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Design Debt: How Much Do You Have?

Posted by learntobead on January 19, 2023

For most jewelry designers, the primary focus on their work is on creating pieces which are beautiful and desirable. The focus is on effectiveness. But as a business, you have to repeatedly ask yourself, But At What Cost? That is, you need to think about efficiencies in the design and production processes, if you are to make a sufficient profit and survive and thrive as a business.

Design Debt:
Something Serious Which Needs To Be Managed

In more jargoned, but eye-opening, language, things the jewelry designer can do to increase efficiency will also reduce what is called Design Debt.

Design Debt refers to all the inefficiencies in your design and production processes which add more time and effort to what you are trying to accomplish, as you are designing or producing any piece of jewelry. Design Debt continues to accumulate and increase as a project matures over time. Even after the designer has relinquished the project to the client, Design Debt will continue to accumulate if the designer fails to deal with it head on.

Design Debt includes things like…

  • Taking too much time to meet your goals
  • Having to do too much research or experimentation when figuring out how to proceed
  • Spending too much time thinking how to make a particular piece of jewelry unique or special for a certain client
  • Failure to adequately streamline the steps in the production process
  • Failure to match each step in production with the skill and pay level of the person doing it

Design Debt also includes all the good design concepts or solutions you skipped in order to complete your project on time. Design Debt includes all the additional time and effort you will have to make, should you have a backlog of projects which keep accumulating and accumulating as you are trying to finish the particular project you are now working on.

Some designers might approach the ever-accumulating Design Debt by cutting corners or relinquishing the project to the client prematurely. The designer might settle for a lower fee or less profitability. The designer might find that negative word-of-mouth is building too quickly with unsatisfied clients or demanding business stakeholders.

There are many sources of Design Debt, some very tangible, others less so. Examples of these sources of Design Debt include…

  • The designer relies on an overabundance of non-reusable materials, or too much variation in inventory, or, inconsistent styles and conventions, all difficult to maintain
  • The designer might start a project with assumptions, rather than research
  • The designer might not have sufficient time or budget to implement each choice and step with care
  • The designer might not have a full understanding of how each design element, form and component should best be arranged and interact within a particular composition
  • The designer might be working with a partner or assistant, with incomplete information passing hands, as each works on the project
  • The designer might not have a chance to test a design before its implementation or sale
  • The designer might not get the opportunity to find out what happens with a particular piece after it has left the studio and the client wears it
  • The designer might not have in place any formal or informal time and procedure for reflection and evaluation, in order to understand how various choices led to good or bad designs, or whether there is an improvement or degradation in the designer’s brand due to good or bad performance
  • The designer might rely on published patterns without the wherewithal to adapt or customize them, or otherwise approach unfamiliar situations

Ultimately, Design Debt is measured in how satisfied our clients are with the products we design, (also understood as revenues and profits) and how that satisfaction affects what is referred to as contagion — the spread of word of mouth and its positive or negative impacts on our brand and reputation (again, also understood as revenues and profits). Over time, Design Debt accumulates and becomes a great burden on any designer and design business.

Anything which unifies the design process and reduces variability in the numbers and types of choices we make as designers will help us tackle Design Debt.

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Thank you. I hope you found this article useful.

Also, check out my website (www.warrenfeldjewelry.com).

Enroll in my jewelry design and business of craft Video Tutorials online. Begin with my ORIENTATION TO BEADS & JEWELRY FINDINGS COURSE.

Follow my articles on Medium.com.

Subscribe to my Learn To Bead blog (https://blog.landofodds.com).

Visit Land of Odds online (https://www.landofodds.com)for all your jewelry making supplies.

Check out my Jewelry Making and Beadwork Kits.

Add your name to my email list.

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Other Articles of Interest by Warren Feld:

Saying Good-Bye! To Your Jewelry: A Rite Of Passage

The Jewelry Design Philosophy: Not Craft, Not Art, But Design

What Is Jewelry, Really?

The Jewelry Design Philosophy

Creativity: How Do You Get It? How Do You Enhance It?

Disciplinary Literacy and Fluency In Design

Becoming The Bead Artist and Jewelry Designer

5 Essential Questions Every Jewelry Designer Should Have An Answer For

Getting Started / Channeling Your Excitement

Getting Started / Developing Your Passion

Getting Started / Cultivating Your Practice

Becoming One With What Inspires You

Architectural Basics of Jewelry Design

Doubt / Self Doubt: Major Pitfalls For The Jewelry Designer

Techniques and Technologies: Knowing What To Do

Jewelry, Sex and Sexuality

Jewelry Making Materials: Knowing What To Do

Teaching Discplinary Literacy: Strategic Thinking In Jewelry Design

The Jewelry Designer’s Approach To Color

Point, Line, Plane, Shape, Form, Theme: Creating Something Out Of Nothing

The Jewelry Designer’s Path To Resonance

Jewelry Design Principles: Composing, Constructing, Manipulating

Jewelry Design Composition: Playing With Building Blocks Called Design Elements

Contemporary Jewelry Is Not A “Look” — It’s A Way Of Thinking

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CONQUERING THE CREATIVE MARKETPLACE: Between the Fickleness of Business and the Pursuit of Design

This guidebook is a must-have for anyone serious about making money selling jewelry. I share with you the kinds of things it takes to start your own jewelry business, run it, anticipate risks and rewards, and lead it to a level of success you feel is right for you, including
Getting Started, Financial Management, Product Development, Marketing, Selling, Resiliency, Professional Responsibilities.

Kindle

SO YOU WANT TO BE A JEWELRY DESIGNER
Merging Your Voice With Form

So You Want To Be A Jewelry Designer reinterprets how to apply techniques and modify art theories from the Jewelry Designer’s perspective. To go beyond craft, the jewelry designer needs to become literate in this discipline called Jewelry Design. Literacy means understanding how to answer the question: Why do some pieces of jewelry draw your attention, and others do not? How to develop the authentic, creative self, someone who is fluent, flexible and original. How to gain the necessary design skills and be able to apply them, whether the situation is familiar or not.

588pp, many images and diagrams Ebook , Kindle or Print formats

The Jewelry Journey Podcast
“Building Jewelry That Works: Why Jewelry Design Is Like Architecture”
Podcast, Part 1
Podcast, Part 2

PEARL KNOTTING…Warren’s Way
Easy. Simple. No tools. Anyone Can Do!

I developed a nontraditional technique which does not use tools because I found tools get in the way of tying good and well-positioned knots. I decided to bring two cords through the bead to minimize any negative effects resulting from the pearl rotating around the cord. I only have you glue one knot in the piece. I use a simple overhand knot which is easily centered. I developed a rule for choosing the thickness of your bead cord. I lay out different steps for starting and ending a piece, based on how you want to attach the piece to your clasp assembly.

184pp, many images and diagrams Ebook, Kindle or Print

SO YOU WANT TO DO CRAFT SHOWS

16 Lessons I Learned Doing Craft Shows

In this book, I discuss 16 lessons I learned, Including How To (1) Find, Evaluate and Select Craft Shows Right for You, (2) Determine a Set of Realistic Goals, (3) Compute a Simple Break-Even Analysis, (4) Develop Your Applications and Apply in the Smartest Ways, (5) Understand How Much Inventory to Bring, (6) Set Up and Present Both Yourself and Your Wares, (7) Best Promote and Operate Your Craft Show Business before, during and after the show.

198pp, many images and diagrams, Ebook, , Kindle or Print

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Posted in Art or Craft?, art theory, bead weaving, beads, beadwork, business of craft, craft shows, design management, design theory, Entrepreneurship, jewelry design, jewelry making, Learn To Bead, pearl knotting, professional development, wire and metal | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

To What Extent Should Business Concerns Influence Artistic and Jewelry Design Choices?

Posted by learntobead on June 6, 2020

Let Business Concerns Influence Your Artistic Choices

To what extent do (and should) business concerns influence the artistic choices bead and jewelry artists make?

I’d say, “A Lot!” But this isn’t what a lot of artists like to hear.

