[Jewelry making - Article 00795] - Re: [Orchid] Pricing those custom waxes

[John Donivan]

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    Well it looks like I'm the bad guy on this one. That's ok, I'm
    smiling. Often, disagreement is more useful than agreement. Long
    ago, someone told me, "The day I started being successful was the day
    I decided to quit building monuments." Anyone whose troubled to look
    at my work might have noticed a gold statue of liberty. That's a
    monument (though it was an order - presold), and yes, it took a good
    week of waxwork. But that's not what this thread is about. The
    original question, and still the question is, in essence, "How can I
    make a living doing waxes, and keep my customers in a competitive
    business, and thrive." Yes, you can charge someone $2000 for a wax,
    and more power to you. Are they going to come back? Not if everyone
    else, and there is always someone else, is charging $500 for the
    same work. I never mention quality because we assume that. I'll use
    one more example from here. Margie Mersky mentioned doing a cluster
    ring in 8 hours, and I said much less. One reason I said that is
    because it's not a wax job to begin with - knowing when to wax and
    when to not is 1/2 the battle. I would build the top, and the shank,
    in wax (or not), and fabricate the rest. Why? 1) I can use drawn wire
    for prongs - greatly superior. 2) I don't have to try to polish all
    those cast wires and keep them looking like wire 3) I can polish it
    on the inside before it's assembled, and 4) It's WAY easier. The
    point being that it's not just speed or efficiency or carving skill,
    it's knowing the best way to do a given job. Making a cluster like
    this is not just faster and more profitable, it's also a superior job
    - a finer piece of jewelry. What I'm saying is many people, some that
    I deal with, try to wax everything. Someone wanted to wax this logo
    done in twisted wire, like a western rope thing. I said, "Jeez, just
    get some twisted wire and loop it around." 20 minutes, and a real
    twist, instead of an hour, and a better-or-worse carved twist. Again,
    easier AND a better piece of jewelry. There ARE people who do
    extraordinary work. I've seen 100 people who do way more
    extraordinary work than my own. I'll tell you, they know who they
    are. Most people, though, have their work in a showcase right next to
    someone elses, and it comes down to an art versus cost thing. "Do I
    really like this three times as much because that's the cost?" "Does
    it even LOOK like three times the piece of jewelry?" It's not about
    monuments, it's about making a living. Building monuments is another
    thread. 

http://www.donivanandmaggiora.com
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