The Beadmakers Liberation Front

I have a hard time understanding their perspective... did they think that being vocal would make you lower your prices to a point that was unprofitable for you? How would they benefit from you being unable to profit? You would eventually go out of business, and they wouldn't be able to get the merchandise they seem to have coveted.

They don't sound like very good businesspeople. I had an inquiry a while back, from a shopkeeper who wanted my beads for wholesale prices. I've scoped out other US lampworkers, and am well aware that my beads are already priced at or below wholesale, so I priced out the beads she was interested in and told her that I would do a 30% discount on orders over $300 (seems to be a popular discount!) and I never heard back from her. That was before I raised my prices, about six months ago. I can respect never having heard back from her... artisan lampwork probably didn't fit into her budget. That was far more professional than if she had contacted me again to complain about my prices!

-Kalera

Karen_AZ wrote:

Blackberrybeads most certainly sells some... they're a pretty successful story, beadmaking-wise!

-Kalera

AmazeR wrote:

As a lampworker, I'm a little unusual in that I'd never head of lampwork before I learned how to make it, and didn't buy a single bead from another lampworker for a decade... until Tink! That was the catalyst that got me started collecting, and now that I have a fair assortment of beads (anyone who does not yet have any of Jennifer Geldard's beads, BUY SOME NOW!!!) I am absolutely floored, delighted, and amazed at how incredibly different the beads from each lampworker are. You would buy two seemingly identical styles from eBay, but when you got them, you would see the hand of each lampworker distinctly. That, to me, is what makes it addictive; the fact that when you start collecting, you realize that these beads are Art Glass is a tiny, affordable form; suddenly $10/bead sounds like a bargain!

-Kalera

Debbie B wrote:

Harry, I have a small glass case a friend gave me for my bead collection. I had been storing them in an antique Chinese basket (which is ornamented with ancient glass beads and rings!) but my friend knew I wanted to be able to see them... they're on display now, and probably will never be made into jewelry. I treasure them as miniature works of glass art. (There are three Tink beads, a Susan bead, and a Starlia bead in there... and I'm gonna have more.)

Now I just need a case for my polyclay... I still think that stuff is magic.

-Kalera

Harry wrote:

Um, but I DO turn glass into beads for a profit... that's not my sole motivation, but if I couldn't, I'd keep my work for myself and have a full-time job doing something else!

I think Tink is just talking about the market reality of retail vs. wholesale. The jewelry making professional has to keep the bottom line in mind, otherwise he/she can't make a living selling jewelry. People who are buying beads *just to own them* will pay more money for them than the designer who needs to pay bills with what they earn creating finished pieces from the beads. That's why sometimes a single bead will sell for two and a half hundred dollars... that person is *not* going to resell that bead, I would guess!

-Kalera

Christ> Excuse me, Tink. I'm a little offended at the comment about "and not to

That's great to know. And I wasn't being sarcastic or disrespectful when I mentioned upping my prices. I live in an area where high ticket jewelry is gold nuggets, jade and gems. I don't think I can get a fair price here in Fairbanks. And I don't see example of work similar to mine that is for sale.

Tina

I feel the need to reiterate what I was saying here. (I never even saw this post from Tina. Egads!). I grabbed Tina's text from Kalera's post.

I was talking about my customers who buy my beads to collect them, not to make them into something to sell. This is as opposed to my customers who buy my beads to turn them into something to sell.

I'm not understanding what's offensive about my description. And I'm also not understanding the other stuff... I think most glassworkers turn glass into beads for a profit.

I'm sooooooooooooo confused.

Tink

Of course - exactly. There's no way to adequately set starting prices on handmade beads, simply because everyone works at a completely different skill level and has a different artistic vision. For crying out loud, this is handmade craft and art! Not Walmart toys - that comparison was made in the thread on WC, adn I had to respond to that. Yeesh - I can't stop!! :)

I think a huge part of the jewelry issue is understanding your market and working FOR it, instead of against it (or finding a different market). Back in the Philly area, the predominant market is very conservative....14K, diamonds and other precious stones, etc. Even casual jewelry is just more of the same in simple, scaled-down styles. I would sell at craft shows and get lots of pick-up oohs and ahhs, but very few sales. Same went for beads, those who bought chose classic styles, like the Czech wedding cake beads or simple geometrics.

But, I started doing shows further afield...and became a small hit in Atlanta. They seem to be much more open to being "different" and expressing themselves in their own way. I took a few pieces of jewelry to help sell my beads, and the jewelry outsold the beads at two shows. LOL It's pretty much the same story out here as well.

