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Various tips on how to market your handmade jewelry more effectively. Learn how to sell and make a generous living making and selling jewelry.
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New Market for Your Handmade Jewelry |
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Marketing
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Written by Ooh-la-la Beadtique
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Thursday, April 04 2013 11:46 am |
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Are you looking for new markets for your handmade jewelry?
I wanted to discuss market for handmade jewelry you may not have considered. Spring is here and summer is just around the corner, so get ready. During summer time lots of families are on the road traveling to vacation spots around the country.That means they're not in your area buying jewelry, right? (unless you happen to live in a resort area). Well, why not help them find your jewelry even when they're on vacation. How? By displaying your jewelry at hotel gift shops in resort and vacation areas.
The hotel gift shop market can be quite lucrative. Generally when people go on vacation they feel a bit more relaxed and free with their money. They expect to indulge themselves a bit! For women, this can mean buying handmade jewelry. Plus, people want to return home with a unique souvenir from their travels so they can show their friends. Your jewelry would be the perfect item for vacationers to show off to their friends back home. Plus, have you considered that many men travel on business and want to take a small gift home to their wife? They don't want to travel far from the hotel and will often purchase an item from the hotel gift shop. There aren't many women who wouldn't appreciate a gift of jewelry!
Handmade artisan jewelry can be an attractive souvenir, particularly if your market jewelry designs depict a vacation theme For example, an ocean inspired line of semiprecious and seashell jewelry or necklaces and earrings created from small pieces of sea glass. These items are unique and potential customers will realize they won't have the opportunity to purchase them once they return home, so sales can be quite brisk.
If you have a brochure showing photos of your jewelry, you can drop it into a large envelope along with your business card and send it to the owners of hotel gift stores. Include a brief note saying you'll contact them with wholesale pricing once they have a chance to view your brochure. Give them 10 days or so to review your brochure and see what you have to offer, then contact them by telephone to see if they'd like a wholesale price list. Follow up will be critical as many of these gift store owners are busy and will forget to contact you even if they're interested.
To find resort hotels, simply do a Google search. If you can't find the direct contact information for the gift store, call the hotel front desk and ask for their direct phone number and mailing address.
Also, don't forget about hotel gift stores in your local area. You may not live in a resort area, but these can still be a good market for your designs. Look for large hotels that are also conference centers. They tend to get a lot of traffic from visitors with expendable income.
Give this idea a try and see if this is a viable market for jewelry business!
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Sell Your Handmade Jewelry Through Local Boutiques and Galleries |
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Marketing
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Written by Ooh-la-la Beadtique
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Saturday, October 13 2012 8:10 pm |
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Would you like to sell your handmade jewelry through local boutiques and galleries? This would certainly give your jewelry business a boost. I've just returned from my out-of-town Canadian Thanksgiving shopping trip. I'm excited because I was able to talk to some owners of fashion boutiques in Niagara region about what they look for when they purchase handmade jewelry from artisans for their stores.
I found out that they are quite interested in seeing the works of jewelry artisans particularly if the artist is doing a unique type of jewelry. They all emphasized that they are looking for items that are of well made, of high quality, and uniquely different from what you see in the department stores.
Marketing jewelry through boutiques and other specialty stores can be a winning situation for your jewelry business because:
1. Your jewelry gets excellent exposure as it's on display throughout all the hours the shop is open.
2. It frees you up to spend less time on jewelry marketing and more on designing and producing jewelry.
3. It provides a showcase for your work. When someone asks about a piece of handmade jewelry you're wearing, you can refer them to the store to view what you have to offer.
4. It's a good market research tool. Displaying your items in a retail store will give you a quick way to find out what is selling. You can also test new ideas and designs relatively before investing the time and money to make multiples.
When I spoke with shop owners here are some of the things I learned:
1. Retailers want unique and interesting merchandise that will help to set their store apart from the mass merchandiser.
2. Once a retailer establishes a relationship with you, they want you to check back frequently to restock items that have sold. One common complaint I heard was that jewelry artisans will display their items in the store and not bother to replenish items that have sold in a timely manner.
3. Retailers are particularly interested in locally produced jewelry. They like to feature local artisans to show their support for the surrounding art community.
4. They like jewelry that tells an interesting story or has a strong theme that fits in with the store's merchandise mix. A descriptive hang tag that tells the motivation behind the jewelry line is a real plus.
5. They would love to have an exclusive on a line of artisan jewelry. Of course, this isn't always practical for you as it would limit your retail sales in that area to a single store. I would only agree to this if the store proves to you that it can sell very high volumes of your jewelry.
6. They want you to approach them in a professional manner armed with marketing materials and samples. They prefer to see you by appointment as their store can require their full attention at times.
Always be on the lookout for new stores that could be a market for your handmade jewelry. When you find a potential store, look around carefully at what they have to offer. Make sure your jewelry is a good fit for that particular store. As you can see local boutiques and galleries in your area can be excellent market for your jewelry designs!
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