Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Taking it outside Etsy...

by Izzy Winterhart



You may be asking "what is this?".
This beautiful creation was lovingly built by my father-in-law.


You see, I've decided to try to, hopefully, increase sales by selling a few items outside Etsy.
My adorable, eight month pregnant hair dresser has been kind enough
to offer a space in her salon to place a few of my items.

My father-in-law is brilliant when it comes to woodworking.
I give him the tiny bit of an idea and this is what he comes up with.


There is a mirror wrapped up in that brown paper.


See how beautiful the little boxes are to hold my business cards and brochures.
Brilliant.


It needs a simple splash of black paint,
mirror installed,
Under a Copper Sky creations added
and voila.
Hopefully lots and lots of sales will be coming my way.

I know many of you do shows,
but how many have your jewelry in shops?
What type of shops?
How are sales?
I'd love to hear about your experiences.




12 comments:

mairedodd said...

oh, what you father in love built for you is so great! it is going to showcase your jewelry beautifully... jewelry in shops can be fun because you can introduce some 'new' things and get feedback, but also get to know repeat buyers (because there will be)... great time of year to do this - glad you are putting yourself out there...

Alice said...

Very clever!

Just this summer I was asked to show my jewelry in an upscale gallery. I was thrilled, but also nervous at the idea. I've made four sales so far (which is better than I thought), but the hefty 50% fee is a killer for me. When my time is up there, I plan on looking for galleries that charge around 30%, and maybe some shops like you are talking about. I still do shows once a month in Kansas City,and even there the sales have gone down drastically because of the economy. When I first started, I had $400-$600 shows. Now I'm doing good to sell $100 there. It's a guessing game, trial and error.

KayzKreationz said...

That is such an adorable display box for your creations. It's great. I don't have anything in shops yet. Not sure where to start. But I'd love to give it a try.

Cillaw said...

Great Design! Is he going to sell some too?
Cilla
www.tellyourgirlfriends.com

Spirited Earth said...

this is just beautiful,good luck with this new venture.

Honey from the Bee said...

Wow - what a great display box. Would he sell them?!

I did great a couple years ago at a local art gallery and the salon I went to for my hair. When I started splitting time between states it became too difficult to keep stock. I think salons are perfect places to put jewelry.

Best of luck!

Cynthia said...

I sell year round in a local artisan gallery/coop. In exchange for working one Saturday per month, the shop gets 25% and I get 75% of my sales (or 50/50 if I don't work). There is a membership fee of $50 per year. Some months I might only sell a pair of earrings, but other months I've sold multiple pieces. There is quite a bit of other jewelry in the gallery, so there's a lot of competition.
I was also in a shop in Hyannis for the summer. The commission there was 50/50, but no other cost or commitment from me. I sold a couple necklaces, and several pair of earrings over the 4 months they were open.
The brick and mortar shops are my only means of selling, other than to friends & family. I don't have an etsy shop(yet).
Your display box is really great - I hope you'll post a photo when it's painted and full of jewelry! Good luck!

CraftyHope said...

That's super cool. Best of luck at raking in the sales!!

Artisan Beads Plus said...

I LOVE it! I can't wait to hear how you do! What a great place to start!!!
MaryAnn

Patty said...

What a beautiful, wonderfully handmade gift! Oh, the love and care that went into that, and the attention to detail. You are one lucky lady!

I hope you sell tons!

Cindys Art + Soul said...

Love the display box! You are very fortunate to have such a talented and nice FIL. :)

Currently I am not selling anywhere other than Etsy and my own personal site. I am working to build up my SEO of my own site and am always open to gift shops and galleries - I just have not pursued any as of yet.

Good luck with your new venture!
Cindy

Kelli said...

Oh my GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Izzy that box is INCREDIBLE!!!! What talent!!! Would he consider making, selling them? Maybe a custom order or 2? WOW!!!!
6 shops currently carry my work on a consignment basis, 2 more buy it outright. I LOVE getting those monthly checks. I've had 3, I think, since I started, that didn't work out, and I pulled my pieces. Some shops do better than others. I think it really depends on how established and how well located they are. All are either galleries, unique gift shops, and one artisan jewelry shop. My venture into a hair salon was unsuccessful. I think mostly because the same people came month after month, and it was too time consuming to trade it all out that often.
I'd have to say the only downside is (and it's really NOT a downside!!!) is they always seem to need restocking when I'm in a huge rush to get ready for a show. Best of luck to you!!!!! Seriously though, let me know about the possibility of a custom order!! :)

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