[Jewelry making - Article 00968] - Re: [Orchid] How has it been for everybody else?

[Stephen Walker]

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    When we worry about how business is going, it is good to remember,
    as David Huffman wrote: 

>     Jewelry is a personal and emotional purchase. 

    It is not like food or shelter. Jewelry is a want, not a need. Our
    business cycles will be exaggerations of the overall economy. If we
    have a run of good years it is a big mistake to think that this will
    keep going forever. Likewise, if we have a down turn, it is not the
    end of the world for everybody. Just because consumers are spending
    less on jewelry does not mean that the butcher and baker are in
    nearly as much trouble as we might be. After last Christmas I heard
    on the news that consumer spending was up a small amount from the
    previous year. Since my sales were down a bit I found it very
    interesting because they said that the increase was due to an
    increase in electronics, which is easy for me to believe because that
    is where I spent my Christmas shopping dollars. 

    Our business is very vulnerable to shifts in fashion, taste, shifts
    in the levels of disposable income and competition from other ways
    people might spend their affluence. I wonder if I would have had the
    courage to choose this career 30 years ago if anyone had explained it
    to me how fickle our audience is. 

Stephen Walker
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