[Jewelry making - Article 00169] - Re: [Orchid] [Biz talk] Ain't no biz

[Karen Christians]

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

    Metalwerx may not be selling jewelry on the net, but I do sell
    classes. Without the internet, Metalwerx would not be in business.
    Period. When people search for a jewelry class, they don't go to the
    Yellow Pages, they search on the internet.

    Last weekend, Metalwerx exhibited at CraftBoston. This is a very
    high end art jewelry, fine furniture, ceramics, glass, fibers, etc.
    show. It is an internationally juried show. I was very lucky to see
    Beth Rosengard attending and we shared a nice Thai dinner afterwards. 

    Our booth was slammed with people all wanting to know about the
    jewelry in our cases and the larger holloware and sculpture on the
    shelving. Because we are non-profit and underwritten by the Society
    of Arts and Crafts we were not able to sell any of the work. But we
    could sell classes, as that did not compete with other artists.
    Nearly 600 people came into our booth all excited that we taught
    classes in our their own back yard. 

    What was interesting was the body language of artists in selling. 

    Here is what I observed. 

    If you sit outside your booth and talk on the cell phone with a
    newspaper in your lap, you definitely won't sell a thing. Get off the
    chair and engage your customers. 

    Work at eye level is easier to see than work where you have to
    uncomfortably bend down. Crossing your arms over your chest makes you
    look hostile. Smile! 

    Artisans that sold their work on the internet had a picture of their
    home page enlarged and cards to take away. Questions I heard
    constantly was, "do you have a website"? These days, people want to
    experience the "gallery" setting from their chairs. I looked at one
    woman selling her work and went to her website. It looked just like
    her booth. Smart. 

    Www.kristinlora.com 

    A SNAG Board member was selling their hollowware. Most of the time
    he was talking to friends of mine who also sells hollowware. He was
    complaining that nobody even looked at his work. I walked over to his
    booth and four bright halogen lights were shining directly in peoples
    faces, not on the work. I suggested twisting them down and sure
    enough, people came by to look. If you leave your booth and talk to
    others, how can you make a sale? 

    One woman sold hats. I had formally purchased a hat from her at
    another show. This woman was a dynamo! She wore a different hat every
    two hours, she was uncanny in summing up immediately the colors that
    a woman wore and placed the perfect had on their head. She didn't ask
    her how she liked it, but rather her friends. She knew that it was
    more likely that her friends would talk the woman into the sale than
    her. 

    While many frumped and grumped from sluggish sales, I'm pretty sure
    that Denise made about $25k for the three days. Could have been more. 

    If you are not a people person, hire somebody that is. If you like
    to be behind the scenes, make a great website that visitors can come
    to. 

    Face it. Buying jewelry or craft for the 40 plus age group is weird.
    We aren't used to it. The next generation will be very used to
    computers and purchasing on the internet. 

-k

Karen Christians
M E T A L W E R X
50 Guinan St.
Waltham, MA  02451
Ph. 781/891-3854 Fax 3857
http://www.metalwerx.com/
Jewelry/Metalarts School & Cooperative Studio
____________________________________________________________________
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
____________________________________________________________________