Input, input! Need input! (REALLY pic-heavy!!)

[Caitshidhe]

Hi kids! I've got a question and I decided I'd come here for some opinions. I'm starting an Etsy shop soon and I spent last night and most of today churning out jewellery. I am not, by any means, professional-quality but I'm getting better. I've been doing jewellery-making off and on for years and I figure I can make a bob or two this way. Gas money, you know? Anyway, I know that my tastes =/= everybody else's, so I wanted some opinions on the things I've made so far. Please be honest and let me know if there's anything I should try to make!





Closeup of a bracelet I made for a friend. It's just leather cord with this marble wrapped in sterling silver wire in the middle. It's called a "fried marble", which is made by baking glass marbles and dipping them in ice water. The inside fractures and crackles and makes that awesome sparkly effect. Which is awesome. And sparkly.




This is also not for sale and I made it for myself. Silver chain and another wrapped-up fried marble. The little clover shapes are made by hand by twisting wire around some round-nose pliers. I figure, I'd better wear my own stuff as advertisement! I did make another one, with a yellow marble, which I plan on selling.




I need to take pictures with size comparison--that stone doughnut is TEENSY, it was the smallest one I got. It's about a half-inch across. Same style as my bracelet. It's the easiest to make.




Two-tiered bracelet with turquoise beads. I made two of these and I plan on making more--and some necklaces. They're easy to make and I think they're cute. I have other stones that I'll use.




I bought a bunch of gemstones that had been carved into heart shapes. Three were exactly the same size and colour so I put all of 'em on this bracelet.




Okay, so that doughnut is MASSIVE. Two inches across! The rest of the necklace is just plain tan suede. Big stuff like that is "in" now, isn't it? *scritches head*




Admittedly that stone broke at the top--you can see wehre I glued it back together. I'll sell it for much less because of that. This is a longer cord, on me it comes almost down to my boobs.




This isn't to my taste but I've seen stuff like this for sale before. I had to put it on because I couldn't get it to sit properly on the leather cushions.



That's what I have so far. Tomorrow I'll make a few more pieces. I'm running out of wire, though, so I'll put what I have for sale and see if I can replenish my supply. Comments, suggestions? Anybody? It'd be very helpful!

[Ian1732]

To be honest, I'm more fond of the ones with the fried marbles. It gives me a sort of feeling, like contained power within the gem... *shakes off trance*
But I'm not really captivated by the ones with the stone rings. I can't say why, because I'm not too sure myself.

[dantesvirgil]

I think it's beautiful, Cait. I go to a lot of shows where some women have these kinds of necklaces, and your things are just as beautiful. Some of their work is expensive, too, so make sure you don't sell yourself short when you go to price them! I have two comments. First, the second and third picture have that "t hook" thingy as a closure, or whatever it's called, right? Those are fantastic. That's a huge selling point. It's so easy to put your jewelry on yourself and it never slips out. If you're debating how often to use those, I'd vote for "all the time." They're great, and I'd be sure you mention it often when someone is looking at your jewelry. My second comment comes from being around the trade shows/places where I've seen things like this sold. Those women often have some kind of matching earrings that compliment the necklace. Now, earrings may not be your thing, but if you have an eye for something like that, I've watched women scoop those up without batting an eye. I guess I have a third comment, too: I like the "fried marble". I like anything that looks like something interesting has gone on inside of it, but I've not seen anything like the first two pictures available at the trade shows I've been to. I would've definitely bought the first one, if it had been a necklace.

You're getting ready in the right season, too. Lots of people like jewelry like that as unique Xmas gifts. Have you thought about how you're going to sell them/market yourself? If you can afford to get some business cards made or use a computer that has that sort of software, it's probably a good idea. I still have business cards from the three different cities where I've bought jewelry similar to what you make. I keep them so I can call and see if there is new stuff I can get a picture of. My bet is more women do the same thing I do.

They're beautiful.

[Hades]

I really like the two orb ones (blue and green), the green heart one, and the one you modeled. I'm not so crazy about the big "life saver" looking ones, but that's only my taste.

Looks like you're on a good path, I would buy the green orb one, if I had money.

If I could suggest something, I'd suggest maybe trying your hand at more "organic" looking pieces. You know, leaves and vines and that sort of thing.

