Are you a jewellery designer or not?

Gemma over at Perlina Jewellery picked up on my post about Julieann Beads, which kind of turned into a rant about poor business sense in the handmade jewellery sector. She invited me to take a look at her jewellery and, specifically, her prices!



I left my comments over at her blog and in the process think I really got to the (even if I say so myself) essence of this pricing problem that so many artisans seem to experience. So, I thought I'd best get it posted and get back to reviewing wonderful jewellery and handmade crafts!

"Am I a designer?" To me, that's the main question a handmaker needs to ask themselves when setting prices. Quite simply, when someone buys one of your pieces, are they paying for your style?

Is your beaded necklace (in the case of Gemma) a random collection of beads? Nope?! Didn't think so. So why price it like that? Why base the price on the cost of materials and the time taken to construct each one? What about the time taken and, more importantly, knowledge and flair required to research and dream up the creation?

Give the average person and bunch of beads and plenty of time and they'll come up with nothing worth selling - I know I wouldn't. So, you should be rewarding yourself for that. You're a designer first; a maker second.

Of course, if your style sucks then people won't pay for it. But, in that case, few people will want to buy it whatever the price. When was the last time you bought jewellery you didn't like just because it was cheap?

Handmakers should be confident that people will pay for their style and the prices should reflect that. I'm not saying rip people off, but they should cover the costs of doing business properly - not as a hobby. And, that applies to all crafts, not just jewellery.

Be aware that low prices set a low quality expectation. People generally expect to get what they pay for. Is this an offer too good to be true?

Finally, always remember that the web is your short-cut to the consumer. In the real world products are more often made and sold on to retailers (online or otherwise).

Sadly, retailers also have to make money. So, you must start with prices that can support retail from the outset. The extra margin is your reward for performing all the extra functions of marketing, sales processing, packaging, delivery, credit risk, etc - that your retailer would normally handle. And, you should never ever undercut your retailers - not if you value their business!

So come on folks, be bold and price accordingly and, above all, leave all modesty behind!

Back to school for jewellery designer

Not a new discovery (for me at least), but certainly a story worth a mention. 5 years ago, Claire Wood was a mild mannered 'suit' carving out a career in human resources. Thankfully, she came to her senses and jacked that in, so she could follow her dream of being a jewellery designer. At not inconsiderable financial risk (and hardship!) she went back to school and graduated with a first class honours degree in jewellery design 3 years later. She's now developing a successful range of contemporary pieces inspired by geometry and movement.

Claire makes all the pieces herself using traditional skills; soldering, hand-shaping, polishing. And, every piece is made to exacting standards. Each is inspected and re-finished after hallmarking - nothing is left to chance. She works in silver and gold using semi-precious stones.

Currently, the range includes earrings, bracelets and necklaces from around £35 to £125. But at pressies4princesses (the online gift store I manage - see this post for confession) we're big fans and so are our customers! So, we are sponsoring Claire to develop a new range in gold with diamond settings. And, I can tell you, the outlines received so far look fabulous!

Find out more at Claire Wood Jewellery (Claire's website). Alternatively, you can find her pieces to buy at the Designer Jewellery section at pressies4princesses.