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Designing Your Customers’ Jewelry Shopping Experience

by Karen Wolffis.

Captivate Your Customers

One of my best ideas came from seeing another artist demonstrate a painting technique.  She always drew a crowd and her sales were phenomenal.

What makes an art demonstration work?

Customers like to see that what they are purchasing is actually made by the artist and not by someone in China, and it shows the artwork evolving before their eyes, enticing them to buy at that moment.

As many artists know, once a customer leaves your booth, they rarely return, so it’s so important to keep them looking!

After seeing how the artist’s captivated audience responded to her painting demonstration, I thought “how can I implement this at an art fair in my medium which is lampwork beaded jewelry?”

First, I had to get permission from the events coordinator. They in turn had to assign me a large enough space, with electricity, so I could set up a torch along with an oxygen concentrator.

The day of the fair, I made a sign which told my customers when I would be doing the demo, usually twice a day for about 1/2 hour.

This, along with a display of Lark Books “1,000 Glass Beads”, where I am a featured glass bead artist, was enough to boost my sales above average.

Most people had no idea that I actually make each bead, but then to see it demonstrated helped them to appreciate the process and artistry.

Keep Your Jewelry Fresh

Because I do many of the same art fairs year after year, I see many returning customers wondering what I have that is “new this year”.

It is so important as an artist to keep your designs new, not only for the customer, but for yourself as a designer.

Keep a “design notebook” with you and draw your ideas on paper so you don’t forget.

I frequently get my ideas on walks, browsing art galleries, and seeing what other artists are doing online. Do not copy! Just get inspiration and unleash your own “inner artist” into your new work.

People will notice, and your work will sell.

Here is an example from my own line of jewelry:

My best sellers (for ten years) have been large silver and bead pendant slides. I keep the same shapes: spiral, diamond and square, but change the beads.

This past year I decided to do a smaller, lighter version with a different silver diamond shape.

It provided an alternative for the woman who wanted “smaller” but still “artsy”.

My sales were higher because of this simple change.

Make it Easy to Shop

I discovered a long time ago that when promoting jewelry, keep it simple.

You can go two different ways, color or design. I chose color since

1. glass comes in such beautiful opaque and transparent colors and
2. my customers tend to be drawn to certain color combinations. Sort of like shopping for clothes.

My displays are laid out according to color into five categories:

• Black and white
• neutral browns and ivory
• blues
• greens
• all hot colors (red, orange and yellow).

This makes it easy for my customers to choose.

Along the same lines here are some other tips:

I make “jewelry sets”. This means, pendants to go with earrings as well as bracelets. They usually do not sell as a set, but they display so much better that way.

 

Also, make different price points. Someone who cannot afford a $250 bracelet, may be willing to spent $25 on a pair of earrings.

Give Coupons to Customers

One new promo I started this year was to give each buying customer a coupon code for 15% off any jewelry purchased on my new website between September and December, with the idea of having online sales when my art fairs were finished for the summer.

I also encouraged my customers to share the coupon code with friends and family members looking for gift ideas for Christmas or birthdays.

The coupon was “paired” with other information including a “thank you for your purchase” and description of how my jewelry is made.

Get Help

Sometimes friends and relatives just don’t want to help you sell for a multitude of reasons.

The fact is, selling at a busy art fair can be very stressful even for the artist. Know when and how to get help.

My favorite venue has been CraigsList. For the past two years I have used this wonderful (and free might I add) website to find competent and delightful help.

Go to craigslist.org and look for ETC (part time) under “jobs”. This category usually gets the most responses.

The three others you might try are sales, retail, and art / media / design.

When I hire an assistant I pay them $7-10 an hour cash, and the response has been well worth the effort.

Here is What My Ad Says:

I am looking for an energetic assistant for retail sales in jewelry at the Bay Harbor art fair on Saturday, August 6. My unique jewelry is handmade lampwork glass beads and silver. If you love selling and are an extrovert with a happy disposition, I’m interested. The atmosphere is fast paced and you must be able to multi-task with several customers at once, take cash and credit cards. You will also be on your feet most of the time, so comfortable footwear is a must. The fair begins at 9am and goes until 6pm. I would suggest bringing your lunch, snacks and water. Please tell me why you think you would be good for this position. (Retail sales background, experience with different art mediums, past work experience, volunteer work etc.)

Karen Wolffis
Karen Wolffis Design

Comments:

Designing Customers’ Shopping Experience
by: Rena

Thank you so much for sharing these fantastic tips, Karen! You do a lovely job of always putting your customers’ experience first.

I love your ideas for keeping jewelry fresh for returning customers. I agree that it’s so important to have new stuff for your fans, so they can keep purchasing from you! By making just a couple of small changes to your regular diamond-shaped pendant, you’ve given your returning customers the opportunity to add a new Karen design to their collection. Genius!

Great tips for hiring help, too!

Thanks
by: Sue Runyon

Excellent tips, Karen. Thank you so much. I love the idea of displaying by color.

Demos
by: Linda Stewart

I am a glass artist amongst other mediums. I had a booth at an indoor swapmeet for the 5 months that it was open. The floors were concrete and the walls were cinderblock and the lighting was good, so I approached the manager about allowing me to set up my “studio” in my booth. I have taken it “on the road” to outdoor festivals, and was a hit. From the start of my bead making, I designed my studio to be completely portable and compact to store when I’m not firing. This is made a lot simpler becaise I use MAPP gas instead of having two tanks and regulators to deal with.

