[Jewelry making - Article 00284] - Re: [Orchid] Truth or dare

[Poppy Vincent]

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    I just wanted to throw my 2 cents into the truth or dare and add a
    couple of suggestions; Ive been doing jewelry since 1974.  My works
    gone from st uff I would hate to be associated with to work Im quite
    proud of.  2 years a go I moved out of the basement and got a studio
    in our backyard which has made me much more productive, happy and
    credible, I think.  Ive always been ve ry fortunate to have my
    husband supporting my habit.  I supplemented by teaching for 10
    years.  Most all of my income went into tools, equipment, materials
    and then my studio.  Now all of those things are paid for, I m
    finally making a profit.  I do a lot of custom work and have
    established a good reputation as a skilled jewelry artist.  So it
    seems like I always h ave enough work to keep me busy.  The last 3
    years I think I could finally li ve on my jewelry income if I had to.
     Maybe not well but I would still be al ive J  But this has been a
    tough year for me too. Last year I didnt get in 2 shows I was
    counting on and made only about half as much as I usually do at the
    ones I did.  Ive had 3 people back out of custom work, I was count
    ing on.  (Now that will teach me to procrastinate.)  In fact Ive
    decided t hat Im going to charge a $50 consultation/design fee that
    will go towards the cost of the custom piece, yet be non-refundable
    should they decide to bac k out for whatever reason.  Just about the
    time I get discouraged though, someone will call and ask if they can
    come by because they need a gift. There is one thing that Ive done
    with my jewelry though that has reall y enhanced my life and might
    really help some of you at hard times.  Its called bartering.  I am
    the Barter Queen.  I have been able to get things I couldnt afford,
    or wanted by trading.  So if you cant Sell your jewelry, trade it.  I
    have traded for the following things ie;  All the a rt in my house,
    my furniture reupholstered, hand sewn maternity clothes, hav ing my
    taxes done, my house cleaned, painting lessons, piano lessons, voice
    lessons and believe it or not even the birth of one of my boys! 
    Actually it wasnt for jewelry.  I calligraphied the certificates and
    illustrated a brochure for a Midwife Association in Texas, in trade
    for having a midwif e deliver my son.  In fact Im going to start
    having some kid start teach ing me Photoshop next week in trade for a
    necklace.  Ive also got someone redoing my website for jewelry.  I
    mean this doesnt even begin to list everything Ive traded for.  So
    get creative.  If you have a customer w ho likes your work and cant
    afford it.  Find out what they do and see if you can use their
    product or services and see if theyll like to trade.  Th at way
    everyone comes out ahead.  One other little bit of info.  A friend of
    mine is a painter and she turned me on to a book that has been
    incredibly inspiring.  I can hardly put it down.  Its called The
    Mystery of Ma king It by Jack White.  He is a painter that has gone
    from selling a $10 painting in 1991 to him and his wife sold over 3
    million dollars worth of paintings last year!  And that was after the
    galleries took half! The wh ole book is about how to sell your
    artwork.  Even though hes a painter, everything Ive read I can apply
    to selling my jewelry.  He also has a new one out called the Magic of
    Selling Art which Im going to borrow as soon as Im done with this
    one.  It has really lit a fire under me to get to work!  I must say
    the book is huge.  Its an E-book so its in a note book and is about 2
    inches thick.  Anyway my girlfriend has used many of his tactics in
    shows recently and her sales definitely increased.  Total disclaimer
    here, I just wanted to share.  The website for the book is www 
senkarik.com

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