First Show Musings

It was a crazy busy weekend, but now that the dust is settling on a lovely (if drizzly) Tuesday, I'm able to look back at how things went.

We had a great showing Saturday, it was busy, busy.  There were quiet moments, and crazy moments.  Lots of family and friends stopped by.  We did the vast majority of our sales Saturday.  Sunday was much quieter, because we hadn't planned to continue, it was just a last minute decision.  Still, it was worth it, because it gave us a chance to sit back and think about the display, and walk around and look.

There were lessons learned, and also surprises as to what was most popular.  I was paid so many compliments on the jewelry as well.

One item I sold out of was my Swarovski earrings. I've been calling them "Headlights" in my mind, after going back-and-forth as to whether I liked them...   "Headlights" seem an uncharitable name for something that follows the KISS principle, so I'm looking for a better name.  Either way, I hadn't made many of them, but they were gone in a flash.

Two things that shocked me as to their popularity was Ornaments and Bookmarks.  They were some of the less expensive items I had on display, which may have contributed to their overall popularity.  They also had a shade of the whimsical, and the ornaments weren't strictly "Holiday."  One woman gushed "Lady Bugs!  I love lady bugs!"  Another one was attracted to a locally lampworked bead on a bookmark.  Later on, another lady remarked to me, "Wow, ornaments I don't have to put away after Christmas."  With most of the stores we shop at, grocery or otherwise, beginning Christmas almost concurrent with the beginning of the school year, I think many of us are Christmas'd out long before it happens.  

From GSM Christmas Ornaments 2009-11-07

Husbands, of course, were distracted by my husband's masterpiece display.  "How'd you put that together?"  I'd point at my husband, who was randomly available, or show them the innards of my display myself.  A table saw, and a biscuit joiner played mightily in the construction, thankfully both items he has for his business.  

Husband's the new owner of Cascade Yacht Works, LLC, the first fiberglass Boat-Building company in the US.  (We were just a glimmer in our grandparent's eyes at the time.)  He's usually busy working on sailboats and trawlers.  When he's not working on them he's usually thinking about them, dreaming about them, sketching them, or talking about them.  

Lest you think this would be dull to me, boats are my day job too.  Which means we have our own relatively private vernacular, Boat-ese, as my best friend (The Queen of Everything) called it.  QE happens to be similarly employed in the marine world, so were to I call to complain that I came down the companionway and found my husband overhauling the Wilcox-Crittenden on the galley table with tools all over the settees, she would be mutually horrified.  To landlubbers, that's walking in the door, and finding your husband pulling apart your toilet in your kitchen while laying tools all over your couches.  In his favor, it only happened once, and the toilet desperately needed an overhaul.  Granted, the first words out of his mouth were, "What's for dinner?"  Proof he's a smart man:  the ensuing pregnant silence suggested to him it was going to be Los Tapatios and a margarita.  

In fact, much of the jewelry is made on the water, in between one boat project or another (although never in conjunction with any dealings with the Wilcox-Crittenden, or any other marine head, I promise).  Others are dreamed up while I'm up to some monotonous boat task, or inspired by some sea-memory.

Thanksgiving is coming, with that responsible adult twinge of oh-how-do-I-get-it-all-done, and the old familiar childish twinge of yay-Christmas-is-nearly-here.  So off I go!

Best,

Posey

First-Show-Eve

It's the day before my first show, and I think things are pulling together nicely.  I had saved some finish work on a bunch of pieces till this week because I needed to glue them all at the same time.  Of course, after you glue, things need some time to set, then you've got some final finish work to do after that...  So, last night was a tad tedious.

That, plus, under the assumption that I'm selling jewelry, I figured I should probably be wearing something with what I had picked out for the day.  I came up with a long (50", at least) knotted strand of Swarovski pearls in mystic black.  It's versatile, I can wear it doubled into two strands, or as a lariat, hung scarf style.  Knotting approximately 300 4mm beads took awhile.  I even had to change my knotting process.  Normally I make my overhands by pushing the yet to be beadless side through the hole, but the nylon I'd cut was so long that it was easier for me to put my beaded end through instead.

Also, getting tags together has been a bit epic.  First, type them, then get them printed, adjust the print settings, then final print.  Get them separated, get them punched, get them ribboned, then get them on the right pieces of jewelry!  Crazy. But they will look great.