You have to market to audiences. You may have to standardize things to be able to make the same thing over and over again. You may have to work in a production mode and repeat making certain designs, rather than freely create and design anew each time. You have to price things so that they will sell, and you have to price things so that you can make a sufficient profit. You can’t undersell yourself, like offering discounts to family, friends and co-workers.

You have to conform to prevalent styles and colors and forms. You have to make things that will photograph well for sale online. You have to make things that local stores want and are willing to buy or put on consignment. You may end up with a lot of “one size fits all,” because producing too much variety in sizes, shapes, colors and sizes could overwhelm you financially.

You find that if you want to make your jewelry design into a successful business, you may have to compromise with yourself, your artistic drives and sensibilities. You may have to limit what you offer. In order to make that sale. In order to make a profit. And stay in business.

Business involves:
 — Putting your artwork on a sound cost/revenue footing
 — Developing market-driven strategies (as opposed to product-driven ones)
 — Pricing your pieces for sale
 — Implementing various selling strategies
 — Compromising artistic and design choices, in the interest of the business

Why Artists Fail In Business: Some Key Reasons

Over and over again, I have seen one jewelry artist after another fail as a business. The reasons repeat themselves as well.

1. A reluctance to learn how to conduct oneself as a business

2. Gets bored

3. A fear of marketing your own things

4. Trying to please all audiences

5. Doesn’t do homework on the competition

  1. A reluctance to learn how to conduct oneself as a business.

Many jewelry artists get so excited after selling their first piece, that they think they don’t have to get too involved with business principles. They understand their “business” as a “necklace-by-necklace” endeavor. Make something, sell it. Doesn’t matter what the price. Doesn’t matter to whom. Doesn’t matter if making the piece in the first place is in line with the resources you currently have to make the piece, or will drive you in debt in order to get those resources. All that matters is the count — the number of pieces you have sold.

Artists need to focus, instead of the count, on what’s called Velocity. You need to have in place sufficient strategies for keeping the money turning over at a constant rate. If you can’t maintain this rate, you go in the hole. You make something. You sell it. You reallocate the money you just made to reinvesting in more inventory, replacing the inventory you sold, evaluating the pros and cons of the sale that just happened, adjusting accordingly, and strategizing how to keep this velocity going at a constant, or ever-increasing, velocity or rate.

And artists need to keep good records, and implement good accounting principles.

2. Gets Bored.

People who get started are very excited. They’ve made a lot of pretty pieces, and someone has bought some of them. But then you need to leave your creative mode, and enter a production mode. You need to discipline yourself to make the same things over and over again, particularly in the first 2 or 3 years of your business. Many artists quickly lose interest.

3. A fear of marketing your own things

You won’t succeed without marketing. Marketing is more than advertising. It includes all forms of self-promotion. It includes doing research on your markets and market niches, how to reach them, how to get their attention, how to get them to translate this attention into needs and wants and desires, and how to get them to part with some money.

Many artists are shy about self-promotion. Time to train yourself, if this is you, to get over it.

4. Trying to please all audiences

When people get started, they are reluctant to use the “No” word. They want to please everyone. But when you get started, you can’t. It will put you out of business.

Let’s say you have some jewelry that is predominantly purple. Someone at work loves the jewelry, but asks if you can make it in red. If you don’t have an inventory of red beads, and will have to go out and buy them, it may make this sale foolish, from a business standpoint. You can’t buy just one bead at a time; you need to buy strands or packages of these beads.

When you start, you need to pursue a strategy of depth, rather than breadth. You want to buy a limited number of pieces, colors, sizes and shapes in large enough quantities to get adequate price breaks. So, initially, your designs will be limited, as well. You need to be able to say No!. No! to your family. No! to your friends. No! to the people you work with.

In my experience, such as the situation with red vs purple beads above, when you say No!, the potential customer tends to make a face. Pitiful. Angry. Frustrated. Sad. Pleading. If you can wait 60 seconds, in almost every case, the customer stops making this face, and says, “OK, I’ll take what you have in purple.” 60-seconds. That’s how long you have to wait without responding. Only 60-seconds before that person gives up and stops making the Face. It always amazes me, but so many jewelry artists can’t wait that 60 seconds.

And don’t give these people discounts. They’re already getting it cheaper, than if they bought the same piece in a store. One major way your business will get built up is word-of-mouth. You don’t want some of that information to include extremely low price expectations. If your stuck giving low prices, you will never be self-supporting in your business.

5. Doesn’t do homework on the competition

You need to understand how other jewelry artists you compete with function as a business.

How do they define their markets?
 How do they price things?
 What kinds of inventory do they carry? What kinds do they NOT carry?
 Where do they advertise? How do they promote themselves?
 How do they define their competitive advantage — that is, all the reasons people should buy from them, rather than from anyone else, like you?
 Where do they sell things — stores, shows, fairs, online, etc? What seems to work better for them?
 How do they figure out the best place — real or virtual — to link their product and product message to the customers most likely to need, want and buy their jewelry?

You can find a lot of this out by Googling. You can look for jewelry designers. Directories of jewelry designers. You can plug in a jewelry designer’s website, and see where they are listed, and who lists them.

Can I Make Money?

Some jewelry designers are only interested in selling the occasional piece. Others want to create a steady flow of some extra income. Still others want to be financially self-sufficient as a jewelry designer.

Whatever your personal goal and commitment, can you make money? The answer is YES… That is, if you are smart about it.

Your friends and relatives might tell you that jewelry design “Is not practical,” or a warning “Don’t quit your day job.”

I won’t lie to you. It’s tough. Requires commitment and perseverance. It requires some introverted skills and some extroverted skills. It requires managing a process that includes some creative elements and some business and administrative ones. But you can do it.

First, sit down and write down some do-able sets of goals for your business. Some sets of goals will be on the creative side; others on the business side.

One set of goals should answer the question: How are you going to manage the design process (from inspiration to aspiration to finished product to marketing and selling your products)?

Another set of these goals should answer the question: How are you going to maintain your cash flow throughout the whole year? After you start implementing your goals, at some point you should be able to ask a friend: Did I achieve my goals or not?

Second, organize your time. You need to spend a certain amount of time with creative activity. Another block of time on business, administrative and marketing activities. And a certain amount of time for reflection and evaluation and self-care. You need to maintain balance between the personal and the professional, and between the creative and the administrative.

Third, do not try to do too many different projects or work with too many different kinds of colors and parts at the same time — particularly in your first 3 years in business.

Fourth, do not go for roofs before setting foundations. Learn about materials and techniques in a developmental order. Things will make much more sense, and be easier to accomplish, this way as you advance your skills and endeavors.

Last, you can’t do everything by yourself. Find compatriots. Find a mentor. Share or coordinate some workloads. Be sure you structure in ways to be accountable and get feedback.

Other Articles of Interest by Warren Feld:

Should I Set Up My Craft Business On A Marketplace Online?

The Importance of Self-Promotion: Don’t Be Shy

Are You Prepared For When The Reporter Comes A-Calling?

A Fool-Proof Formula For Pricing And Selling Your Jewelry

Designer Connect Profile: Tony Perrin, Jewelry Designer

My Aunt Gert: Illustrating Some Lessons In Business Smarts

Copyrighting Your Pieces: Let’s Not Confuse The Moral With The Legal Issues

Naming Your Business / Naming Your Jewelry

Jewelry Making Materials: Knowing What To Do

To What Extent Should Business Concerns Influence Artistic and Jewelry Design Choices

How Creatives Can Successfully Survive In Business

Getting Started In Business: What You Do First To Make It Official

I hope you found this article useful. Be sure to click the CLAP HANDS icon at the bottom of this article.

Also, check out my website (www.warrenfeldjewelry.com).

Subscribe to my Learn To Bead blog (https://blog.landofodds.com).

Visit Land of Odds online (https://www.landofodds.com)for all your jewelry making supplies.

Enroll in my jewelry design and business of craft video tutorials online.

Add your name to my email list.

