Spitfire Designs Jewelry-Living And Learning
October 10th, 2022
I have been in business for eighteen years and during that time I’ve learned a lot about how to run a business. With trial and error, I’ve learned what do do, what not to do and what to do every now and then.
At least once a month someone recommends a store for Spitfire to go into. “You really should put your jewelry in the store I told you about in Stone Harbor, it would sell.” Stone Harbor is always a big push, or Rehobeth. Years ago, I thought I had made it when my jewelry went into a store. I wanted to be in stores for a long time until I didn’t. I think back to when I first started my business and another seasoned jeweler said to me “You’ll go into a store for awhile and then eventually you’ll just want to do it on your own so all of the money goes to the person who created it; you. Why give all of the money to them? They benefit from your work way more than you do by having it in their store.” That’s not true actually. Many of my clients found me due to stores showcasing my work and them going home and finding me on the internet. Now, many of my clients bypass the store and come directly to me. If you have a good working relationship that mutually benefits you and the store owner, go for it. Sometimes I put things in certain stores just at Christmas. It’s all about diving in and swimming around in unfamiliar territory until it becomes familiar and going from there. Live and learn, baby…live and learn.
I will forever be grateful to a few stores that put my jewelry into their buildings; Bunny Hares in Newtown Square, The Little Nook in Chestnut Hill and Langman Gallery in the Willow Grove Mall. Bunny Hare’s was the first store to carry my work and Ann Marie, the owner, never asked me to mark my prices down. She took my jewelry with the price tags as is and marked them up. I was in there for years. We started our businesses at exactly the same time and after several years of my jewelry being in her store, she realized that she didn’t want to carry handmade jewelry, or at least mine and I understood why. My prices were going up every year due to me becoming more skilled at what I do and being able to get what I asked for for an unusual necklace. We had a great partnership and we became friends outside of work and many of her clients enjoyed my creations. People til this day know Spitfire Designs Jewelry because of her promoting my jewelry and even after I was no longer in there, she would tell her clients to look me up for truly unique pieces or for jewelry redesign or for custom designs. Now that is worth its weight in gold. I am doing a trunk show at Bunny Hare’s this upcoming Thursday night and I know it will be more fun than work with Ann Marie. She is the best. She has a Down Syndrome employee. I love her for that. Her employees work there forever. She takes care of people and they love her.
Langman Gallery in the Willow Grove Mall was also a prime location and Lisa, the owner, believed in my work. We got along, she loved my designs and because of that, it sold. She also didn’t mark down my prices and it was a good enough location (right next to Bloomingdale’s) that my $280 on up necklaces found homes. Unfortunately, Langman Gallery went out of business. They could not compete with Homegood’s and all of the chain stores that carried mass produced, inexpensive machine made art. I write this for anyone who reads this blog including artists who also are jewelers, or for anyone who wants to say, “Hey, Spitfire…put your jewelry into this store.”
Here’s what I would/will tell you or ask you………
How much of a cut does the store take? Most stores take 50%. The average person DOES NOT KNOW THIS. Fact. They don’t know this. Many of my clients will say, “Are you serious?” Yes, 50% and it makes sense that they do take 50%. They have a mortgage, pay rent, electric, employees, I get it. They’ve got to make money to keep their doors open.
Where is the store located? Someone recently thought I would be a good fit for a store in a not so desirable location in a town right next to Chester. No offense to Chester, but I just have this feeling that my jewelry might not do well there. With Sterling Silver and prices that sometimes exceed $200, you don’t want to be in a location that might not be able to afford those prices. You need to pick an area and a demographic that can afford your wears. You need to suss out what types of clients buy from you and stay in that demographic. I don’t want to go into a store just to have my name in there. I want it to actually sell. If it’s just sitting there, what’s the point?
Will they mind if I mark it up to put in their store and yet have it on my website for less? Yes, that’s right. If they take 50%, I need to make back what I put into the necklace or earrings, but I also need to make money to pay my bills! It’s not worth it just to get your name out there. It’s worth it to be able to pay your bills and to know you deserve to be paid, too. Sometimes I will make less expensive jewelry for certain stores if it’s a good fit and yet sometimes it’s just better to do artisan events and establish a relationship with your client right then and there. Get their email address, write to them directly about sales and where your next event will be and bypass stores. Honestly, that’s the best way to go. I tell every client I meet to follow me on instagram or FB and that way they can see the latest designs minutes after I create them.
When you are not a business that mass produces, don’t have a machine doing the job, when you are the head of the business and the only one creating and designing, your prices are higher. Why? Well, if Michael Korrs makes one million of the same shirt, in the same fabric and it’s in Macy’s for $75 I can assure you, it’s less that $20. When any merchandise goes into a store like Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, you name it, it is marked up substantially. The store, many times, puts something on sale and sometimes there are 50% off sales. Even with that 50% off sale, the store is still making a profit, which means that the price of that product has been marked up significantly. Macy’s and any retail store or department store paid for an item at wholesale and at a fraction of the cost. I do mean a fraction.
I keep the price of my jewelry I created reasonable so people can afford it, but I also make pieces that can go up to $600. Someone out there will buy it because if it’s worth it to them, they’ll come up with the money. People spend $240 on cable per month and don’t even watch it, they can come up with the money for a handmade piece of art that could last forever if cared for properly. You just need to find the right audience and demographic. During the eighteen years I’ve been in business, I’ve learned to not sell myself short, to not take less than I deserve and to know my worth and know that I have a business and a life. I pay for tags, boxes, stickers, organza, tablecloths, an employee or two, my time, my booth fee, gas, my website…and for my expertise. That’s what people are paying for so I price my products accordingly.
It’s about knowing one’s worth and also knowing that I’ve got a skill and in order to make it worth my while, I need to be able to treat myself to a lobster dinner and a vacation every now and again. “Actually, make it a Surf and Turf with the filet medium rare. Yes, ground fresh pepper would be great. Thank you.”
