BellaRose Designs Blog

For some time now, I have wanted to write a new post to my blog, (I think I have blogger’s block!) but one thing after another has gotten in the way. I like to be organized and I like to plan my week in advance, so unexpected events don't really have a place on my calendar. For at least three weeks now, I have put on my calendar “write new post for blog”.  And for the last three weeks, something would come up to alter my day.  Everyday, I believed I had my day mapped out - I was going to be able to write my blog post, and make a sizable dent in my “to do” list, and then boom – something would come up and everything I thought I was going to get done would get thrown out the window.  My usual response to unplanned changes in my day is to totally stress out.  But last Tuesday, as I was in my car, (running late for an appointment), the song, Beautiful Boy, by John Lennon was playing on my radio.  The lyric “life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans” struck a chord with me.  I thought about that philosophical lyric for a good part of the day and realized how so very right John Lennon was.  Now this may sound very simple, but it’s true – I made up my mind that I was no longer going to stress out when life happens.  Though it is three weeks late, I've completed my post, and guess what?  I'm not stressing!  Now if I could just find a song about blogger's block..... 

So, it's been a while, huh?  I know in my last post, I said I would continue with Part II of how I became a jewelry designer, but today I want to write about something else....

We participated in our last art show, for this year, over the weekend.  What a disappointment!!  Our sales, and even shopper traffic were so slow.  And it wasn't just us -- truly, almost all of the vendors I spoke with expressed the same disappointment.  Art and craft shows, while a lot of fun (you meet the nicest people/vendors at these events), can be hard work.  There are so many things to do in order to prep for an upcoming show. But, I'll talk about that another time.  Right now, I want to offer some un-asked for advice with regard to participating in arts and crafts shows.

The show that we participated in this past weekend advertised itself as a "craft" show.  When I see the word "craft", I assume it refers to a product that is handmade -- handcrafted.  Unfortunately, the organizers of the show and I don't have the same definition for the word "craft".  This particular show allowed anyone and everyone who was willing to pay the booth fee.  While this was good for the organizers, it spelled disaster for those of us who created genuine, handmade items.  Every shopper knows that mass produced, machine made products can be produced, and therefore sold, at a lower price than a unique, usually one-of-a-kind, handcrafted item.  Now let me say, I don't have a problem with competition.  Personally, I believe competition is healthy and good for everyone....when the playing field is even.  Machine made products vs. handcrafted products do not make for an even playing field and are extremely difficult with which to compete for any vendor.  

Anyway, after all the shows we have participated in this year, I've finally learned I must ask questions of the organizerbefore I send in the booth fee. (And yes, on occasion, I have been accused of being a slow learner!)

1.  What is the usual/expected/average attendance for the art show?

2.  What percentage of the vendors sell jewelry (or whatever your particular product is)?

3.  Is there a limit on the number of vendors selling jewelry?

4.  Will vendors of machine made/mass produced jewelry be allowed to participate in the show?  (For me, this is a biggie!)

5.  If vendors of machine made/mass produced jewelry are allowed, will the number of these vendors be limited?

And just one more thought:

Consider the demographics of the area in which the art show is conducted.  This can make a huge difference in your sales volume.  Be sure to choose a venue that will carry the most interest/desire for your particular product.

Designing and handcrafting jewelry, for me, has always started with a vision. The design comes to me in a vision of color, or form, or even just one bead in my collection of many.  But, until I put that vision down on a bead board, what seemed gorgeous in my head, many times required a Plan B or even a Plan C.  In fact, in some ways, creating jewelry is a lot like the road to how I became a jewelry designer in the first place. 

I was in my forties and trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up (Yes, I said in my forties!).  I decided to go back to school hoping that furthering my education would help me figure out just what it was I wanted to do.  I began my journey by enrolling in an interior design program at a local university.  I was really looking forward to the higher, instructive principles of color, form, etc., to supplement what I already knew instinctively. This particular interior design program also included classes in other forms of art design.  One of the classes was in jewelry design and I loved it right from the start!  The freedom, and the creativity this class offered was pure enjoyment for me, and “right up my alley” as some would say. Unfortunately, jewelry design was only a small part of the program and the rest of the interior design program was nowhere near as fulfilling for me.  So, after giving the interior design program a two-year effort, I dropped it and decided to take a completely different road.  My new chosen path, or Plan B, was to pursue Cultural Anthropology.  So now, I’m sure you’re thinking “Anthropology??!”  Well, I’ll tell you how that “fork in the road” turned out next week

First, let me say I love what I do.  For the first time in my life, I amdoing something I have always wanted to do – own a business, a business I getto build from the ground up. 

While I had always dreamed of owning a business, I must admit I dreamt only of the creative side, the fun stuff.  Buying beads, envisioning a design,assembling a “rough draft”, a little tweaking here and there, and finally a finished, handcrafted, jewelry design.  That was what I saw in my dream. 

What I didn’t see in my dream was the not so fun stuff.  Like the accounting records, the inventory control, the website design and maintenance, learning how to tweet, advertising, marketing, and a few other duties I’m sure I’ll remember later (with an “aww man, I forgot I need to”....).  

Now mind you, I’m not complaining.  I like wearing all my hats.  I just can’t seem to figure how long to wear one hat and when to switch to another hat.  I know all women have their different hats to wear and manage quite well.  I would love to hear from you and your experiences on hat switching.  Believe me, I could use some suggestions.  In the meantime though, you have a wonderful day! 

So we were at the “Shop ‘Til You Drop” craft show on Saturday.  It was our first time participating in this show, and I was very impressed.  The show was very well organized and well attended.  We had many visitors to our booth, and sales to match!  But, there was one incident that left me wondering what I should have said or if I did the right thing by not saying anything at all.

Two women stopped by our booth to look at our jewelry. Woman #1 made a comment to Woman #2 that she had beads like ones we used on a necklace we had designed.  I assumed that Woman #1 meant she had a necklace made with the same semi-precious gemstones.  When actually her comment was made to encourage Woman #2 to pick out a design she liked; then Woman #1 would /could copy it!  Woman #1 even had the gall to critique our designs. And she made these comments right in front of my daughter and me!   I couldn’t believe it!  I wanted to respond to her outright rudeness, but was at a total loss for what to say.   Only after they walked away did words come to mind.  Like, maybe,  “if our jewelry is not to your liking, why would you want to copy it?” or perhaps just a plain old “You’re rude, please leave”.  I chose not to say anything because I believed anything I could say would be wasted on this ill-mannered woman.  Luckily, Woman #1 was definitely in the minority – the other visitors/customers were very pleasant – so much so that we look forward to participating in the “Shop ‘Til You Drop” event next year