re getting ready to visit one of the gallery events: put on a great selection of your jewelry bring a stack of business cards in your purse or pocket promise yourself you ll have conversations with at least three different people at the event who you don t already know. Don t worry if jewelry isn t a big feature in the galleries - the main thing is to start building connections within your local art scene. Become a regular visitor and / or participant at art gallery events - and see what unfolds for you! Many gallery owners are mavens of connecting people to the best resources, opportunities, and other people - regardless of which art medium is involved! Strategy #3: Turning People s Small Items and Personal Treasures into Jewelry This strategy has brought me tons of jewelry orders and referral business, and often results in very pleased customers coming back to buy my other jewelry items.

6 6 This is a very simple way to provide a lovely service for people, by making their small personal treasures and mementoes wearable. These will become some of the most sentimental and cherished pieces of jewelry you ll ever create for people. Here s how I sort of fell into this strategy, and then realized how powerful it is: When I first started making wire pendants, people would sometimes ask if I could wire-wrap other things too - often things like a seashell, small rock, crystal, coin, a loved one s military tags, etc. Usually they wanted to be able to wear their custom wire-wrapped item as a pendant. As I talked to these customers, I realized that the things they wanted me to turn into pendants had personal stories and sentimental value: A seashell found on a wedding anniversary. A special stone given by a long-ago childhood friend, kept for years in a little box. A crystal from a shop in Sedona. An arcade token from a first date. A grandfather s World War I dog tag. I realized that not only was this a beautiful service to provide for people - it s also a fascinating jewelry niche. Nearly everyone has a small special treasure that would make a wonderful pendant. Of course, you don't have to use wire-wrapping as the technique for making people's personal treasures wearable. You might use collage, resin, hemp, polymer clay, metal clay, jewelry photo frames, or other techniques. You ll get a lot more orders for this type of custom work if you make it known that it s one of your specialties. For example, post a sign in a picture frame in your display at shows, jewelry parties, and anyplace where you re showing your jewelry, saying something like: "What Can I Wire-Wrap for You? I Turn Your Cherished Treasures into Pendants." You can also print the above message on the front or back of your jewelry business cards. Next to this sign, you may want to put some photos or samples of small treasures you ve turned into jewelry, or an electronic photo frame slideshow of them, to give people a jumpstart for answering the question your sign asks them!

7 7 The important thing is to be able to create an artistic, durable way for people to wear their special memento. And to honor the story of how this ordinary item became a treasure. Strategy #4: Giving My Jewelry as Gifts Giving your jewelry as gifts can bring you a nice wave of exposure and goodwill. Anyone who receives jewelry as a gift will almost certainly show it off to their friends, co-workers, family, etc. - very effectively spreading the word about your jewelry business. They ll also realize first-hand how lovely it is to receive your jewelry as a gift... and therefore how perfect your jewelry would be for many of the occasions when they need to give gifts. I have given my jewelry as gifts to friends and relatives, at gatherings where everyone had to bring a present for a gift exchange, as hostess gifts when I stay with people, to teachers and school staff, as thank-you gifts to medical staff who have gone above and beyond, etc. At baby showers I like to give the mom-to-be a wire wrapped mother-and-child cameo on a chain or leather cord. For graduation gifts I choose a stone whose lore is related to knowledge, good fortune, or another attribute that would be meaningful to the graduate, and turn it into a wire wrapped pendant. I include a card expressing the stone s lore. Most grads really resonate with this gift. The people who receive your jewelry as a gift often come back as a customer. Their free sample has sold them on your jewelry, and now they d like to do something generous for you. And their personal show and tell of your jewelry to everyone they know can give you an incredible amount of exposure - for only the cost of the jewelry you gave them. Jewelry gifts can also lead to the recipient wanting to host a jewelry party - or wanting to reciprocate by helping you out with other connections and opportunities ( my sister owns a gift shop just outside of Atlanta - I m going to see if she d like to carry your jewelry! ). Although you re giving your jewelry as gifts because you genuinely want to - this is also an occasion when your generosity can have a very handsome payback!

