Getting ready for craft shows and fairs can be stressful. I always find that I have forgotten something after I'm already at the show. Here is a short list of things I forget most often. Hopefully this will help me and you to remember these things.
1. Mirrors: At least one big one that stands up like a picture and one hand held one.
2. Cotton balls and rubbing alcohol for earrings. This way if a customer wants to try them on you can clean them.
3. Lights: Bad lighting will crush your jewelry sales! Customers need to see that sparkle and shine. I have been at shows where you couldn't tell purple beads from blue ones. I only sold 3 things in 2 days!
4. Pen and Paper to collect customer's names and email addresses. You want to be able to tell them about your future shows, new pieces and specials.
5. Your Smile! This is the most important thing and some days the easiest to forget. Trust me, never leave home without it. People don't like to buy beautiful things from grumpy people.
I know it may be hard to believe that any seasoned craft show goer could forget these few things, but I have done it. At some of my first shows I didn't even think about these things until I needed it. These are all things you will miss if you don't have them. So learn from me and remember to take them with you!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
How Not to Sell on Etsy.com.
If you have been thinking of selling your handmade jewelry, chances are you have also checked out etsy.com. Etsy.com is a very popular site for sellers and shoppers. They also offer a lot of great information to help new sellers get started using their site. Today instead of repeating tips on how to make sells on etsy,I thought I would share with you some of things not to do(this works on other sites too).
Don't use good photos. That is right, post blurry, dark, far away photos, that don't show any detail. Don't use all the available photo slots. Customers can use their imagination and see your jewelry as beautiful as it really is, even if they are not sure what they are looking at.
Don't explain what is is made out of. Assume all customers are as knowledgeable about beads, stones, and such as you are. Don't tell them the measurements either. They don't really care if the focal bead is the size of a pea or their fist. Why bother with any description at all? The picture does all the selling, right?
Don't tell them about what inspired you to make it. Instead tell them about how your dog jumped in your lap spilling all your beads and these where the only ones you could find. Or about how your baby spit up all over your packaging. Customers are truly interested in every detail of your personal life and that is why they buy your jewelry.
Ok, this post was made in fun, but I hope it gets you thinking about what you are doing when you list things for sale. Selling online is harder than selling in person. You want to make your customers feel like they have some connection with you. Let your personality and big smile come through in your listings, while keeping it professional.
If you have some tips on what not to do please share them with us!
Don't use good photos. That is right, post blurry, dark, far away photos, that don't show any detail. Don't use all the available photo slots. Customers can use their imagination and see your jewelry as beautiful as it really is, even if they are not sure what they are looking at.
Don't explain what is is made out of. Assume all customers are as knowledgeable about beads, stones, and such as you are. Don't tell them the measurements either. They don't really care if the focal bead is the size of a pea or their fist. Why bother with any description at all? The picture does all the selling, right?
Don't tell them about what inspired you to make it. Instead tell them about how your dog jumped in your lap spilling all your beads and these where the only ones you could find. Or about how your baby spit up all over your packaging. Customers are truly interested in every detail of your personal life and that is why they buy your jewelry.
Ok, this post was made in fun, but I hope it gets you thinking about what you are doing when you list things for sale. Selling online is harder than selling in person. You want to make your customers feel like they have some connection with you. Let your personality and big smile come through in your listings, while keeping it professional.
If you have some tips on what not to do please share them with us!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Margaux Lange Jewelry
I stumbled across this hand crafted jewelry site this morning and thought, Wow! Talk about making memorable niche jewelry. The designer uses barbie doll parts to create unique and interesting jewelry. It is definitely something people will take note of when you wear it! Check it out, Margaux Lange.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Free ebook from Dr. David Weiman!
Dr. David Weiman is letting his affiliates share his new ebook with you for FREE! How cool is that? You can get your free copy of 50 Great Jewelry Selling Techniques by Clicking Here!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Review: Marketing and Selling you handmade Jewelry, by Viki Lareau
Being a successful jewelry business woman, Viki Lareau has written this book to help out the rest of us. She shares with us what she has learned in this easy to read step by step format. The chapters cover things like getting started, pricing work, building a portfolio and more. She keeps things positive and shares encouraging stories from other successful jewelry businesses. I think this book is great for beginners to get them pointed in the right direction. It is definitely something you should read before to start selling your jewelry. There is so much that goes into selling your finished pieces it is hard to know where to start. If you are already trying to sell and not having an easy time of this book may be able to help you change that.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Tips to get better photos of your handmade jewelry
Tips for better jewerly photos
Taking pictures of your handmade jewelry can be a real chore. Most of the jewelry makers I know, including myself, have had trouble getting great pictures. Some of the most common problems are blur, yellowing, glare, and poor lighting.