Husband's been putting finishing touches on my jewelry display board.  He's pretty anal retentive, and he's mentioned a few boo-boos, but I'm thinking that the point is to have folks looking at the jewelry, not his very-handi-work (which I'm sure is spectacular).  He's put a lot of time into it, so I owe him big time.

One thing I've struggled with is pricing.  For certain of my items, like holiday ornaments and cell phone charms, I've made an array of them that cost me similar amounts in time and materials, so the price on each of them is really an average price.  For other things, like actual necklaces, bracelets, earrings, the prices differed widely.

But where does the price, averaged or not, come from?  I take the prices of each of my components (and I buy in large amounts wherever I can afford), and add them up (MAT).  I add up the time I spent putting something together, and charge that at a labor rate (LAB).  (My labor rate is currently cheap because I'm psyched out.  I add up MAT + LAB, get NDY.  NDY to me is "Not done yet."  Because I haven't added in for my overhead costs (OHD), or any profit (PRO).  Not that I charge much for either, I'm still getting an idea of what exactly to charge.  Overhead and Profit will be in percentages, for example, 5%.  But to apply it NDY, you'll need to move the decimal two places to the left, and add one.  So, instead of a 5%, OHD or PRO would be 1.05.  Then the "wholesale" (WH) price is NDY * OHD * PRO.

I've been told if I find someone to sell my wares at a retail location, I'll expect them to charge about twice my wholesale.  Which, means retail (RET) = WH * 2.0.  I was also told that if I'm selling some jewelry by myself, that I couldn't charge less than retail.   But I couldn't stomach that.  So, I'm charging a small percentage over WH in order to cover the costs of getting the display together.

How does that compare to what you buy in the store?  Well, ask questions.  Is what you buy in the store only solid 0.925 sterling?  Or is it merely plated?  Was it made in China, or handmade?  I try to focus on using only sterling, and I make as much as I can of a piece.  Extra bits like special items set with cabochons may or may not be obtained under a fair trade (FTA) agreement--and I note if it is.  Items that are produced under FTA tend to be more expensive, as compared to items produced without being under it.  I'd love to say all of my items were, but I can't afford it, and neither can anyone else.  We do the best we can though, with what we've got, don't we?

As I get back to work, I feel a little homesick for my mother.  She would be having a blast getting everything ready and organized just so, looking at all of the pieces I've made, talking with people, helping set up the Grange.  She's listening from the sidelines back in Texas, but some day, I'll have her here to see what all of us are doing.

Best,

Posey

Balinese Drop with Peridot

This is a special earring I'll have available at the show.  We may have taken 40 pictures trying to get the right lighting and focus, and we're still being picky over it.  Today what I see is different, that the glass that we were playing with to hold the earrings up is super dusty!  The dangle is a real Bali Sterling Silver setting with a faceted Peridot.  It's also going to be available in Garnet and White Topaz from me.  My favorite might just be the White Topaz myself, as it's a color that can and does go with everything.  The dangle was obtained from a vendor with a fair trade agreement with a shop in Bali.  Not only is the work stunning, but you simply just feel an aura of good karma emanating from it, knowing its origins, and knowing it wasn't made in a sweat shop.  Feel free to e-mail or comment if you have any questions!

Best,

Posey

Getting Ready

We've been getting ready for our first big show.  The weekend was spent working on tags for all of the pieces, taking the random photo, and building parts of the display.  The time that my husband put in, given that he's so busy with his own business (Cascade Yachts) was heroic, and it was great to spend time with him in the shop.  Working with him on photography is always a learning experience.  Photography is not something I excel at, but he's able to explain it, one-engineer-to-another.

So, the details on the shows:

This Saturday, November 14th, from 9AM to 4PM at the Grange, in Warrenton, OR.  I'll be using my own name instead of the company name, because it's technically a neighborhood craft fair.  There should be all kinds of things besides jewelry!  Cash or check appreciated.

December 4 - 6 at the Astoria Yacht Club in Astoria, OR at the Starving Artist's Fair.  There will be even more vendors, including other jewelry designers besides myself, at this event.  Cash or check appreciated.

What will I be showing?  Necklaces, Bracelets, Earrings.  Purse Bling, Cell Phone Charms, Bookmarks, Holiday Ornaments, and Beverage Charms.

Hope to see any number of folks there!

Posey