[Jewelry making - Article 00753] - Re: [Orchid] Thoughts on the future of my trade

[Annabel]

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

    Beautiful post! I have a great respect for traditional goldsmithing
    and metalsmithing in general -- after all, it has been practiced by
    everyone from the Greeks to the Egyptians. 

    However, there is one thing that is missing from your post -- the
    consumer! The consumer has changed and is no longer as willing to
    pay for handcrafted items! Many cannot even tell if an item is
    handcrafted and a number of them that will pay large sums for an
    item of jewelry would rather look at the name than how it is made
    when factoring in price. Case in point, I went to a caster in my
    town to ask about the cost of casting something. She let it slip
    that most of the large jewelers cast their products overseas to keep
    costs down. 

    It is a shame and a pity, but people want to pay less for everything,
    including jewelry. Part of it is simply that the cost of living in
    general is high and people are looking to economize where they can. I
    can't fault them for this. This does, however, pose a dilemma for
    people who are just starting out in the business. Is it good business
    sense to spend hours making something whose labour no one will pay
    for, or, when the cost of labour is amortized out is barely above the
    minimum wage? I have conducted informal price surveys and the amount
    of money that people believe they should pay for a handstrung strand
    of pearls or for sterling silver earrings is shockingly low. I guess
    it is a compromise between doing something that I love but
    realistically understanding that the item I am providing is not a
    necessity that people need to survive and changing my business
    practices to fit that reality and having a job that provides a
    necessity such as, say, becoming an undertaker or mortician, and not
    enjoying my work.
____________________________________________________________________
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
____________________________________________________________________