Posted in Stitch 'n Bitch | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

So You Want To Do Craft Shows… A Free Video Tutorial For You

Posted by learntobead on November 30, 2018


SO YOU WANT TO DO CRAFT SHOWS…

A Free Video Tutorial for You
by Warren Feld, Jewelry Designer
Land of Odds-Be Dazzled Beads
www.landofodds.com

PREVIEW

View the full video tutorial online (1 hour and 45 minutes). Found on top of home page of Land of Odds-Be Dazzled Beads.

In this class, I discuss critical choices jewelry designers need to make when doing craft shows.  
That means, understanding everything involved, and asking the right questions.

Learn How To…
…Find, Evaluate and Select Craft Shows Right For You
…Set Realistic Goals
…Compute a Simple Break-Even Analysis
…Best to Develop Your Applications and Apply
…Understand How Much Inventory To Bring
…Best Promote and Operate Your Craft Show Business

Doing craft shows is a wonderful experience.  
You can make a lot of money. 
You meet new people. 
You have new adventures.  
And you learn a lot about business and arts and crafts designing.

 

 

Jewelry design is a life lived with wearable art.

My name is Warren Feld.
And I am here to share some of my life experiences and insights with you about beading and jewelry making.

In this class, I discuss critical choices jewelry designers need to make when doing craft shows.

It is very important for anyone thinking about selling at craft shows, festivals, markets or similar settings to be smart about it.
That means, understanding everything involved, and asking the right questions.

 

“

Many years ago, I started my business with my partner Jayden, by doing flea markets and craft shows. Eventually, our business evolved into one store, then a second store, and an online business. But you never forget your roots.

You can learn a lot of good business tricks and find out about a lot of good resources if,… And that’s a big, “IF”! you know what you are doing. All too often, jewelry designers who want to do craft shows, have not done their homework. They have not researched and evaluated which shows to do, and which not to do. They have not figured out how best to set up their booths and displays. They are clueless about what inventory to make, and to bring, and how to price it. They are unprepared to promote, to market and to sell.

I developed this online tutorial to help prepare you for doing this kind of craft show homework.

I discuss:
– What information you need to gather
– How to set personal and business goals
– How to find, evaluate and select craftshows
– How best to promote and operate your business at these craftshows

In fact, I go over 16 lessons I learned for successfully doing craftshows.

There are two groups of lessons.

First, I discuss lessons about finding and selecting craft shows, and determining how well your business will fit in.

In the second group of lessons, I discuss how to promote and operate your business at these craft shows.

Last, I offer some final advice.

At the end of the tutorial, I have a list of resources for you to explore in more detail.

You will find the full 1 hour and 45 minute tutorial
at the top of the Land of Odds-Be Dazzled Beads website.


And yes, One More Thing…

We are so Excited to offer an Awesome, fun Enrichment-Travel opportunity!

Find out more about our YOUR WORLD OF JEWELRY MAKING CRUISE!

Join us, Miami – Cozumel, Mexico – Key West, Florida, an unforgettable, 5-nights, February 29th thru March 5th, 2020

Jewelry Making Classes, Skills Development, Design Seminars, Fun Get-Togethers and Mixers
Unwind, Make New Friends, Learn New Skills

Sponsored by Land of Odds-Be Dazzled Beads, Be Well Travel, and Celebrity Cruise Lines

Posted in Art or Craft?, bead weaving, beads, beadwork, business of craft, craft shows, cruises, enrichment travel, jewelry collecting, jewelry design, jewelry making, Learn To Bead, Resources, Stitch 'n Bitch, Travel Opportunities, Workshops, Classes, Exhibits | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

DESIGNER CONNECT: Tony Perrin of Lock & Key

Posted by learntobead on July 5, 2018

designerConnect-banner.jpg

DESIGNER CONNECT

Following The Bead

Be Dazzled Beads is a community of Creatives. Some people use our beads to make jewelry. Some to do mosaics. Some to adorn and embellish costumes. Some to enhance things like wine classes or drapes or mirrors or sweaters or cross stitch patterns. Some to embellish paintings or sculptures. Some actually use our beads in science experiments.
To us, all Creatives are Designers. That is, they make artistic and functional choices about how to incorporate the types of supplies we sell into personal visions. Some design for themselves. Some design for friends and family. Some design as a business.
It is not as much fun to work alone or isolated when you realize you are part of the larger Be Dazzled, Land of Odds and Nashville communities. We can learn a lot of insights from each other. We can support each other. It’s all about Connection!

DESIGNER CONNECT PROFILE

Tony Perrin, Jewelry Designer

Founder and Designer, Lock & Key (www.lockandkeydesign.com)

tony perrin Tony: “I feel lucky. Blessed. Is the world easy? No. I have multiple jobs. I am part of the gig economy. I am trying to succeed in a world that favors large businesses. But I am working creatively. Finding my groove. There are a lot of sleepless nights. It’s not easy to be a Professional-Creative. But I would not change things for the world.”

STARTING OUT

Tony: “I have memories of always being surrounded by the arts.”

Tony comes from a family that was very arts-oriented, and very supportive of him pursuing the arts and crafts — wherever it took him. His mom was a watercolorwatercolorist and oil painter. His father was a small business owner as well as a photographer. His dad’s dad sculpted for Lockheed, and even was a street dancer. He had a great uncle in New York who had a jewelry business, and Tony remembers, even at age 5 or 6, his uncle was always making jewelry for everyone in the family.

Starting out with gymnastics, Tony graduated to dancing (because his older sister danced). As a dancer, he had to teach himself to sew for costumes as his Mom was much better with a glue gun then a needle. He remembers his family always making things — food, pastry, lapidary, painting. He has fond memories of always being surrounded by art and creativity.

A family friend — Frank — taught him how to bead weave the summer he was ten. That Summer Frank and his wife exposed Tony to the artisan craft as well lapidary, jewelry festivals and much more.

As many designers are, Tony is self taught. tony2.jpg

Warren: “Do you think now, with all the creative things you are doing, that you, in some respects are re-creating your childhood?”

Tony: “Oh, for sure! I would say that’s part of a goal I have. I swore I would never be a teacher, but kids gravitate towards me like a moth to a flame. I realized it is because I am ‘5’. Kids get me, which should be the other way around. I am young at heart. I think trying to retain that naivete, that sort of blissful ignorance, especially as a Creative, just allows you to be a little more free with your aspirations. All of a sudden you grow up. It’s like Peter Pan. You lose that sense of innocence and exploration.”

Tony grew up in Los Angeles, spent some time pursuing a career in fashion in New York City. He moved back to Los Angeles for a few years. And then he came to Nashville with his wife who is a singer-songwriter. Today Tony wears several hats: Jewelry Designer, Dance Educator, Choreographer, Costume Designer, Jewelry Design Educator.

Tony: “Growing Up, I always thought I had to do one of these things, or the other. Before I moved to Nashville, jewelry making was just a hobby. When I moved here, one of my goals was how do I interweave all of the creative aspects that make me whole. I think a lot of creatives are creative in more than one discipline, as well. So I’m just trying to figure out how to make it one — one happy world.”

KEEPING GOING

tony3.jpg

Tony: “It’s been a curvy road.”

Warren:“Today, how would you describe what your jewelry making is like today?”

Tony:“I describe Lock & Key as a modern interpretation honoring an artisan craft. I am doing something that is ancient in terms of its art, as a form of communication and expression. The loom that I use is about 80 years old at this point, so it’s touched many different hands and many different stories. It’s definitely art jewelry. I describe what I do as boho eclecticism. Tribal influences, so I say it is international in feel. One of the main feedbacks I get is that it is fashion, but not trendy.”

Tony continues by describing his core consumer.

Tony:“My core consumer is 40+. Is a woman who appreciates artisan product, as well as pieces which make them feel modern with a sense of timeless appeal.”

Warren:“So, that first day you decided to become a business. What was that like?”

Tony’s first piece, done around 1998, was a custom piece. He was asked to design a piece for the head designer at Betsey Johnson, a New York fashion designer of clothes and accessories. It was a loomed piece, 1 1/2″ wide choker with multi-colored skulls in it and dangling feathers. He was excited, to say the least. He shared the story about making this one piece, which inspired other people to ask him to design a piece. People responded to his authenticity, and then it became all about the product.

