For the Love of Wholesale

This afternoon Mom and I packed up the kids and diaper bag, stroller, jewelry samples and business cards. We all piled into Mom's electric blue car and headed to the mall. Of course the boys conked out as soon as the tires hit the pavement so I didn't actually get to go in the mall but I did get to the parking lot which is a lot for me these days.

While I sat in the car with my snoring kids Mom went in to do some business. Twenty minutes later I was getting pretty bored sitting in the car but doing my best to be patient. Another five minutes ticked by (slowly) and out comes mom.... with a wholesale order from Just Silver.

For those of you who are not familiar, Just Silver is a boutique that sells high end jewelry from well known artisans such as Trudy Gallagher of Bejewelled. Needless to say I am thrilled and happier then ever that I finally put my Mom to work for me.

Delivery day is this Wednesday so, the next few days are going to be crazy. My studio (a.k.a. the spare bedroom cum office) will be transformed into a magical (messy) place where wire and beads will gracefully be transformed (tortured, tangled and teased) into mini works of art. My boys will hate every minute of this creative process since they'll be crammed into their highchairs in a corner of the "studio" with toys and a mini dvd player. But, when the delivery is made I will forget all about my calloused hands and torn fingernails (and cranky kids).

Now, I need to get off the net and into the studio!!

Ask and you shall RECEIVE

(ring pictured here is available in Margaret Kelly's Shop)

Awesome shopper that I am (check my previous entry about supplies), I'm still not perfect, (sigh).

So, I decided to go to the Etsy Forums for help....

My Question: Where to buy affordable ring blanks.

And, good news! A lovely lady by the name of Margaret Kelly responded. Margaret was nice enough to take the time to provide me with some excellent advice and refer me to several Etsy supply shops - some that she has purchased from and some she hasn't.

To show my appreciation I wanted to ask everyone to check out her awesome Etsy shop.

Margaret is a fellow Etsian.

She sells her own handcrafted jewelry,

vintage jewelry, and jewelry supplies.

http://margaretkelly.etsy.com/

My Marketing Manager - a.k.a. my MOM

You know, if I were to advise a newbie artisan on how to successfully market their work, the 1st thing I'd tell them is... find someone who really believes in you and appreciates your work, then promote them to "Marketing Manager"!!

My Marketing Manager is my Mom, Valerie Bauer. She has always been a huge supporter of my work. She has assisted me at craft shows, helped to fill orders, keept my kids so I could sell to the tourists.... so, it's no surprise that she's taken the helm again. But, I truly didn't understand the hidden potential here. In a few short months my Mom has accomplished the following:

(1) Booked two jewellery parties

(2) Sold at least one peice to most of her friends and associates

(3) Found two additional retail stores to sell my work

(4) Located a fellow vendor to sell my work at a weekly market in a neighbouring city

PLUS

She even sold to the waitresses AND the chef in the last restaurant she was in!!!

Now, I don't know about all Artisans but, I find it very difficult to push my own work... I'm just too selfconcious. So, for all of you other shy people, for the love of money and success, please take the time to find yourself a marketing manager!!

If, like me, you don't have a large budget for marketing, consider using a percentage of your sales as payment. Personally, I will gladly give up a couple of bucks from every peice sold if it means my work is being SEEN, APPRECIATED, PURCHASED, and WORN!!!

Good luck in your quest for your own marketing manager.

PS. Thanks Mom!! :o)

Supplies Shopping

Ok, I admit it, I love to shop. And, when it's from the convenience of my own home, in my living room while the kids are playing, it's even more enjoyable!!

The last few days where a whirlwind of web surfing trying to ferret out superior, affordable, jewellery supplies. My search took me across Canada and into the States. I looked at dozens of sites - some were easy and enjoyable to navigate. Others were a royal pain in the tush. BUT, I did score some great deals.

Here were some of my best finds, in my humble opinion :o)

http://sedonastones.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=WoodMixBag1&Category_Code=CLR&Product_Count=1


http://sedonastones.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=cats1&Category_Code=CLR&Product_Count=17


http://sedonastones.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=A916&Category_Code=CLR&Product_Count=27


I still find it pretty disapointing that I haven't found a great Canadian supplier. Can anyone out there direct to me a great Canadian site with affordable supplies?????

Leisa's Little People Earrings

One day when I was playing with wire I stumbled across Leisa's Little People. They are very fun to make and I've received alot of positive feedback from my customers. I've sold a ton of them and, even people that don't buy stop by my table and comment on them!

I am busy working on building my stock to get ready for tourist season and my favorite - the CRUISE SHIPS!!

And, I'm going to be selling my wire bookmarks uptown at Read's on Charlotte Street. They are a fabulous shop that carries used and new books AND $2 magazines!! I'll upload some pics of the bookmarks tomorrow.

My Life Today

I love the design and creating part of making jewellery..... finding places to sell is the HARD part!!!!

I've decided to devote a large part of my immediate future to increasing my advertising, public exposure, marketing and wholesale opportunities.

Wish me luck!!