[Jewelry making - Article 00833] - Re: [Orchid] PMC in general

[Elaine Luther]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

>         I just see it as a product that could potentially undercut the
>     experience and techniques that so many have worked very hard to
>     achieve. 

    Thank you for articulating this apparently common fear. 

    I don't really get this, personally. 

    Yes, metalsmithing is incredibly hard and takes forever to learn. 
    No one can take your learning away. 

    Some people take to metalsmithing like a duck to water and learn
    faster than others. 

    Some people don't have to work a day job for a living and can spend
    all their time on metalsmithing. 

    Life isn't fair.  Lots of people have different advantages. 

    Some people figure out clever ways to make cuff bracelets from sheet
    stock, pre cut from their supplier, and they get $200.00 for it. 

    Then Beth wrote: 

>     The point of this is that the PMC worker can potentially compete
>     successfully in the marketplace with relatively little effort.  I
>     think a lot of traditional metalsmiths resent this on some
>     (perhaps not totally acknowledged) level.  I don't like to admit it
>     myself, but I do. 

    Okay, now I get it.  Thank you for bringing that idea out in the
    open. 

    In my opinion, to make the most of PMC, one also needs some
    metalsmithing skills, ideally at least soldering.  So fear not, if
    they haven't learned to solder, they're not really competitive.  And
    if they have learned to solder, well, then they're becoming "one of
    us" aren't they? 

    But again, lots of people are clever and use various things to their
    advantage.  One jeweler I used to know would rail against the
    unfairness of life, someone he went to school with had married a
    woman who had a flair for marketing.  This other guy (a jeweler)
    became well known and successful while my friend toiled away,
    relatively unknown and unappreciated.  He complained about the
    disadvantages of not having spousal "free labor." 

    If PMC is a special or "unfair" advantage, it is only one of many. 

    Making money at selling handcrafted anything has a lot to do with
    being clever and quick, and finding the best possible ways to make
    things that people will want to buy, that don't take 35 hours each
    to make. 

Elaine
Elaine Luther
Metalsmith, Certified PMC Instructor
http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com (TM)
Hard to Find Tools for Metal Clay

____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________