When Tony moved to Nashville, he decided to focus on jewelry. It was part, what was he going to do to make a living? Part, honoring his childhood mentor who had made the Indian jewelry. Part passion about his loom, and gradually adding precious metal clay to the mix of media he relied on for his jewelry designs.

Tony:“And I still love it. Exhausted. Up until 3am getting production ready. Fingers chewed up by my drill bits. But I absolutely still love it!

CREATIVE PROCESS

In describing a typical piece, Tony begins with multi-media. This includes some loom bead weaving. He incorporates ball and chain. He likes to use a lot of color and texture, and mix matte and glossy. People respond well to his color sensibility. He uses many square shaped beads with round beads. With the beadwork, he includes a piece of metal, like a sculpted metal clay piece, either an integral part of the piece, or as a pendant. He often includes semi-precious stones. He likes to mix metal finishes. “Silver and Gold is the same conversation as Navy and Black. If it is well-balanced, it makes it very versatile.”

tony1.jpg

Tony mentions that, to understand his creative process, you have to go back to his goal of trying to meld together all his creative worlds. His creative process is not a linear process.

He cites as an example a very successful pair of earrings he designed which are precious metal clay based. But they were flowers, which is very specific seasonal iconography. When he started thinking about what he wanted to do the next season, he thought about how he could adapt these earrings. He mentioned that a lot of his pieces and his bead weaving have an almost art deco or art nouveau feeling to them. At the time, there was an Egyptian revival style that was prominent because of a world wide tour of Egyptian antiquities.

He reflected on his artistic style and the current revival trend, and asked himself: This was a successful piece. I’m thinking business here. How do I creatively then come up with the next version of it? So for the Fall holiday he explored hieroglyphics and lotus flower motifs. And for the following Spring, he thought about incorporating the scarab and other Egyptian touches.

Tony: “Things started to trend in High Fashion — snakes, beetles, insects, and bees. I have a scarab beetle tattooed on my back that is about 14″ long, the whole width of my back. It’s an icon that is important to me. It symbolizes the sun god Ra. It represents newness and renewal, and I have chronic back pain, so it was interconnected. It started from something that was authentic and meaningful for me, and which started to become a trend years after I had gotten my tattoo. I introduced this sculpt and coupled it with beadwork. People responded to it. Then I started thinking how to tie this all up from a business perspective. If we’re just creating ‘pretty’, who cares? You have to be able to speak to an audience.”

Tony discussed that jewelry artists have to be able to synergize the Business-Creative Mind. Both worlds need to be respected. It’s a hard business, he agrees. Artists have to monetize their creative output and still remain authentic to themselves.

Frequently, he asks himself: Do I need to break up with my design? It is OK, he indicated, to say Yes! His scarab beetle was a good idea, but some reality testing was in order. Was it too early before the trend? Would it be marketable?

On a second business level, Tony poses the question: Can I stand behind my product? Can the store that sells his pieces be able to stand behind his products?

A third major consideration is whether he has successfully differentiated his products from the mass market. That is one reason he incorporates glass seed beads and Czech beads within his work. Glass beads allow him to inject colors, where more mass market pieces are mostly metal and look very machine made.

MOVING ALONG

Tony reflects daily how art jewelry, as opposed to jewelry mass produced overseas, will be accepted by the general public.

Tony: “Art Jewelry is a term I use a lot in my marketing. At an apparel show, where people are used to mass produced jewelry, it’s starting to change in perception and openness to my product.”

Warren:“Is the world helping you change people’s perceptions, or do you feel you are out there alone doing this?”

Tony:“It will be four years in September since I started pursuing jewelry as a business. In my microworld, there has always been acceptance. My wife is very accepting, but at first was hesitant. I said, Let’s look at this year by year and see what happens. She gets it now.”

tony4.jpg

Warren:“And in the broader world?”

Tony:“In the macro level, I think it’s interesting. I think if you look at the culture today, with technology and oversaturation and what is happening in mass market production, and fast fashion, which is down-trending, I think you’re having baby boomers that are looking for nostalgia in terms of smaller, handmade jewelry.”

He sees that consumer demand for artisan jewelry is on the rise, but there are still nagging questions whether you can make a viable business out of it. Can you make enough product? Can you do it efficiently? Can you transition from a one person designer business to having staff make the pieces, as well? Meeting business goals gets more complicated if you are not going to produce your jewelry overseas.

One of his biggest challenges coming up is to create sufficient infrastructure — studio space, supplies and personnel — to be able to easily kick out 30 pieces of 20 styles on demand.

MARKETING

Tony is natural marketer, so I asked him what kinds of things he does to reach his target audience. The extent of things he does can provide a lot of ideas and insights for all of us.

Tony:“I always try to make marketing creative so I still enjoy it.”

Things Tony Does…
– trunk shows at boutiques

– pop-up shows

– collaborates with fashion designers and creates evening events with them

– collaborates with sculptors, painters, and ceramic artists to do a joint show, say in a donated gallery space

– always thinking about marketing ideas which merge his interests in dance, photography, jewelry and sculpture

– for people who have bought, or even collect, his jewelry, he sends snail-mail postcards, hand-written notes, email blasts, and personal emails

– posts images with captions on instagram

– follows other people’s instagram sites with whom he feels some kind of fit or opportunity

– sometimes buys ads, but has not seen a risk/reward balance from purchased ads

 – puts himself in situations where he can meet people, shake their hands, and talk with them

– develops relationships and works at maintaining them

– plays the “6-degrees of separation” game, identifying among his network of friends and relationships, who they know, who those people know, who those people of those people know, and so forth, to search for opportunities

– develops different strategies for returning customers as opposed to new customers

– visibly creates understanding that he sticks behind his products, and will immediately fix something if it breaks

– works with “influencers” — people who, usually in return for some free jewelry, will promote your products and show images of people wearing your products in social media sites

– looks for examples of “market-disrupters” — people who disrupt the market to be noticed — that he can be inspired by

– always carries samples with him

FUTURE PLANNING

Tony is a planner. He’s developed a clear vision for the future. Some of the things he wants to accomplish over the next 3 years include,

– maintaining a 60% year-over-year rate of growth

– grow from a more regional line to a national one

– focus on his infrastructure — studio space, materials and personnel — to keep production, shipping/receiving, website and marketing all on track

The big questions before him: How does he meet demand that he has created for his jewelry? How does he enhance his brand? How does he grow his ability to distribute his products?

He wants to contine to be flexible, given the instability of our economy. He wants to maintain his constant rate of sales so his business can sustain itself. He sees, perhaps, his line represented in a showroom. Perhaps he can gain more presence in museum shops.

Tony:“I have a lot of jobs right now and it would be great to have one focus. Or add a couple hours to the day.”

FINAL WORDS

Tony: “The true test of a good designer is an ability to sell it.”

Tony: “If I don’t get that gut feeling that my piece is going to be successful, it’s time to move on.”

Tony has had to create the opportunities himself. This has involved a lot of reflection, reality testing and planning. He has created a business plan framework with year over year goals for design, production, and distribution.

Tony:“In today’s world, you always have to be creating your own rules to stay on your feet. There is wide competition. Email inundation. I like the challenge but it’s exhausting.”

Tony: “Whether or not these jewelry artists work professionally, they need patrons, and that sometimes is even more important than being an artist.”

Tony wishes there was more of a connected jewelry designer/artist community in Nashville. It is still very fragmented. He finds that politics gets in the way of creative collaboration.

Tony:“There’s room at the table for everyone.”

He wants to call artists attention to the Arts and Business Council of Nashville, as well as their Periscope program. There are opportunities for networking, expanded contacts, a support system of creatives and their ideas, developing business skills and confidence.

Jewelry designers in Nashville still need a more functional, consistent support system, particularly to thread the business-needle better. Help to find studio space. Getting a small business loan. Finding an angel investor. Connecting to mentors. This is all important, and we need more organized systems to make these kinds of things easier, smoother and more reliable.