8 8 Strategy #5: Asking Other People for Their Ideas on Where I Might Sell My Jewelry This strategy has resulted in some really excellent opportunities for me. The idea for it began when a customer who was shopping in my booth at one of my first shows asked me if I d tried selling my jewelry through a local shop she knew of. She added, the shop carries some real interesting gifts, and I think your jewelry would fit right in. I followed up on that customer s suggestion, and she was right. The shop owner was very interested in my jewelry, and that shop turned out to be a good source of sales for me. But it was a shop I never would have thought of approaching if my customer hadn t suggested it. I realized then that other people might have good ideas for all kinds of places and ways I could try selling my jewelry - things that would never occur to me. So I made a point of asking nearly everyone if they had any ideas for where I might sell my jewelry, or if they could think of any other kinds of opportunities for my jewelry - even unusual or offbeat things. I asked friends, family, jewelry customers, my son s orthodontist s assistants, the grocery cashier who complimented me on my earrings, etc. Of course not everyone had ideas for me, but some of the most unexpected people came up with some really great suggestions - many of which turned out to be successful opportunities for me. So take advantage of the experiences, knowledge, and brainstorming power of the people you know or come in contact with. Most people think it s fun to help you come up with ideas for your jewelry business. Strategy #6: Developing Jewelry Designs Around What People Buy Most from Me When I first set out to sell my jewelry, my approach was to make a lot of things I liked - and hope that people would buy them. For me this method turned out to be you win some, you lose some. Some of my stuff did sell well - but a lot of it didn t sell at all, and was displayed at show after show and party after party waiting for someone to fall in love with it.

9 9 For me the turning point came at an art show, when one of my returning customers was visiting my booth. She remarked, Hey, you still have that necklace - I remember seeing it a few years ago. She said it nicely, and a bit nostalgically. That necklace was a pleasant but unremarkable piece I d made a few years back that just never seemed to spark enough interest for anyone to buy it. And now it was evidently becoming famous for not selling! So when I got home after that show, I decided to analyze the jewelry that people had bought from me over the past couple of years, and try to pinpoint what made those pieces successful sellers. I considered: What colors sold best? What stones? What metal colors? What components - beads, wire, leather, wood, shells, coins, found objects, etc.? Rustic or contemporary? Large or small pieces? What necklace lengths? What kind of necklace cord, chain, etc.? What style of bracelet? What options? What type of clasp? What kinds of customization? What did people buy for themselves? What did they buy to give as gifts? What caught the most attention? What price points sold best? Then I began to work toward developing jewelry designs that were more in line with the pieces I d sold successfully.

10 10 I didn t replicate my previous designs, but as I created my new pieces, I was mindful of details and components that had been popular in my fast-sellers. (By the way, this is just one of the reasons why I recommend taking a picture of every single piece of jewelry you make. It s so helpful to look at the photo of an item you ve sold and see the details you included in that piece.) Along with analyzing what people were buying from me, I also started asking customers conversationally, What do you like best about this piece? as I wrapped up their jewelry purchase. Hearing directly from the customer what had most attracted him / her to the item gave me additional valuable insights for designing future pieces of jewelry. Most people are happy to chat with you as you package up their purchase, and they re pleased to be able to help you by telling you what they love about it. Becoming open to developing designs and product lines around what people were actually buying from me turned out to be a solid success strategy. My jewelry sales increased. And I had fewer items like that necklace lingering forever in my unsold inventory. The Next Step I hope these strategies inspired you and gave you some new ideas! I also wanted to inspire you to start noticing the seeds of the great opportunities that are happening around you all the time. As you saw in my true stories here, many of my best opportunities have happened because I paid attention to something someone said and then expanded it, or because I experimented with something new. In other words, I noticed the seeds of opportunities, and did something with them. In Strategy #1, I recognized that people often asked me to bring some jewelry with me - so I expanded that into bringing jewelry nearly everywhere I went. In Strategy #2, I experimented with putting my earrings in the local museum display case - and that exposure led to the gallery ladies discovering me. In Strategy #3, I realized that people often asked me to wire-wrap things for them - so I expanded that into offering a service of turning people s small treasures into pendants.

11 11 In Strategy #4, I experimented with giving my jewelry as gifts, as a way of gaining more exposure - and ended up with lots of new customers and opportunities because of it. In Strategy #5, I recognized that when my customer gave me the hot tip on a shop that might want my jewelry, lots of other people would probably have good ideas for me too. So I expanded on that by asking people for their ideas everywhere I went. In Strategy #6, I listened to my customer s comment on that necklace - and expanded that into researching what my customers were most willing to buy. I didn t start out to do any of these things, and I d never heard about anyone else doing any of them before. But I saw these seeds of opportunities and leaped. Of course, some of my other leaps have turned out to not yield much, but that s okay. I still learned from them. And what s the worst that could happen? You ll find out that a particular possibility didn t pan out for you - so you either brainstorm how you might improve on it, or you simply let it go and move on. I encourage you to keep your eyes and ears open for the seeds of opportunities that are happening around you! The smallest remark may be the clue to your biggest success! Want to Go Deeper? These six strategies for easy, low-cost ways to sell more of your handmade jewelry are just the beginning. You can get loads more strategies like these in my 130- page ebook, Easy Ways to Sell Your Jewelry Every Day. In this ebook I detail simple, do-able ways to sell your jewelry - without craft shows, shops, or selling online. Imagine how much easier it would be if you had customers who were always interested in seeing (and buying) your newest jewelry creations as soon as you make them. Find out more here:

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