Profiting from Jewelry That’s Time Consuming to Make
by Rena Klingenberg. © 2003-Present Rena Klingenberg. All Rights Reserved
What if your jewelry is very time consuming to make – so it’s difficult to price it high enough to compensate you for all the hours you put into it?
For example, artists who create with seed beads often face this issue.
It can take a long time to make a jewelry item with bead weaving or other techniques that involve seed beads.
And although people may love your creations, they may not be willing to pay for all the many hours that went into creating those pieces.
In the solutions below, I’m going to stick with our example of seed bead artistry – but these tips can apply to other forms of jewelry making too.
5 Ideas for Profiting from
Time Consuming Jewelry Artistry:
- Make small works of art (such as a 1” or 2” piece), and put them in jewelry frames to be worn as pendants, brooches, charm bracelets, etc. Small pieces will take less time to create, and framing them gives the impression of a “masterpiece”.
- Create a natural path to your higher priced items. If you do make smaller, lower priced pieces (as mentioned above), think of them as a “starter” product line for customers to experience and own your art. These starter sales can lead your returning customers to purchase your higher priced, more time consuming pieces later.
- Create your own patterns and sell them. There are some nifty software programs that can help you turn your own design ideas into seed-bead patterns. And seed-beaders are always on the lookout for an exciting new pattern.
- Create commissioned seed bead artworks to commemorate people’s life milestones or sentimental occasions. For example – births, weddings, anniversaries, sweet sixteen birthdays, a family tree chart, etc. Your works may be wearable – or they may be more along the lines of small framed wall art or another type of ornament. People are often willing to spend more on keepsakes related to milestones or sentimental occasions.
- Teach other people how to create jewelry and other items with seed beads. There are always people who would love to learn a handmade art from your skills and experiences.
Also Important –
Educate Your Public
Help people understand what’s involved in designing and creating one of your pieces.
Show photos, a slideshow, or video of you working on one of your seed bead creations.
Discuss how much time went into each step of the piece in your demonstration.
Most people have no idea of what it takes (and how long it takes) to create one of these pieces.
And after seeing what’s involved, people are much more likely to appreciate and value the pieces you create.
What are your experiences with profiting (or not profiting) from jewelry that’s time-consuming to make?