WHERE TO FIND TONY’S JEWELRY

Tony has taken a shot-gun approach to getting his jewelry out there. He does a little direct retail through an e-commerce site. He finds that this is a great billboard for him, but not a great selling outlet. He does art and craft festivals. He likes to focus on juried or well-curated shows in particular.

He wholesales his products to stores. Sometimes this involves cold-calling on stores, with product in hand. But he also does wholesale markets, like the Atlanta Gift and Apparel Market. In 2017, he did 2 shows there; in 2018, he plans on doing 4 shows. His pieces currently are in 28 stores in the United States and the Virgin Islands. He is looking at other wholesale markets. He is exploring options to lock in with a jewelry rep or a jewelry show room.

You may find Tony’s jewelry locally at:

Two Old Hippies (the Gulch)

401 12th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37203

Stacey Rhodes Boutique (Brentwood)

144 Franklin Rd Suite A, Brentwood, TN 37027

T. Nesbitt & Co. (Franklin)

2nd Ave N, Franklin, TN 37064

Kitty (East Nashville)

521 Gallatin Ave #2, Nashville, TN 37206

Tony has an eye out to find his ideal studio-showroom. He pictures it full of natural light. Small and intimate. A low wall separating the front from the studio. Inspirational and calming. A sancturary.

Find Tony online at www.lockandkeydesign.com








bedazzled-storeshot1.jpg

Visit BE DAZZLED BEADS online to view our classes, jewelry clinics, mini-lessons, and jewelry design discussion seminars!

Shop with us online at Land of Odds

Talk with us about Custom Jewelry Design
 and Jewelry Repairs

Visit us in Nashville

718 Thompson Lane, Ste 123

Nashville, TN 37204

615-292-0610
(across from 100 Oaks Mall where the Applebees Restaurant is)

 

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PRICING STRATEGIES

Posted by learntobead on August 1, 2014

PRICING STRATEGIES

Question:  How do you go about figuring how to price your jewelry?

 

template-pic1-whats-the-price

I teach a class on how to best price your jewelry, and I have posted a video tutorial on the CraftArtEdu.com website.
http://craftartedu.com/warren-feld-pricing-and-selling-your-jewelry-with-warren-feld

 

There are different kinds of pricing strategies.

(1) One type of pricing strategy is called “Keystoning”.

Keystoning is where you multiply your costs by 2, to arrive at your price.

 

If your costs were $10.00, then your price would be $20.00.

In the Jewelry Industry, you will hear a lot about Triple Keystoning.

Here you multiply your costs by 3. To arrive at your price.

So, if your costs were $10.00, then your price would be $30.00.

 

Keystoning works well if you are a boutique or gift store buying finished jewelry.    You would double (keystone) or triple (triple keystone) the costs of each finished piece.    Keystoning, as a pricing strategy, works well when you are dealing with finished goods.    The price is simply a multiple of the cost of the Parts.  Keystoning assumes that Labor and Overhead costs have already been factored into the cost of the jewelry.

Keystoning is a little more awkward to use, when dealing with manufacturing goods, like most jewelry designers do.    Keystoning tends to over-account for the cost of the Parts, but under-account for the costs of your Labor.

Keystoning works well for jewelry stores.    Keystoning does not work as well for jewelry designers.

 

 

(2) A second type of pricing strategy is called “What The Market Will Bear”

Here, based on your gut feelings, you would set the price at the highest price you think someone might pay for your piece.

You will see this strategy employed in a lot of tourist areas.   Businesses in tourist areas usually pay very high rental rates.   They are often dependent on making their money in a very defined seasonal timeframe.   They assume they will they will never see these customers again.

What happens with a What-The-Market-Will-Bear strategy…

At the point of sale, the customer goes away happy and the business goes away happy.   However, when the customer goes home,  and they show their purchase to their friends or family, or shop around, they begin to realize they overpaid.    So, over the medium and long term, the customer is no longer happy.   An unhappy customer can spread bad word of mouth.   While that particular customer may never revisit that tourist area.   They might convince their friends and families, who may plan a visit, to avoid that particular shop.

 

 

(3) The third type of strategy is called “Fair Value”.

This is what I teach in my class, and is detailed in my video tutorial. ‘.

A Fair Price is set, using a formula.   This formula requires that the artist manage all the types of costs she or he confronts, when setting a price.   These costs include,

COST OF PARTS (P)
LABOR (L)
OVERHEAD (O)

Overhead costs include things like rent, electricity, wear and tear on tools and equipment, telephone, travel – basically everything else associated with making and selling your jewelry.

 

The basic formula:

MINIMUM FAIR PRICE = (2 times P) + L + O
MAXIMUM FAIR PRICE = 1.5 times the Minimum Fair Price
You gather cost information on your Parts and your Labor.    You estimate the Overhead costs based on percentage of your Labor and Parts costs.
This gives you a range of fair prices from which to choose.

With a Fair Price, you may not get the highest amount you possibly can get, but you will get an amount that more than covers your costs, and leaves some money left over to spend on yourself, or re-invest in your business.

With a Fair Price, when you sell that piece of jewelry, both you and your customer go away happy.

And both of you stay happy.

 

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So You Want To Do Craft Shows…

Posted by learntobead on May 8, 2013

SO YOU WANT TO DO CRAFT SHOWS…
New CraftArtEdu.com Video Tutorial By Warren Feld
http://www.craftartedu.com/warren-feld-so-you-want-to-do-craft-shows

cf-naples-fair2
In this class, presented in 6 parts with 16 lessons, artist and businessman, Warren Feld, will fill you in on the ins and outs, the dos and the don’ts of selling at craft shows and fairs. Which are best for you, which may be a waste of your time. How to compute the revenue you must earn to justify participating in an event. This is a must see class for anyone thinking of entering the art and craft show world and will maximize your chances of success in these venues. 6 Broadcasts.
Price:
$30
Level: All Levels
Duration: 113:58

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Creative Mentoring – Andrea Rosenfeld

Posted by learntobead on October 25, 2011

Creative Mentoring – Andrea Rosenfeld

http://www.savorthesuccess.com/member/andrea-rosenfeld
http://openstudiocoach.com/
http://openstudiocoach.com/about-andrea-rosenfeld-coaching/articles/ 

 

I recently came across an article Andrea Rosenfeld had written about Creative Mentoring.   I thoroughly enjoyed the article, her extremely clear and accessible writing style, and was very interested in taking a little internet road trip to her website.

How do you take your passion and your art work to an audience?    I deal with this type of question from our students and customers almost every single day.

She offers many ideas and many services.     I suggest reading some of her articles are articles by “visiting creatives”  for special insights.

 

 

Articles to Grow By

 

~OPEN STUDIO~

 

 

Broadcast Louder helps Artists supercharge their creative business, starting them on the path to more visibility and more sales

Playing it Safe in Your Studio

Time Management Strategies That Play Nice

Marketing your Art Business using Retail and Wholesale Sneezers and Brand Advocates

10-Tips to Stay Organized and Increase Creativity

Are You Vibrating Yet? Here’s Why You Should Flip Your “ON” Switch

Are you an Expert or an Experimenter? Your sales strategy depends on your answer

Is Your Website Scaring People Away?

Visual Art Copyrighting Basics

Looking For Trade Show Stories For Upcoming Article (Interactive Article)

How to Create a Healthy Relationship With Money to Gain More

Dear Creative – DON’T do-it-yourself!

Should You Create Art or Create to Sell?

Court Your Stores

Dear Creative, Don’t Do It Yourself

Who is Your Customer, Who Are You?

Would You Dance? *how do you handle adversity?

Look Up! You’re Missing Life! 

Five Important Things to Know Before Doing a Store Show 

Collaboration is KEY to Artistic Growth 

Why We Need Art 

Tips a Jewelry Artist Can Use to Survive the Economy (or any Creative, for that matter) 

 

~VISITING CREATIVE AUTHORS~

WordPress for Beginners

WordPress for the Savvy

WordPress: Who’s Sharing Your Content and Increase Blog Performance

Ready for wholesale? Find out with this MUST-HAVE Checklist

Grow Your Business Through Charitable Giving

Tips For Running a Successful Small Business Publicity Campaign

Why You Should Join Local Art Associations to Increase Your Art Business

How to Bounce Back from Disappointment and Manage Your Thoughts

Jewelry Artist’s Guide to Diamond Buying (Part One- Beginner)

 

 

 

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Any Lessons To Learn From Nail Polish Trends?