Blur can be caused my several things like, unsteady camera, holding the camera too close to the jewelry, or being too far away and zooming in. The best way to avoid these problems is to steady your camera with a tripod or stack of books and use the macro setting on your camera. The macro setting allows you to place your camera very close to the jewelry and still allow the camera to focus on it.
Having you jewelry photos come out with a yellowish look to them is from light bulbs. Regular household light bulbs give off light with a yellow tint. To avoid this use white bright light bulbs like flouresent or the energy saving swirl bulbs. If you have the chance take your photos outside on a sunny day. Sun light will give bright clear true colors to your photos. There are lamps that simulate sunlight. I haven't tried these to see how they work with jewelry photography. It may be worth experimenting with. Most digital cameras have a white balance setting, ajusting this can give you better photos. Some photo editing software also has white balance you can play with.
You want your jewelry to sparkle and shine, but not glare. Using a light box or tent is the best way to control glare. I have seen jewelry sized light tents for sale on ebay for over 100.00! The good news is you can make your own. Depending on the size you need you can use a milk jug or a tote. The opaque plastic will cut down the glare from your lights and help you keep jewelry sparkle. Sometimes simply placing a piece of white paper in front of your lights will defuse the light enough to cut out the glare. It is key to avoid using the flash on your camera. This will only add to the glare.
Household lamps aren't as bright as professional photography lamps. This can leave you photos coming out too dark. I use about three desk lamps and then lighten the pictures further in photoshop. If I had more lamps I would use them! I have found that if I hold one lamp above and a little behind me, it seems to allow the camera to pull in more light.
I have seen people using their scanners to get images of their handmade jewelry. It is not my favorite way of getting images of jewelry. The shadow of the jewelry always looks like blur and takes away from the picture. I have tried it with my scanner and it doesn't work. If you have no camera, do try out your scanner, yours may work better than mine. The main thing is that people can clearly see what your handmade jewelry looks like. Get close ups, get details, and get different angles.
Keep experimenting until you find a set up that works for you.
Taking pictures of your handmade jewelry can be a real chore. Most of the jewelry makers I know, including myself, have had trouble getting great pictures. Some of the most common problems are blur, yellowing, glare, and poor lighting.
Blur can be caused my several things like, unsteady camera, holding the camera too close to the jewelry, or being too far away and zooming in. The best way to avoid these problems is to steady your camera with a tripod or stack of books and use the macro setting on your camera. The macro setting allows you to place your camera very close to the jewelry and still allow the camera to focus on it.
Having you jewelry photos come out with a yellowish look to them is from light bulbs. Regular household light bulbs give off light with a yellow tint. To avoid this use white bright light bulbs like flouresent or the energy saving swirl bulbs. If you have the chance take your photos outside on a sunny day. Sun light will give bright clear true colors to your photos. There are lamps that simulate sunlight. I haven't tried these to see how they work with jewelry photography. It may be worth experimenting with. Most digital cameras have a white balance setting, ajusting this can give you better photos. Some photo editing software also has white balance you can play with.
You want your jewelry to sparkle and shine, but not glare. Using a light box or tent is the best way to control glare. I have seen jewelry sized light tents for sale on ebay for over 100.00! The good news is you can make your own. Depending on the size you need you can use a milk jug or a tote. The opaque plastic will cut down the glare from your lights and help you keep jewelry sparkle. Sometimes simply placing a piece of white paper in front of your lights will defuse the light enough to cut out the glare. It is key to avoid using the flash on your camera. This will only add to the glare.
Household lamps aren't as bright as professional photography lamps. This can leave you photos coming out too dark. I use about three desk lamps and then lighten the pictures further in photoshop. If I had more lamps I would use them! I have found that if I hold one lamp above and a little behind me, it seems to allow the camera to pull in more light.
I have seen people using their scanners to get images of their handmade jewelry. It is not my favorite way of getting images of jewelry. The shadow of the jewelry always looks like blur and takes away from the picture. I have tried it with my scanner and it doesn't work. If you have no camera, do try out your scanner, yours may work better than mine. The main thing is that people can clearly see what your handmade jewelry looks like. Get close ups, get details, and get different angles.
Keep experimenting until you find a set up that works for you.
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