Something along the lines of these:





Again, that's just my personal taste talking. But I think you're on the right path. I can see how the ones I personally don't care for would be appealing to other people. It's all about personal taste.

Keep the variety going ^_^

[Caitshidhe]

Thanks, DV. The marbles are my favourites, too, and I have about 70 that I can "fry" and put on necklaces and bracelets. I use some watchmaker's adhesive at the top and bottom of the wire cage in order to make SURE they don't fall out--the wire wrapping is pretty sturdy and takes a good bit of pulling in order to unwind, but better safe than sorry--so I have to leave them drying in the window for a few hours before I can do anything. As for the clasp, it's called a "ring and bar" closure and that's all I use. It is, as you said, the easiest one to fasten by yourself. I HATE lobster-claw and screw-in clasps more than anything, they're impossible to do! And as some of these pieces will be marketed to men or unisex, men can do these up better than they can do those eensy clasps.

I'm setting up shop on Etsy in a few days, and I have friends who are going to advertise. I'm getting business cards printed up, as well, and I'll link here when I've set up shop. I plan on throwing a few business cards in with the packages when people order. And I've done my homework, looking around at what people are selling similar items for.

I DO plan on making earrings, but I want to wait until I have some money to get sterling silver earring hooks. I love making earrings, but I only had enough money to get necklace/bracelet supplies.

If you're interested in anything in particular, I can set something aside for you. ^^

[Caitshidhe]

Ooh, I like the leaves and vines!! I don't have any beads like that, but once I cover my cost of supplies and get a profit, I'll probably get some "organic" shapes--leaves, flowers, animals.

[John E]

Honest opinion:

• The ones with the fried marbles are beautiful. Other kinds of marbles could be very pretty too, and good for variety.

• Your wire wrapping is very good (my mom, grandma and wife all make jewelry, which is why I know a bit [not a lot] about this stuff) BUT I don't think it's flashy enough to get people to pay much more for a piece. In other words, I doubt it would be worth the time and effort to include a bunch of fancy wire work in the jewelry you plan to sell. The clovers are nice, as long as they aren't too difficult.

• The giant donuts might sell, but probably only to a niche market. You've gotta be a little eccentric to wear a piece of stone that big.

• The rest of the jewelry, while well made and pretty, is a little boring. BUT that might be a good thing. Most people would rather buy something kinda generic than something genuinely creative or unique.

[Caitshidhe]

No worries, the clovers are easy to make. It takes two seconds. They just make cute accents. I know how to make REALLY complex designs out of wire and beads, but I don't have enough wire to do it and they're time-consuming to make.

I'm curious to know--what do you mean by "boring"? Overly simple? I tend to prefer simple myself, but what would you suggest?

[Hades]

Then maybe when I get my ears re-pierced some time, I'll commission you to make me some earrings ^_^

[Caitshidhe]

Ooh, definitely, Hades! I'm open to doing custom work for anyone who wants it!

[John E]

I mean simple and kinda generic. A few beads evenly spaced out along a chain is not very unique or eye catching.

Please understand, I'm not trying to put your work down. I think they are well done and could sell pretty well. I'm just being totally honest about my impressions (because you asked).

[Caitshidhe]

Total, utter, shameless self-whoring here. I opened shop today! I'm still working on my banner and I have to print up my business cards yet, but I spent most of today getting decent photos of my things and then posting them. TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!! Or not. You could just look around and humour me.

[Hades]

Oooh, I'm loving the "Woodland Fae's Charm".

Then again, I'm biased. Green is my favorite color.

"Jasper Necklace" is in a close second ^_^

Best of luck to ye!

[lonelocust]

On the matter of "what to make", I'd go with something a little busier. For example, one with one of the rings, and have clusters of smaller beads before the cord starts. My personal taste runs towards things that have a lot going on.

Unrelated to that, picture quality can really be more influential than it should be in internet sales. If you could take pictures in sunlight without a flash I thin they would look nicer.

[banjaxed]

The jewelry looks pretty good, and with a bit of look they could be a hit.

BTW Cait wast are the names of some of the stones, cause I'm into geology and I literally lose sleep if I don't know.