I Asked 15 Jewelry Artists – “What Do You Wish You’d Known When You First Started Selling Your Work?”

I got in touch with this panel of experienced jewelry artists, and I asked each of them:

“What’s one thing you wish you’d known when you first started selling your work at events?”

Their generous answers are a treasure trove of tips and experience:

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Karen Wolffis:
How much work and effort goes into a well designed booth.

Prepare for hours of research on everything from tents, to earring displays.

Be prepared for a huge expense as well as many “do-overs” along the way.

It’s fun to design your jewelry, but it’s a whole different ball game to sell and market.

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Juliet Williams:

Bigger is not always better.

I used to believe that I had to spend a lot of time and money to create very grand events.

I paid more attention to the look of the venue, the food and beverages, etc. that I lost sight of the real reason for having events:

Building customer relationships and selling jewelry.

What I’ve found customers want most is to meet me and to hear about my experiences and shop for original jewelry in a comfortable, intimidation-free environment.

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Jama Watts:

Just one thing?  My first outdoor show taught me loads.

I had my tent, my setup was nice and the first few hours of the show were going great.

Then came the storm.

I didn’t have my tent weighted down!  I used the way-too-small stakes that came with my EZ-UP tent and found that they weren’t worth much.

I watched my neighbor’s tent fly away while my sister and I held onto the front legs of my tent.

When the rain let up, we were able to use auger stakes (think “big corkscrew”) and ratchet straps to weight the tent down.

I also tried cement in PVC tubes for weights (some people do this well, I found that it bent my tent leg when I used an aluminum tent).

Now, I’m a sandbag fanatic.  They’re easy to load and unload when packing and slip through the legs of the tent.

I use curtains which hide the bags in the front of the tent.

What it boils down to is this – watch the weather and make sure your tent is secure!

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Luann Udell:

I was so eager to grow my mailing list in my first years, I signed up everyone who was even the teensiest bit interested in what I was doing.

I kept my address book out for any and all to sign.  I even signed up students from classes I was teaching!

Postage was cheap, and my mailing list was only a hundred or so people.

Nowadays, I’m much pickier about who gets a postcard from me. My list is at 1,200, and even postcard postage has inched up.

I keep my address book out of sight, and only offer it to

a) people who have made an actual purchase;

b) very hot prospects;

c) people who have indicated they have information / resources to help me that they’re willing to share.  (Even these get marked accordingly.)

Because . . . I’ve learned that 90% of my sales come from 10% of my mailing list.

These are the repeat customers who buy for themselves, for gifts, and bring their friends to buy.

I could probably eliminate about 250 people who never actually by from my mailing list – if only I knew who they were!  :^D

On the other hand, the last few years I’ve had more people who come to my booth and say, “I’ve been following your work for YEARS, I’ve always loved it, and this is the year I’m buying something!”

So maybe I should just keep it going.

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Patricia Lynn:

That’s it’s very easy to accept credit cards.

Do some online research – there are many reputable companies such as ProPay that make accepting credit cards simple and very affordable.

Being able to accept credit cards will greatly increase your sales.

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Jane of Lone Rock Creations:

That people would actually buy my creations!

I could have priced higher to begin with.

 

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Cindy Lietz:

I wish I’d known that all events aren’t created equally.

Just because the event is in a great location, it doesn’t mean you will do well there.

You and your product may not be the right fit for the customer or it may not have been promoted well enough to be worth your time to do it.

I did two different shows in the same place.  One I almost sold out and the other I sold only two things.

Obviously, who promotes the show can make a big difference.

You’ll want to do some research if you don’t want to waste your time and money, doing bad shows.

Before you sign up for an event (especially a large expensive one), make sure to attend it the year before if you can.

Walk around. Is the event well attended? What are the vendors like? Are they busy with sales or is everyone just Looky Loo’s?

Craft fairs are notorious for other crafters just attending to collect ideas and not to purchase.

Think outside the box.

If your specialty is flower petal jewelry, maybe you are better off selling at a garden show, than a craft fair, since everyone attending already has an appreciation for flowers and may just love to wear them too!

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Peggy Li:

I wish I had known how important it was to be outgoing and be confident in my work.

It can take some time to gain traction with customers at shows, so you need to have a thick skin and do your best to show people what you’re all about.

Take some tools with you and work on projects while you are at the show (but don’t ignore people!).