Posted by learntobead on July 1, 2011

Any Lessons To Learn
From Nail Polish Trends?
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/06/30/why-did-wild-nail-polish-go-mainstream-10/nail-polish-is-the-new-lipstick

From Alllacqueredup.com

I read this article recently in the NYT, how women are using many more colors of nail polish than the traditional reds and pinks, and that the use of the full color palette of nail polish colors is getting very institutionalized and accepted.

The writer offers a point of view here for discussion.   Her main point, is that in an era of a weak economy, Chanel nail polish offers at a much lower cost the same cache as purchasing the more expensive Chanel perfume or clothing.   People still want status and the qualities associated with it.   They can not afford the top of the line items they used to.

Many of us are in the business of selling jewelry.     In this economy, how do we survive and thrive as a jewelry design business?   How do we preserve our brand — especially if most of what we sell is on the high-end side?

Is it enough to lower our price points?  Or must we also maintain very visible links and symbols to ideas of status, quality and sophistication?    And if we are to stand out from the pack, should we push things like out of the ordinary colors, textures and patterns?   How far do we push things like color, texture and pattern, to get noticed?   How far can we push these kinds of things, and still be accepted?

 

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On the more avant garde side with CoutureLab

Posted by learntobead on March 1, 2011

On the more avant garde side with
CoutureLab
www.couturelab.com

 

“Avant-garde” means at the leading edge or vanguard.   It is a label associated with jewelry that is more experimental, more innovative, cutting edge, resonant.    There is something witty or unusual.    There is something that gets people talking about the pieces.

CoutureLab represents an ever-evolving stable of avant-garde jewelry artists.    These are artists that other jewelry artists and galleries talk about.     They sell to upper end clients who want to associate with the hip and new and artsy.

While you may not personally want to be “avant-garde”, an exploration of these artists’ works is a great learning experience.    You learn about color combinations, balances and proportions.   You learn about new jewelry profiles — that is, how to shape jewelry relative to a person’s body.   You learn new techniques of construction, new materials, and combinations of these things.     Viewing the works of these kinds of jewelry artists is a great way to stimulate new ideas within your own work.

It is also useful to explore some more of the “details.”   Visit the CoutureLab website, and look at the prices for the artists’ works.    In your mind, determine how the price might relate to the amount of work and the cost of materials.   How much of the price might relate to the artists’ reputation?   In some cases, there seems to be a good match between price and object.   In other cases, some prices are rather low, and you wonder how the artist can make a living selling jewelry.    In the CoutureLab website, very few pieces, to me, seem over-priced.

Another good research -exploration is to examine the jewelry artist’s website.  How is it organized?   Is there an excessive use of black backgrounds and flash-utilities (allows movement, almost like watching a slide show or movie)?   A black background makes the text hard to read.   Flash looks fantastic, but the average customer’s computer often locks up, because of flash utilities.   Is the information organized well?   How about the navigation within the site?    Do the images sufficiently convey the details about the pieces?    How distinctive and memorable is the website?

Also do a Google search on the artists name.    Ideally, you would want the artist’s website to be at the top of the search list.    When it doesn’t appear at or very near the top, you need to wonder about the artist and their long term survival.

Here are some of my favorite artists currently represented by CoutureLab.

 

Alexis Mabille
www.alexismabille.com

COUTURELAB: “A graduate from the houses of Ungaro, Ricci and Dior, the couturier fuses his playful imagination and technical affinity to create a joyful and dynamic universe.  … What adventures will you attract in Alexis’s “Black Mischief” art-deco style necklace? Faceted black crystals – precisely graded in size – hang in delicate suspension, catching the light with your every move. Emerald and round-cut crystals, claw-set in lustrous white metal, form the complementing cluster at the top of the pendant; a silvery hoop with ornate hook clasp secures the piece around your neck.

Black Mischief Necklace by Alexis Mabille

 

Ann Demeulemeester
http://www.anndemeulemeester.be/

COUTURELAB: “As part of the Antwerp Six Anne Demeulemeester was responsible for creating a radical new vision for fashion in the 1980’s. The strong sense of innovation and creativity inherent in her work means her designs still look fresh and has a strong sense of appeal in current times.  …With this silver plates bracelet, Demeulemeester has taken simple polished silver rectangles and worked them in to a stunning piece which fuses armour and accessories, the silver plates have a brushed surface which has a subtly shiny finish. Each plate has a fluted edge linked by small polished silver circles and the bracelet fastens with an innovative clasp where one plate slots through another and is secured with an oversize clasp.”

Silver Plates Bracelet by Ann Demeulemeester

Bea Valdes
http://www.beavaldes.com/

COUTURELAB: “For Bea Valdes, each piece is an exploration and the material her muse – the sway of glass drops, the sheen and shine of metals, ribbon’s sensual embrace. Hand-made in the designer’s native Philippines, these painstakingly conceived and executed compositions stand testament to her philosophy of ‘Just one bead at a time’.   …A beautiful combination of grey, green and beige beads and crystals, Bea’s “Hannibal” Necklace adds luxurious glamor to your outfit. Beige enamel drops and a beautifully carved olive-green skull lie between the dazzling oval and pear-shaped crystals in shades of green and grey. The necklace is edged with tiny beads to ensure a dynamic display against your skin or outfit. A chain of brass-effect links closes the circle. Use the extender section to adjust the necklace’s length, then secure with the lobster-claw clasp. For a comfortable fit, the whole main assembly is backed with fabric-covered padding; flexible construction contours the design closely to your body. ”

Hannibal Necklace by Bea Valdes

COUTURELAB: “Select Bea’s asymmetrical Green “Sprawl” Necklace for its avant-garde charisma. Dazzling beads and crystals in shades of green and gold – round-cut, pear-shaped and tubular – group to form clusters connected through metal chains in brass-effect. Pear-shaped crystals hang suspended from the cluster. A chain of metal links closes the circle. Use the extender section to adjust the necklace’s length, then secure with the lobster-claw clasp. For a comfortable fit, the whole main assembly is backed with fabric-covered padding; flexible construction contours the design closely to your body.”

Green Sprawl Necklace by Bea Valdes

 

Christian Lacroix
http://www.christian-lacroix.fr/

 

COUTURELAB: “A beautiful display of subtle jewels and antique golds, this piece is mesmerizing. Featuring a rustic, sculpted finish, the gilded chain pendant is encrusted with amber-colored gems. Christian Lacroix gives equal value to his accessories and jewelry line: “I give a lot of care and attention to shoes, bags and jewelry because they define a posture, an overall look – they are as important to me as clothes”. It is this attention to detail that makes each one of his pieces, whether large or small, a handcrafted work of art.”

Antique Golden Necklace by Christian Lacroix

COUTURELAB: “Truly unique, this golden bejeweled piece is mesmerizing. Sculpted to a rustic finish with a chunky chain necklace, the gilded keepsake pendant is encrusted with amber-colored gems and stones and adorned with draping delicate chains.”

Keepsake Necklace by Christian Lacroix

Delfina Delettrez
http://delfinadelettrez.com/

COUTURELAB: “Italian designer Delfina Delettrez is renowned for her skill in melding unusual and exotic materials, to create character pieces full of charm. Infused with romance and the macabre, these pieces reflect your strength of personality and stylish wit.  Delfina’s Brown Wudu Necklace has a raw tribal quality to its design. Set on a rich black leather necklace is a woven bib section containing rows of grinning skulls carved from sumptuous silver and glossy bone with fringed soft suede tassels. The unique materials complement each other and create this edgy statement piece which will add a strong accent to the simplest of outfits.”

