Success Tips for a Teenage Jewelry Artist
by Rena Klingenberg.
Are you a teenage jewelry artist? Young jewelry artists who want to sell their work have some unique advantages over their older counterparts. And there are lots of ways young jewelers can find profitable market niches.
Selling Jewelry to Other Teenagers
As a teenager, you are in close contact with the most fashion-conscious market segment of all – your peers.
If you wear different pieces of your jewelry to school every day, you’ll always have people asking where you got it, and wanting to place orders for their own. Once you’re known as a jewelry artist, you’ll probably get a lot of custom orders too. Be ready to quote prices when someone at school says, “Hey, what a cool choker! How much would you charge to make me one?” And offering them color choices is very important.
In addition to your regular jewelry line, “school spirit” jewelry in your school’s colors is likely to be a huge seller.
Bracelets tend to be popular among the high school crowd. They take less beads and other materials than necklaces, and can be made faster. If you carry a cloth tape measure around in your book bag, you’ll be prepared to do custom sizing. You can charge by the inch or by the bead, or just have a flat rate.
Chokers are also a big seller. A bead or pendant strung on a leather or rubber cord can be a fast and profitable seller. It’s quick to make, not too expensive for supplies, and very cool. Among the high school crowd, hemp chokers with beads are also popular.
And don’t forget that there’s a market for young men’s jewelry. Surfer-dude necklaces and bracelets made with bone, wood, shell, or glass beads on leather or rubber cord are popular for guys.
Sell Your Jewelry at a School Fundraiser
You may be interested in raising money for your school while selling your jewelry. Ask someone in your school office if you can do a fundraiser. Bring samples of your work and your business card, if you’ve made one. It’s important to show that you’re a responsible jewelry artist. Get permission to choose a school event that will already have a crowd (like a football game, PTO meeting, or carnival), and set up a table at the event with a display of your jewelry for sale.
Donate 10% of all proceeds to your school, and keep the rest. You can set your prices to add in this 10%. Have a sign at your table letting people know that part of their purchase price goes to their school.
Be ready with a notebook to take custom orders. Doing a “show” like this in the fall should net you some nice Christmas shopping sales.
If you’re interested in the idea of helping your school or another organization while you sell your jewelry, see Fundraiser Jewelry Shows for more success tips.
Sell Your Jewelry at Trunk Shows
Do you know someone who owns a local business? If so, you may have an excellent opportunity to hold a trunk show. A trunk show is a one-person show that’s held in a store or other business to promote a particular jewelry artist.
It usually involves setting up a table with your jewelry displayed on it, inside the front door of the business. You sit or stand near your display and politely greet people who come in, and sell your work from your table. People like to meet the jewelry artist who created the pieces they’re buying.
If you do get the opportunity to do a trunk show, be sure to get the word out to as many people as possible. Have the business owner email or distribute flyers to all their customers with the date and time of your show.
For top sales, see if you can arrange to have your trunk show shortly before a gift-giving holiday or on the business’ payday.
For an example of a successful trunk show, see Jewelry Trunk Show – a niche almost missed.
Designing Your Jewelry for Profitability
To operate profitably, develop jewelry lines that are affordable and appealing to your customers.
In jewelry gifts under $20 you’ll find good suggestions for jewelry that’s very profitable to you and sells fast to teenage customers.
Another important aspect of profiting from your jewelry is to spend some time working out how to price your jewelry.
Try working backwards – for example, if you want to sell chokers for $18, figure out how much time (say 15 minutes or less) you’d want to put into a piece that you’d sell for this price, and how much materials cost (say $2 to $4) would make the item profitable for you.
Then figure out what supplies you’d use that fit within your budgeted materials cost, and what sellable design you could make in 15 minutes using those supplies.
Now you’re thinking like a businessperson as well as a jewelry artist! It’s a creative challenge, but if you want to be successful financially with your art, you have to think this way.
More Success Tips for Teenage Jewelry Artists
- Even if you’re not an adult, you need to set up your business right if you plan to sell your work. But that’s not difficult; see my easy steps for Starting a Home Jewelry Business. You may need a parent, guardian, or relative to assist you with some of these steps.
- Start with a simple business plan. What do you want to achieve? How will you do it? What do you want for your jewelry business a year from now? A simple plan is your roadmap to success. Without it, you’re much more likely to spin your wheels without going anywhere.
- Make the jewelry your customers want to buy, which is not necessarily the thing you most want to make.
- Make items that will give you a good profit for the supplies AND TIME that go into them.
- Always come up with new stuff for your repeat customers to see.
- Keep learning all you can about jewelry making, and work on developing your skills and artistry. Try new techniques, and concentrate on creating your own unique style. You can find tons of free help online if you do a search engine search for “jewelry tutorial”. Your library should also have good jewelry making books and magazines.
- Be enthusiastic about custom orders.
- Start accepting credit cards as soon as you’re old enough! 🙂
- Offer sets of things – earrings and bracelets that match your chokers, etc. It’s easy to sell add-on items to people who are already in love with your jewelry.
- Have a website presence as soon as possible, even if it’s just one page. It shows potential customers that you’re a real jewelry artist, and many people will check out your website and then come buy in person from you. Print your own business cards that have your website URL so people can find it.
- Keep records of your sales and start off with organized paperwork. In the long run, this saves you time and money, and you’ll know where you are (and are not) making your profits.
- Keep an eye on emerging fashion trends. What colors, styles, etc. are on the horizon for your customers? How can you put your own unique twist on jewelry to keep it trendy? In high school especially, keeping up with trends will make your jewelry “must-have” items.
- Add personalized touches to your sales that your customers wouldn’t get if they bought jewelry at a mall. Like a neat little pouch to store the jewelry in, or a free tumbled stone or bead with their jewelry purchase, or some inexpensive thing that impresses them.
- Include a coupon with each purchase. Something like “5% off your next jewelry purchase; expires [in 2 weeks]”; or “Good for a free drawstring jewelry pouch with your next purchase; expires on [a date that’s less than a month away]”. Give them an incentive to hurry back.
- Dream big. Visualize your ultimate dreams for your jewelry – and your life – down to the last detail. Believe that you’re working toward your vision, and be ready for the opportunities that come your way.
- Find other young entrepreneurs to network with or form into a mastermind group.
As a teenage jewelry artist, you have a great opportunity to start earning money from something you love doing. I wish I had started my jewelry business in my teens.
May you enjoy a lifelong successful jewelry journey!