People want to know about you and what you have to offer. Don’t be afraid to show them.

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Klew (Karen Lewis):

I wish I’d known what stores are looking for in a new vendor.

I did not have any idea how to approach a store when I first began creating buttons, and although they were hideous by my standards today I realize that my presentation was sub-par at the very least.

Know your market and don’t get in over your head. Do your homework!

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Doug Kelly:

I wish I had known the right price.

It would have saved me some time and crazy moments.

However, it is something every vendor goes through.

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Jennifer Hisir:

Oh dear, there are so many things that you only learn through experience.

Enjoy what you do and be happy. We always pushed and pushed to get everything done to be satisfied, but the list never ends.

Maybe you are not always going to be doing shows, enjoy the people around you, the selling, talking to customers and other exhibitors.

Nowadays we miss the personal contact that we had when we were doing retail shows.

Every person you meet and connect with adds to your own happiness.

Life changes everything.

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Debbie Dougherty:

I was very fortunate that my first show was a success.

Almost all of  my inventory was gone and I sold over $900 in jewelry.  I was so excited!

I promptly signed up for my next show a few months later.  What a disappointment.

Living in southern Georgia, most of my shows are outside, and it was a cold and miserable weekend.

Over the next several months I had mixed success.

I kept thinking “Oh, if I had this item or that design I would have had better sales”.

I started to really take a good look at the venues I was choosing, what I was creating, how I was pricing my pieces and and why my sales were so inconsistent.

It took time, but I began to better understand my customers and what types of events I find them at.

Now, three years later, I am doing the same shows, having lots of loyal, repeat customers, as well as taking advantage of living in area with lots of tourists.

I’m designing jewelry that truly represents what I love to create.

My sales are very consistent (as long as beautiful Georgia/Florida weather holds out).

I wish I had known how important it was to know who my customer is and stay true to my own design style.

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Chatty Cat:

There isn’t just one thing I wish I knew.  There are too many to list, really!

I guess the most important one would be how to save time setting up, and getting a routine with how to do a show.

I think learning how to streamline displays, etc. is a huge factor.

I can fill my Suburban to the hilt, and yet my jewelry fits in one tub and a small jeweler’s carry case.

The rest is displays, tables, etc.

Figuring out how to get into a good routine to set up is paramount.

Once you do that, you’ll be able to actually enjoy the show!

I used to spend so much time rushing, huffing and puffing, frantically searching for this or that, worrying about what I might have forgotten, blah, blah, blah.

So, do yourself a favor and think it out.  One step at a time.

Leave at home what you don’t really need, and don’t freak out if you forget something.  It’s not the end of the world.

Smile!!  I believe customers can feel the tension if we’re uptight about selling.

I have to make one other point:

I wish I knew my sales would triple when I started accepting credit cards!

It’s inexpensive and will definitely improve your sales.

I’m a single mom and couldn’t afford to open a merchant account with my bank, with all the red tape and hassle for someone as small as myself.

You don’t need all the fancy electronics, either.

I would be happy to help anyone who would like to know more about it!  Feel free to email me – chattycats@rochester.rr.com .

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Lorena Angulo:

I wish I had known how tiring the shows can be!

I remember my first show perfectly because I was burned out.

I wore high heels and my feet were destroyed after the show.

Remember to wear very comfortable shoes because you have to be standing for a long time.

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Lori Anderson:

What I wish I’d known – people take about 3 seconds to make a decision to enter your booth.

I wish I’d visited more shows not to scope out the competition but to see what booths made me stop in my tracks – and WHY.

Was it the color of their drapes, how they stacked their merchandise, the hat the vendor was wearing?

Look at booths not as “oooh, they make pretty things” but look at the BOOTH.

Did they hide their extension cords well?

Did they hang a mirror if one was needed?

Were their tent walls dirty?

Look at a booth as if you were buying the BOOTH, not their wares.

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Note from Rena:

I want to thank all of you so much for sharing the things you learned through hard knocks and experience!

I sincerely appreciate your participation in this panel!

There are a lot of things I wish I’d known before my first show – but probably the most important is:

There’s no reason to be scared.

I was nearly ill from nervousness the morning of my first event – and then was pleasantly stunned at how nice everyone was and how unfounded my fears turned out to be!

I actually had fun, sold some earrings, and made some new friends that day. 

How about you – what do you wish you’d known before your first jewelry event?