Handmade jewellery at a price

I was at the seaside at the weekend. The weather was terrible, so we spent most of the time dodging from one hotel lounge or conservatory or restaurant to another. And, I noticed something that got me thinking about competition in handmade jewellery.

Everyone knows the English seaside's best days are behind it. Since the Victorian heydays the allure of the English Riviera has faded somewhat. Outright granduer has given way to 'Faded Seaside Glamour' (as the band Delays called it). The downturn has been blamed on cheap foreign holidays, but I couldn't help wondering whether the establishments themselves were partly to blame.

Away from their prime beach front locations, I suspect many of these restaurants and hotels simply wouldn't survive. In an sense, they are getting away with it because of the general malaise across the entire town.

Tatty has become acceptable. Taking every conceivable short cut - like plastic table cloths and condiment sachets is the done thing. Dirty carpets and upholstery, are the norm. Cheap carvery menus and self-service dining is de rigeur. But, is this really what the public want? It certainly wasn't what I wanted! It's as if the seaside has collectively dummed down, reduced everything to the lowest mass-market appeal.

If you're doing as little as possible. Cutting every corner and boiling everything down to its most basic, price is only going one way: South. Everyone was doing a deal.

Trouble is, when people eat out they aren't looking to satisfy their basic need for food. And, when people stay in a hotel, they aren't just looking for a roof over their heads. We can get that at home! We want an experience. We want it to be special, not basic.

Handmade Jewellery is no different. I look around the web and see ridiculously low prices. Only yesterday, our jewellery buyer at pressies4princesses.co.uk was contacted by a handmaker interested in supplying us, but she's selling bracelets for £6.50 retail on her own site. That's just not our market.

So, if you are handmaking jewellery, don't design down to a price. Don't be meek and follow the herd. Don't break it down to its most basic. Why not design up to a whopping great price tag, instead? This is handmade jewellery after all. It's supposed to be something special!