Brown Wudu Necklace by Delfina Delettrez

 

COUTURELAB:   “With these Orgy earrings she has created a range of sensual statement pieces guaranteed to be a talking point. Wear Delfina Delettrez’s Orgy Earrings for their bold statement. Each piece is carved from exquisite silver, featuring the couple in a different position. Combined with the risqué motifs, these stunning earrings create a heady mix of Kama Sutra and couture, making them extremely covetable.”

Orgy Earrings by Delfina Delettrez

 

Eileen Coyne
http://eileencoyne.com/

COUTURELAB: “Mesmerizing reflections and refractions, colorways and constructions, surfaces and textures – these are the raw materials for Eileen Coyne’s alchemy. From her London atelier, the designer creates jewelry, kaftans and precious-skin belts inspired by the aesthetics of ethnic peoples around the world. Make the primal charisma of Eileen’s agate and boar’s tusk necklace your own. Spherical and egg-shaped agate beads array with carved and contoured pillars of blackened silver to form seven interwoven ropes. At one end, these are fixed to an arc of boar’s tusk, its exquisitely grained surface festooned with textured silver. At the other end, the ropes attach to a rough-hewn silver ingot which hooks onto the tusk to close the circle around your neck.”

Agate & Boars Tusk Necklace by Eileen Coyne

Erickson Beamon
http://www.ericksonbeamon.com/

COUTURELAB: “Erickson Beamon’s eclectic take on costume jewelry makes their pieces a must have for the fashion cognoscenti. They effortlessly mix materials to create stunning statement pieces which enhance any outfit. Their designs reference everything from current style to Bedouin souks ensuring each has a rich individual charm.  Choose Erickson Beamon’s eye-catching Gold Body Harness for its striking allure. The chain of plated base metal links is beautifully crafted to wrap delicately around your body, adding instant charisma to your look. The antique gold effect adds a luxurious shine and makes this an extremely covetable piece.”

Gold Body Harness by Erickson Beamon

Fernando Jorge
http://fernandojorge.co.uk

COUTURELAB: “Taking inspiration from the rich and varied concepts of body, gender and sexuality found in the culture of his home country, Brazilian-born Fernando Jorge exploits the blurry crossover between stereotypes and identity. His designs focus on Brazil’s association with sensuality, perpetuated through ‘the foreign eye’, the one that registers only what is different. The results are his elegant and ambiguously provocative pieces, translating the latent sensuality associated with his vibrant country.  Add sensuality and luster to your look with Fernando Jorge’s Fluid Neckpiece. The fluid 18 carat yellow gold chains delicately drape around six bespoke milky quartz in stunning asymmetry. This neckpiece beautifully sprawls over your body with its exquisite long gold chains.”

Fluid Necklace by Fernando Jorge

 

Lotus Arts De Vivre
http://www.lotusartsdevivre.com


COUTURELAB: “Into your life, Lotus Arts de Vivre brings objects of outlandish beauty inspired by the flora, fauna and legends of south-east Asia. Rather than mass produced to meet a pre-prepared design, each piece is hand-crafted in Thailand to observe and enhance the unique forms and traits of the natural materials that comprise it. Fabulous sea shells and coral, rare animal skins, hulks of ancient wood, jungle seed pods, precious and semi-precious gems – no two examples exactly alike – are honed and combined to make jewelry, accessories and home-wares beyond compare. Machine working is minimal. Instead, teams of artisans deploy traditional decorative skills – all but extinct beyond the region – to invest each creation with timeless fascination and eternal value.   Wrap your wrist in the electrifying embrace of Lotus Arts de Vivre’s dragon bracelet. Sections of precious ebony wood, and silver rings plated with radiant 9K rose gold and encrusted with rubies, interface to form this spectacular circuit; silver is hand carved and coated with gold to form the fantastical creature’s head. Elastic wire, invisibly threaded through the centre of the piece, allows it to flex for an exact and comfortable fit.”

Dragon Bracelet by Lotus Arts De Vivre

 

 

Vicente Gracia
http://vicentegraciajoyas.com/

COUTURELAB: “Own for yourself the transcendent charisma of jewels by Spain’s Vicente Gracia. Through his work, this multi-award winning designer seeks to re-engender the original symbolic meanings of gemstones as a bridge to the divine. Vicente’s native city, Valencia – its ancient traditions, myths and environs – and metaphysical sources, including sacred literature and symbolic art, are his inspirations. Ranked by Vogue as one of the world’s 20 most prestigious jewellers, Vicente conjures investment pieces that radiate an exquisite joy. Each of his creations for CoutureLab is a unique one-off.   Vicente’s “Ascenso Celestial” (“Heavenly Ascent”) necklace is set to guild you with a unique charisma. Coursing your collar is a dense and flexing mesh of fine silver links gathered at each end into shimmering cups. Across this lattice, four fantastical birds are exquisitely carved from sterling silver, embellished with rose, black and white enamel, and pave-set with sparkling diamond accents. Scattered across and trailing beneath are ribbons of feathers carved from 24K, 18K and 9K gold and silver, each textured section fluidly linked to the next to conjure a multi-toned play of light. A blackened silver chain with simple hook clasp completes the sublime effect. ”

Ascenso Celestial Necklace by Vicente Gracia

 

Walid
http://www.walid-atallah.com/

COUTURELAB: “Walid’s accessories combine his extensive fashion knowledge and love of history with the best in vintage and unusual materials. This wonderful statement necklace combines antique gold fringing, with dark wooden beads and sparkling citrine teardrops. The result is a heady mix of rich gold colours and textures which will inject some statement style into any outfit. the ingenious combination of vintage materials and modern design give this piece a timeless quality and make it one to treasure.”

Chunky Citrine Necklace by Walid

 

COUTURELAB: “A fabulous arrangement of antique gold passementerie, antique carved wooden beads and faceted tiger’s eye teardrops make this necklace a truly unique piece. Hand finished it fastens with a mother of pearl and Swarovski encrusted box clasp.”

Chunky Tiger's Eye Necklace by Walid

 

COUTURELAB: ” Inspired by antique garments, interiors and art, the designer produces one-off pieces that evoke the past while electrifying the present. Let Walid’s Silver and Gold Lattice necklace swathe you in its scintillating embrace. White-metal curb chains, backed with fabric for a comfortable fit, form the vertical supports for strings of faceted and globular beads and rope-style links. Coursing your body in a series of scintillating silvery and golden crescents, these converge above your navel to sculptural effect. To put the piece on, simply slip your arms into the armholes and tie the waist chain behind your back.”

Silver & Gold Lattice Necklace by Walid

 

COUTURELAB: “Project beauty and mystery in Walid’s “Sanctum” necklace. A broad satin band encrusted with 19th-century gunmetal beads wraps comfortably around your neck. Joining the ends are fascinating perforated crochet ribbons, from which chains of smoky metallic beads cascade low over your body, catching the light with your every movement.   Formed only from vintage materials, this piece may contain signs of age or wear. These are to be seen as unique memorials rather than flaws.”

SANCTUM NECKLACE by WALID

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THE DESIGNERS’ GAZETTE, Fall 2010

Posted by learntobead on November 10, 2010

Read the current issue of:

THE DESIGNERS GAZETTE
Fall, 2010

http://www.warrenfeldjewelry.com/pdf/fg111510/fall2010pdf.pdf

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BUSINESS AND JEWELRY ART

Posted by learntobead on April 27, 2010

Business and Jewelry Art

To what extent do (and should) business concerns influence the artistic choices bead and jewelry artists make?

I’d say “A Lot!”  But this isn’t what a lot of artists like to hear.

You have to market to audiences.   You may have to standardize things to be able to make the same thing over and over again.   You may have to work in a production mode and repeat making certain designs, rather than freely create and design anew each time.   You have to price things so that they will sell, and you have to price things so that you can make a sufficient profit.    You can’t undersell yourself, like offering discounts to family, friends and co-workers.

You have to conform to prevalent styles and colors and forms.    You have to make things that will photograph well for sale online.     You have to make things that local stores want and are willing to buy or put on consignment.    You may end up with a lot of “one size fits all.”

