[Jewelry making - Article 01674] - Re: [Orchid] Comments from adults at shows

[David Phelps]

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Dear Frustrated and Tired Grace,

>     But you're right - I am tired of working for 50 cents an hour -- I
>     just don't know how to make the leap.

    I met a man named David Geller a few years ago. He asked me how much
    I charge to make a shadow band. I told him, and he chuckled and said
    "You're selling yourself too cheaply." He told me I should be
    charging three times what I was getting. I thought to myself, "Yeah.
    Right. In your world maybe, but here on Earth, my customers would
    laugh at me if I quoted that much." 

    After thinking about it, I decided to give it a try. I raised my
    labor rate by $15 an hour. Guess what? Nobody even noticed. I raised
    it again, this time by $25 an hour. Still, not even a snicker. Now I
    charge around $150 an hour and I only get a few more whiners than I
    used to get at $35 an hour. Most of the whiners grumble a bit but
    still have me do their work. At least 10% of your customer's should
    think you charge too much, imho. Don't be afraid to let the
    cheap-skates walk. Most of them are more trouble than they're worth
    anyhow. 

    I'll bet that you are afraid to raise your prices because you don't
    have confidence enough in your work. That was my problem. I have
    found that I have even more credibility with my customers now than I
    did before, simply because they have the perception that my time is
    expensive and it must be worth what I ask for or I wouldn't be asking
    for it. It took a while for my confidence to build, but now I do too. 


    As far as being next to someone selling $20 earrings, if your fears
    were true, there would be no jewelry stores left in America. Walmart,
    Target and Cracker Jack would have taken us all out years ago. You
    might find that if your prices are substantially more than your
    neighbor's, your customers may decide that your jewelry is
    substantially more desireable. It works for Rolex and Tiffany's. Have
    confidence in your work, and charge accordingly. 

    Contrary to the conception held by most jewelry artists that I know,
    people do need jewelry, even more than flush toilets. I use as proof
    the fact that jewelry has been around since the dawn of mankind,
    about as long as fire, but indoor plumbing as we know it was new in
    the twentieth century (except maybe for the Roman aquaducts and
    baths, if you want to call that indoor plumbing). Surely if plumbing
    was a great necessity of mankind, it would have been invented long
    before the luxury of jewelry, no? This is of little comfort if the
    water on your bathroom floor is 2 inches deep and rising, but don't
    be fooled into thinking that what you create has value only as a
    want and not as a need. 

    You only have so many minutes on this Earth. Each one is unique and
    will never be repeated so you have to decide what they are worth to
    you. That is what we are talking about after all, isn't it? The
    dollar value of the irreplaceable minutes of your life. I sell mine
    for about $2.50 each. Sounds cheap, doesn't it? 

    Take a look at David Geller's Blue Book. That will give you an idea
    of what your time is worth. Charge enough for your work to make it
    fun and be proud of what you do. Your craft predates plumbing by
    thousands of years. And remember, if you don't get the wince, you
    didn't price it high enough. 

Dave (Tired, but Smiling)
Thanks to David Geller and his little Blue Book. My hero.
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