The local paper did write-ups on myself and the other couple of artists who had booths there, and my bio and pic were featured on the front page! I had people come just to watch me fire glass. I’ll do a separate post with pics so that anyone who has doubts will not feel aprehensive about working on a project that is relevent to what they are selling, while they are selling their finished items.

While they waited for me to finish a bead, it gave them time to browse through my finished pieces and make a decision.

Customer’s Jewelry Shopping Experience
by: Sonya Edwards

Karen, thank you for sharing these helpful comments. I can see how demo’ing the production can help attendees to realize that the items are handmade. Again, thanks for sharing.

demos at craft sales
by: Here Today Beadworks

I have tried to do a demo at craft sales, by just simply working on a simple piece at my table and it didn’t go so well. I found that I needed someone to run my table while I worked, it was not possible to do both, as I got “into the zone” making the piece and didn’t even notice when someone stopped at the table. I also had kids stopping and wanting to make a piece too, and I had no supplies/space for them to do that and they were disappointed. It did draw attention and people did comment on “oh, you make these”, so I think I will use your excellent ideas and have set time for demo and help at the table.

Making Demos at craft fairs FUN!!!
by: made in bridgeport

I have had great sucess by doing a teaser at craft fairs…I am a mixed media artist so I carry a funky tool box and my Transformation Agent Pin at my shows. I have a tray of some unusual objects and spread them out onto the tray into categories of bases, main subject and accomplices and stringing it all together. I really like to play with the pieces and encourage customers to play as well. My jewelry designs are a way to get customers to create a story out of the objects and play around with the pieces to see what they come up with.I love the stories they tell as well as the connecting imaginations for those who think they may not have a creative bone in their bodies…Often they are really surprised.I also keep a handy sign up sheet and cards telling when I will be doing a class or workshop. I FEED TWO BIRDS WITH ONE SEED!!!!I get folks who are interested in my work, tell people about my work and sign up for workshops that they can do with their friends and family on a weekend afternoon.

Demo’ing lampwork / jewelry making at shows
by: Rena

Linda and Made in Bridgeport, thanks so much for sharing your great experiences and tips! Awesome.

Captivating
by: Tamara

Karen, your work and your beads are beautiful and inspiring creatively. I love glass and lampwork beads in particular, although I don’t make my own. Thank you for your article, because so many things resonated with me yesterday when I read it. I had just returned from a Christmas bazaar where I had a table. It was a new venue for me and my sales were slower than I had anticipated they would be. But I had an interesting experience. I have been experimenting recently with including a small amount of children’s jewellery in my display, with good results. Just before this sale I had found some very tiny little dolls with lace dresses, braids, little ribbon flowers, etc. I absolutely fell in love with them (says something about me, doesn’t it). I bought some, embellished some of them just a little more, and put little ribbons on them so they could be worn as necklaces. I added them to my display, along with some tiny stuffed bunnies and chicks that I had also embellished and made into necklaces. Well at the sale, that little part of my display got more attent ion and sales than anything else I had! One lady had her head down oohing and aahing for a couple of minutes. I wondered if she might buy one for a child. Eventually she muttered something about having enough stuff, which made me realize she had been considering buying one for herself. Eventually she stepped away, said hello to the vendor beside me, then started to walk away. She turned around, looked at me and said “Thank you”. I wondered why at first as I had not supplied her with a purchase. But I quickly realized that I had supplied her with an emotional experience. She had been “captivated” by the necklaces. Another lady fell in love with a little pink victorian Christmas tree I had decorated and had on my table (I’m also a floral designer). She asked to take it over and show her daughter, who was also a vendor at the sale. Her daughter burst her bubble by asking her where she’d put it. Reluctantly she put it back, saying she still loved it. When I saw your title later, “Captivate your Customers”, that resonated with me so much, and it encouraged me. Even though my overall sales were low, I had just seen how that can happen, and makes me want to tap more into my ability to create those experiences with my customers. An emotional connection opens their heart and draws them in to connect with and purchase a creation.

Captivating Your Customers
by: Rena

Tamara, you have hit on something really valuable here. Thank you so much for sharing it.

Giving people an emotional experience can lead to lots of sales, and to people becoming collectors of your work.

But perhaps even more valuable is how incredibly rewarding it is to provide that kind of experience for people.

I loved hearing about your Captivation discovery – thanks again for sharing it with us!

Captivating
by: Tamara

Thank you, Rena, for your response to what I shared. I think the reason the word “captivate” jumped right out to me is because one of my favourite books that I have read in the last few years is named “Captivating”. It talks about how each woman has an inner beauty that when released from an open heart is captivating. That book’s message has become ingrained in me, and is something I desire and look to keep increasing in my life. I’m in the process right now of working to hone my jewellery line to something very unique to me, and trying to determine that takes really looking inward at what is unique to me, and what elements and techniques really make me come alive. I think to move forward, that’s what needs to happen for me. So when I read that title, “Captivate your Customers”, all of a sudden I saw how what I have been focusing on in my inner life can extend into my jewellery business. A connection was made, and I have been ruminating on what that would look like expressed in my business. I think it’s there in a general sense, but I need to bring more of a specific focus to my line. I think it’s true for all of us – the more that inner, authentic beauty that’s inside all of us can be expressed in our jewellery (and that can look funky, whimsical, elegant, earthy, any number of styles), the more satisfaction we’ll feel with our work, the more we’ll experience others emotionally connecting to our work (and like Rena said, that’s incredibly gratifying), and the more we stand apart from the many others that are creating jewellery now. Thank you again, Karen, for being the catalyst for this connection for me.