You find that if you want to make your jewelry design into a successful business, you may have to compromise with yourself, your artistic drives and sensibilities.    You may have to limit what you offer.    In order to make that sale.   In order to make a profit.   And stay in business.

Business involves:
– Putting your artwork on a sound cost/revenue footing
– Developing market-driven strategies (as opposed to product-driven ones)
– Pricing your pieces for sale
– Implementing various selling strategies
– Compromising artistic and design choices, in the interest of the business

Over and over again, I have seen one jewelry artist after another fail as a business.    The reasons repeat themselves as well.

1. A reluctance to learn how to conduct oneself as a business.    

Many jewelry artists get so excited after selling their first piece, that they think they don’t have to get too involved with business principles.      They understand their “business” as a “necklace-by-necklace” endeavor.   Make something, sell it.   Doesn’t matter what the price.   Doesn’t matter to whom.  Doesn’t matter if making the piece in the first place is in line with the resources you currently have to make the piece, or will drive you in debt in order to get those resources.

Artists need to focus on what’s called “Velocity”.   You need to have in place sufficient strategies for keeping the money turning over at a constant rate.   If you can’t maintain this rate, you  go in the hole.    You make something.  You sell it.  You reallocate the money you just made to reinvesting in more inventory, replacing the inventory you sold, evaluating the pros and cons of the sale that just happened, adjusting accordingly, and strategizing how to keep this velocity going at a constant, or ever-increasing, velocity.

And artists need to keep good records, and implement good accounting principles.

2.   Gets Bored.

People who get started are very excited.   They’ve made a lot of pretty pieces, and someone has bought some of them.    But then you need to leave your creative mode, and enter a production mode.   You need to discipline yourself to make the same things over and over again.   Many artists quickly lose interest.

3.  A fear of marketing your own things

You won’t succeed without marketing.   Marketing is more than advertising.  It includes all forms of self-promotion.  It includes doing research on your markets and market niches, how to reach them, how to get their attention, how to get them to translate this attention into needs and wants and desires, and how to get them to part with some money.    

Many artists are shy about self-promotion.    Time to train yourself, if this is you, to get over it.

4.  Trying to please all audiences

When people get started, they are reluctant to use the “No” word.    They want to please everyone.     But when you get started, you can’t.    It will put you out of business.

Let’s say you have some jewelry that is predominantly purple.   Someone at work loves the jewelry, but asks if you can make it in red.     If you don’t have an inventory of red beads, and will have to go out and buy them, it may make this sale foolish, from a business standpoint.   You can’t buy just one bead at a time; you need to buy strands or packages of these beads.   

When you start, you need to pursue a strategy of depth, rather than breadth.   You want to buy a limited number of pieces in large quantities to get adequate price breaks.   So, initially, your designs will be limited, as well.     You need to be able to say No.    No  to your family.  No to your friends.  No to the people you work with.

In my experience, such as the situation with red vs purple beads above, when you say No, the potential customer tends to make a face.     Pitiful.   Angry.   Frustrated.    Sad.   Pleading.      If you can wait 60 seconds, in almost every case, the customer stops making this face, and says, “OK, I’ll take what you have in purple.”      But so many jewelry artists can’t wait that 60 seconds.

And don’t give these people discounts.    They’re already getting it cheaper, than if they bought the same piece in a store.    One major way your business will get built up is word-of-mouth.   You don’t want some of that information to include extremely low price expecations that will never be self-supporting in your business.

5.  Doesn’t do homework on the competition

You need to understand how other jewelry artists you compete with function as a business.

How do they define their markets?
How do they price things?
What kinds of inventory do they carry?     What kinds do they NOT carry?
Where do they advertise?   How do they promote themselves?
How do they define their competitive advantage — that is, all the reasons people should buy from them, rather than from anyone else, like you?
Where do they sell things — stores, shows, fairs, online, etc?      What seems to work better for them?

You can find a lot of this out by Googling.     You can look for jewelry designers.  Directories of jewelry designers.    You can plug in a jewelry designer’s website, and see where they are listed, and who lists them.

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Naming Your Business

Posted by learntobead on April 28, 2009

NAMING YOUR BUSINESS
What on earth do you think you would buy from The Flan Corporation?

Flan? The Spanish kind or the Mexican version?

Flans? Whatever they are – automotive parts?

Franny-Lisa-Alicia-Nancy kind of stuff?

Would you ever buy a Swarovski necklace of glass pearls, crystallized elements, 14KT gold clasp and real faceted emeralds from The Flan Corporation?

The Flan Corporation is a Chinese company that sells handcrafted, beadwoven jewelry. I don’t know what “Flan” means in Chinese, but, here in the US, it’s not a word that would immediately make me salivate about handcrafted, beadwoven jewelry.

It’s really difficult to pick a business name. It’s harder than naming your child. It’s harder than naming your dog. I’ve tried many times with varying degrees of success. And the first business name you pick might seem great and work great at the beginning, but will it evolve with your business as well? Maybe yes, maybe not. What’s important is not only how good your business name sounds, and how appealing it is today, but also how adaptable it is over time, as you grow or change your business.

I can’t claim 100% success with my tries at naming a business. Take “Land of Odds.” This has been my best name-selection to date, but it hasn’t been perfect.

I came up with that name 30 years ago for a hobbyist type business, where I refinished antique lamps, and some other antiques, for people. When James and I started our jewelry, beads and gifts business, I thought that Land of Odds would be good for that, as well. The name “Land of Odds” always gets such great responses from people. And it is memorable.

As our business grew and grew, Land of Odds – the name – grew with it. We added more handcrafted jewelry, unusual greeting cards, some neat clothing, collectible lines. The name still worked.

Then our business hit a wall. We were located downtown, and the city of Nashville took away 6,000 parking spaces within an 18 month period of time. The city had renovated this downtown historic district, and for various reasons, cars and parking got in the way of continued development. Our business dropped precipitously. I had to put us into Chapter 11 for awhile. James and I dissolved our business partnership, and we put most of the assets in a new business for him that we called Be Dazzled, and we put most of the liabilities under the Land of Odds name.

Now we were functioning with two names used to describe similar businesses that emphasized unusual, often hand-crafted jewelry, gifts, collectibles, gourmet foods, posters, clothing, and beads and jewelry findings.

I shut the physical Land of Odds store down, and continued the business as an internet company – http://www.landofodds.com . The online company was still called Land of Odds. At first, I put all our merchandise online – beads, jewelry, gifts, clothing, posters and gourmet food. Only two categories did well – beads and posters. I slowly began narrowing our focus to beads and posters, and eventually beads only.

As an online entity, we needed to get top placements in search engines in terms of key words like beads and jewelry findings. Search engine robots that indexed a business name with the words beads and/or jewelry findings in the name, would automatically assign it a higher ranking for those terms. A better online name would have been Beads At Land Of Odds or Land of Odds Beads.

“Land of Odds” was still a name liked by all, but it no longer had the same strong association with beads and posters, and then with beads only. The business grew quickly online, and “Land of Odds” began to have a strong “brand” following. But again, no longer the most strategic business name, given what I was doing now.

“Be Dazzled” was another popular name. The image James had for this business was jewelry that was hand made and wowed people. The business faltered, however. We got rid of most of the merchandise, turned Be Dazzled into a bead store, and eventually recombined Land of Odds and Be Dazzled. At the time we recombined them, both had strong brand identities, so we kept both names. We managed the physical store called Be Dazzled separately from Land of Odds – the online store. When Be Dazzled became all “beads”, I added the word “BEADS” everytime I referred to Be Dazzled — “Be Dazzled Beads” — , from our stationery to answering the phone to setting up its website — www.bedazzledbeads.com .

In the bead business, there are many variations on the name “Beadazzled”. Most people, even regular customers who visit the shop everyday, think that’s our name. We were lucky that Be Dazzled/jewelry morphed so well into Be Dazzled/beads. But we would have been better off if we had worked “beads” into the name somehow. There are a couple of small chain operations called “Beadazzled.” For awhile, someone opened up a bead store in Nashville called “Beadazzled”. There’s always some confusion for and with our shop name.

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