Saturday 1 May 2010

Jewellery Party woes - the real story


I recently had a jewellery party that was hosted at an erstwhile friend of mine's house (who I do not blame for this debacle but who has chosen to single me out for a punch in the face). Loads of people had promised to attend and some people had apparently been chomping at the bit to go. When the day came, none of those so-called keen people were there and those that were were really only there to socialise with the other housewives and mothers who regularly attend coffee mornings at this person's house.
I had spent 4 days preparing the displays and labels for my jewellery and as some people had already seen what sort of thing I make from my online shops, I was expecting a few sales. I wasn't there to showcase my work, have it poked and tried on and rejected, I was there to sell it. I already showcase it in my shops. I don't appreciate being told it's not chunky enough or too chunky or that I should stick to selling pieces that cost less than €40. Do you people have any idea how much precious metal costs? That's without the work that goes into designing it, making it, and pardon me, dare I say, a little profit for me? My prices were halfway between wholesale and retail, so hardly extortionate. The cheapest items were €10 up to €200 for an 18k white gold ring. Some of the artisan, one of a kind stuff was well underpriced. Yet hardly anyone was even interested in looking, never mind buying anything. Thank you to those who did buy something that day, but it was a really poor day for me, hanging around like a spare part. I don't want to hear about the 2 carat diamond you're expecting your husband to buy for you while you turn your nose up at my jewellery. I don't want to have to keep small children's mitts off my jewellery and then hear, "I can't look at your jewellery because I have to look after my child". People! Why did you go to a jewellery party if you had absolutely no intention of buying anything?
This is my life. This is how I earn my living. It isn't a silly hobby. If I don't sell anything, I don't pay my bills. I don't need to "get real" or "get off my high horse". I've been making and selling jewellery for 10 years and in that time metal prices have gone through the roof but I'm still expected to have prices equal to that of mass-produced jewellery from SE Asia. If you want that type of jewellery, fine, but don't come to my jewellery party. If you want base metal and fake stones, fine, but don't expect that from me. Lucky you, you can sit at home, shop, lunch, do bugger-all, but some of us are trying to work and make a living. That's what I call "getting real".
Last of all, threatening to punch me in the face for expressing my annoyance at the reception I received is just downright childish. Some people need to get off their high horse, stop looking down their noses and get a life!

2 comments:

  1. I see you have no comments!

    Well, I am certainly on your side. It is sooo hard to have people look at your work, make judgements, pass criticism, compare to mass produced crap and expect you to just remain passive.

    I am only starting in this field (jewellery) but I am overwhelmed by the whole process of it ~ the designing, the cutting, filing, annealing, polishing etc etc. The hours of labour that go into your work is probably amazing. The only problem is that the 'commom' people can't see that and only see the final result AND unfortunately will compare to the mass produced stuff that has quantity not quality written all over it.

    I am a quilter at the moment, but the hours that goes into that is phenomenal. Some people say that it can't be worth $800 because they can get it for $100 at Spotlight!!

    I hope you have recovered from this ordeal.

    I find your art absolutely beautiful and I am sure there are many, many more that do to.

    By the way, I found you through Flickr!

    Also, I only go to party's if I want to buy stuff and rejected a friends party because I didn't want to buy candles. She was so peeved because it was more for a catch up and chat than anything else. Imagine how the poor person doing the party would feel knowing this from his/her client!

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