So, I think you need to understand the local tastes if you're going to sell locally. Then work up designs that are, ummmm, not threatening to those tastes. Sometimes it's soooo frustrating, but trying to "enlighten" just doesn't help your wallet as well.

also not understanding the other stuff... I think most glassworkers turn glass into beads for a profit. <

Lord, I hope so! As much as I love beadmaking, it IS a business for me and I do expect to profit from it. Even if I were "just" a hobbyist, I'd still be expecting to make my basic costs back. Same goes for jewelry. I've always costed my pieces out so that I go somewhere beyond the break even point....even all the way back in high school. When making jewelry from my own beads, I realize I have an added advantage because the beads themselves are 'below wholesale' for me. But I price them out at my usual wholesale price so I'm not shooting myself in the wallet.

Precisely. I've talked to a couple of lampworkers about wholesale, but so far everyone's minimum order has been more than my budget will handle right now. So they're in my "think about later" file. If the overage had been slim, I might have tried a bit of bargaining, but I'm not really a haggler.

Celine

Oh, yeah... So far, I've been selling mostly at SF cons, tagging along with my partner and his business, and not doing terribly well because cons are a poor market for high-end jewelry. (OTOH, that realization caused me to add the "cheap silver" line, which now produces most of my sales at cons, so it wasn't all bad.) This year I am going to be branching out into some honest-to-ghod Craft Shows, where I hope to do better.

Celine

Craft Shows, where I hope to do better. <

Take some time to do some serious people-watching at shows. If you can (outdoor shows are great for this) plant yourself near some of the jewelry sellers and just watch what's happening. Watch what gets fondled AND what actually sells.

It's a tough balance to both placate your "inner muse" and produce what will sell.

KarenK

Yeah, I'm a bit confused about this too... But I do recognise that people see some things differently and that's ok... just different is all...

I think most would try to turn a profit so that they can buy/make more... isn't this how the world goes around? I think it's called business...

Mavis (not trying to offend anyone)

AWESOME post, Beki. Awesome.

The thing about the lampwork market right now is that the huge influx of lampworkers is directly related to the increasing knowledge and popularity of lampwork. A couple of years after I started lampworking, I was desperately scouring the internet for references... I found ONE. (I think it was related to Sage & Tom Holland, and it referred to "Lampwinding", which is what I (and many others) called my craft for years.)

What all this indicates to me is that the imbalance of new lampworkers to lampwork buyers will, in time, settle down, and we will all benefit in the long run from a more competetive marketplace and a larger, more educated market.

-Kalera

DreamBeadr wrote:

-snip-

From your lips to the Universe Kalera. =o)

I know coming from a sales position, that major influxes of competition can sometimes become a drain on the nerves. I know there are many lampworkers who do just fine selling their work, but there must be so many who are stressed out from lack of sales, or not understanding how to deal with the pressures of competition.

Last year at the Bead & Button show, they had an entire row of lampwork beads. I say lampwork, as opposed to lampworkers, because imports were also sprinkled down that isle. When walking down that isle, you could "feel" the stress. I could see the faces of defeat and frustration. How hard that must have been for them all. Directly across from my booth was Dianne from Dianne's Beadscapes. I love her...she is a very sweet, creative woman, and her beads are priced very fair for the amount of work she puts into them. Even she was not having the best of shows, and she wasn't even stuck over in that isle of lampwork. Instead of energy being put into sales, energy was put into expressing the frustration of the over abundance of lampwork. My major point with it was the fact that there are so many beaders who are not educated about lampwork. They cannot always distinguish between artist made and mass imported. They also cannot always distinquish between quality artist made and someone who has yet to master the skills. Until this imbalance begins to settle, I am afraid the stress and frustration will remain. And, I am sorry to say, but I was not able to walk down that isle a second time due to the level of anxiety in the air. I did do some pretty great trades with Dianne, however. =o)

Beki

When I first started making jewelry, there weren't that many jewelers applying to shows. I never had any trouble getting into the ones I wanted. Then everybody and their brother, sister, aunts and uncles jumped on the jewelry bandwagon. (Because "the jewelers always make the most money" Hah!) So I added glass to the mix -- to stand out from the crowd. Guess what became popular next? You got it. Glass. Every body is into it in some form or another. Arrrrghhhh! But, as you mentioned, it does help educate the public. I have fewer and fewer people asking if a piece is plastic. Or rapping on it with a ring to see if it's glass. (Yes it is, and if you break it, you buy it, grrrrr). The show circuit is so much fun..... And now people are collecting items made of glass in ever-increasing numbers. Which is why I should be working today. But I've felt like crap all day and haven't accomplished a damn thing. And tomorrow I have to go to my MIL's condo and help her sort out what we're keeping and what has to be sold before the move. Betcha I don't get into the studio then, either. B. Barbara Dream Master

If you want to make God laugh, tell him your future plans. Woody Allen